Things that make you go...Hmmmm....(outrageous calorie burn)

bigjretrac

The MFP burn calculators are WAY too optimistic.

I love doing the elliptical, for instance. Depending on my intensity, an hour would burn between 600-800 calories, according to the machine (I'm 222lbs). MFP claims I burned 922. While I'd love to claim the higher number, I have to be realistic.

EDIT: What? You can log doing the dishes and shopping at the mall? Isn't that already calculated when MFP asks about your lifestyle?

Mitzimum

oh... well i don't have any other way of measuring it unfortunately

bigjretrac

oh... well i don't have any other way of measuring it unfortunately

Oh, I wasn't attacking you-- I was just giving my experience :-)

Mitzimum

I know i just hope its close enough coz I have been relying on it.. i don't have any heart rate thingamies or anything coz they don't work on me lol

mhorn2142

Ok so I agree that I am not the calorie burning police, however I recently asked if cleaning is truly exercise and should be logged as such. For me this is daily routine like bathing and stuff. Also, I noticed that what MFP says I lost for an exercise is often off by as much as 40 cals or more when compared to the machine at the gym. Tonight I did my first STEP class and for the amount of time that I did MFP said 500 calories. I can't see how that is possible, but with out a HR monitor I don't know how to calculate it so I subtracted some time for my uncoordinated self. This gave me a lesser burn yet still seemed a bit unreasonable. I will say I was dripping with sweat which was amazing !

Icanredefinemyself

I don't mean to (ahem) "weigh in" (nyuk nyuk) on this, but I will say that I noticed since using the app that some exercises and daily chores do really surprise me as to what the app "SAYS" you burn. Personally, I do not consider food prep or household chores any sort of thing other than daily normal activity and normally do not log it. Unless it's something that took effort (like we chop wood for our fireplace) I won't bother. Other activities also seem to be inaccurate or questionable, like pushing your kid in a jogging stroller (which adds weight that you are pushing?) for instance burns very little calories, yet if I "walk the dog at 3.0MPH" I apparently burn more. Stupid examples, but you get the idea.
I think the important thing about the app and the stuff you record is that you use it simply as a tool or guideline and don't take it too religiously. IMHO

Aim4skinnyjeans

Actually, the more you weigh, the more calories you're going to burn. I weigh 208lbs and my HRM says, that in 60 mins at Zumba I've burned anywhere from 630 calories to 830 calories. It just depends on how much I put into the workout. :flowerforyou:

tappae

This is so BS. Marathon runners and tour de france rider top out at UNDER 1k/hour. And they are going at an intensity you can not even laughably approach. The idea of calling them out an not being intense enough just speaks at how truly uneducated you are on this subject and how invalid your opinion is.

I know you weren't talking to me, but is there a study you're basing this on? I'm guessing some top athletes have been tested in labs and maybe you can link to this information? It seems like even a small marathon runner should be burning 1000K per hour if he was competitive. If I burned 3000 calories during my 5-hour marathon, the guy that won in around 3 hours (assuming he's about my size) would have been burning around 1000 calories an hour.

16cal/min is around the max effort someone can give sustained. Sure bigger guys can potentially burn more from their larger mass, but they will be slower and less intense to compensate. And will even out in the end. For short durations of say 1 hour max and trained for it, then possibly you can see some larger burns of 20cal/min+. I sure haven't seen any measured though.

According to the MFP database, I would burn about 1000 calories if I ran 8 miles in an hour, which I could probably just about do. I would have to run 10 miles in that hour to do 20 cal/min. I know there are people that run that far that fast. At least some of them are as big as me and presumable are burning that many calories. Why would you doubt that?

Bob314159

saw one yesterday that made me stop and think.... wow... I'll just go shopping for 3 hours instead of running for 1 hour and still burn 800 calories, ummm yeah right.

Depends what "go shopping for 3 hours" means - I actually went shopping for 3 hours today and burnt 600 - my HRM tells me that. But I walked at 3.5 MPH non-stop for at least an hour to get to the shopping plaza and back, actually walking around shopping would burn some, bot with much much less intensity - there is a lot of non-movement involved like standing in line.

Walking there 500 - shopping for 2 hours 100

salubriousliving

i have MFPs who burn 1000 calories+ daily like it's their job. HRM calculated it too. I burn 1000 calories occasionally. it's possible ^^

BuckeyeBabe10

I've been on HB's and Cal's spreadsheet, and I've seen the numbers. I've also read the type of things they do at the gym and for how long and it's EXHAUSTING just reading it. I don't doubt they've burned what they've logged, honestly. I usually don't go on calorie burn police and don't really comment unless my opinion and thoughts are asked for. I, myself have had some intense burns after what some might not consider "gym" exercises like swimming, or rock climbing or mountain biking. I think one time doing an hour of Zumba at my gym, I burned like 9xx calories. I have an HRM and never go by the amounts MFP suggests. Along with my HRM, I tend to make note of what the machine tells me, if I'm on a treadmill or other cardio equipment and compare to my HRM. At the end of the day, it's still an estimate.

Check out this article.
http://www.wired.com/playbook/2012/08/fitness-trackers/

Here here! Cal's one of my MFP friends and I know his burns are legit, but that's because he puts in the insane work required to meet them. And it's a part of his lifestyle. One day I hope to hold myself to that level of dedication and commitment to achieve consistently high calorie burns.

In the meantime, he's a true inspiration on my news feed and seeing his exercise logs/having him on my friends list keeps me motivated on my journey.

I do agree that MFP's calculations are way off, but I just adjust accordingly (so even if I ran 60 minutes at 7.5mph, I'd input that I ran 40 minutes at 7.5mph to minimize that wacky MFP calculation).

Hopefully getting an HRM for Christmas - but I know even those aren't always 100% accurate...it's just a matter of putting in the work and gauging the results of said work. Still...looking forward to a more reliable method of estimating calories burned.

Mighty_Rabite

I often run at or slightly better than a 15 cal/min rate on the elliptical (according to its readout), but this is also a 180lb individual doing intervals between level 14-17 (out of 24) and often at or above 8mph, with heart rate rarely dropping under 160BPM.

Of course, that's the elliptical readout, it's probably realistically more like 12-13 calories per minute at that intensity level, and it's not that common that I will put in an hour straight - I'm more often in the two 20 minute sessions totaling a machine readout of about 300-315 calories each.

jennifer_417

Sometimes. But you gotta remember that someone who is 350lbs or more is going to burn a metric craptonne of calories even just walking on a treadmill for half an hour.

I'm 245 and if I go 4.0mph on a slightly inclined treadmill for 30 mins my HRM registers a near 400 cal burn. So if I had the time to just walk and watch a movie I could feasibly hit 1200 cals or more.

:flowerforyou: just for the words "metric craptonne"

MoreBean13

<snip>
According to the MFP database, I would burn about 1000 calories if I ran 8 miles in an hour, which I could probably just about do. I would have to run 10 miles in that hour to do 20 cal/min. I know there are people that run that far that fast. At least some of them are as big as me and presumable are burning that many calories. Why would you doubt that?

The issue is there are very few big guys that can maintain that intensity for an hour. It's not that they can't get shorter, higher calorie burns, it's being able to keep it up. I don't think it's impossible, but I think it takes an exceptional person/effort to actually sustain it for an entire hour. I think it's pushing it even for marathon runners to get there because they're generally small- for a person of 130 lbs to burn 1000 cals in an hr, they would have to run 10.25mph for an hour.....which would be a 153 minute marathon pace. There just aren't that many people that run that fast- they do exist but they're not normal.

jennifer_417

I packed and moved for about 7 hours a couple weeks ago, I recorded 5 hours because I know MFP tends to overestimate calories...it was still over 4000 calories...

gingerveg

I assume people are telling the truth and congratulate them. I don't believe I've ever even burned 500 calories in one day let alone 1000, but that doesn't mean it can't be done. Either way, in the end it's on them it really doesn't affect me. I truly don't understand why it really matters what others do unless it actually impacts you. I'm very supportive of my friends. I trust that they will figure it out (or ask for help) if what they are doing is not working for them.

morticiamom

I got a really high calorie burn for a six and a half mile hike that gained nearly a quarter mile in altitude (over 1500k if I recall correctly). I got nearly the same number from my GPS/HRM as I did from MFP and lost 1.7 pounds that week despite Thanksgiving so, I know I must have burned a significant number.

StormyGal8

I was in a Mixed Martial Arts Fitness class, where my conservative burn (by MFP estimates) was over 1000 calories a class. I was 260lbs, I worked my *kitten* off. I sweated until my eyes stung with salty sweat water, and my clothes were drenched. I literally had sweat dropping off my hair onto the dojo mats. I usually put in a 1 hour work out, despite the class being 1.5 hours, to allow for some overages on the MFP estimates, as well as warm up and cool down times.

Just because it seems like a crazy number to you, doesn't mean it is. I saw MASSIVE results from that class. I dropped 2 clothing sizes in about 6 weeks. The only reason I am not still going is because it was a summer only class.

tturner200

I agree with you totally... I log my exercise b/c I feel proud to have done them...but I dnt eat the calories back. I use MFP calulations...but I use a website to calulate my Zumba exercise b/c MFP doesnt have that exercise listed.

mfpcopine

I've said numerous times that it's silly to rely on calorie burn estimates. They're simply too unreliable. You should focus on calories consumed and exercising. If there's no weight loss, exercise more and eat less.