Help! Ive got questions!

Angelwing7575
Angelwing7575 Posts: 5
in Fitness and Exercise
Sooooo, ladies and gents, Ive been scrolling through the forums and Ive seen over and over again that you all say that MFP over calculates how much we burn with exercise. How can I know for sure? I mean, I dont eat all my calories added back but still....I want to "stand strong and firm" knowing what I did and did not do. Any advice, my loves? :)

Replies

  • sissiluv
    sissiluv Posts: 2,205 Member
    Go by your heart rate for calories burned. c:
  • nornyb
    nornyb Posts: 224 Member
    I found this website to compare MFP to, I use them both.
    http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc
  • juliekaiser1988
    juliekaiser1988 Posts: 604 Member
    Purchase a heart rate monitor if you want to calculate exercise time at the gym. Buy a FitBit if you want to see what you burn in a whole day, rather than a specific time frame.
  • Xiaolongbao
    Xiaolongbao Posts: 854 Member
    How can I know for sure?

    You can't. Our bodies are incredibly complex things and at best we can estimate (barring access to really high tech lab gear). Getting a HRM will help get a much more exact number but even those have some degree of estimation.

    But the thing is it's not super important. Once you've got a ball park figure as long as you are eating at a reasonable deficit you'll lose weight. It won't be quite the precise amount predicted but you will lose. I always log a portion of my exercise calories. So for example if my HRM says I burned 600 calories running I log 400. That way I can be sure that I'm not over eating. Having said that I regularly go over my calorie goals and thus far I'm managed to keep losing weight so the deficit I've built up must be enough.

    Experiment until you find a system that works for you.
  • seena511
    seena511 Posts: 685 Member
    How can I know for sure?

    You can't. Our bodies are incredibly complex things and at best we can estimate (barring access to really high tech lab gear). Getting a HRM will help get a much more exact number but even those have some degree of estimation.

    But the thing is it's not super important. Once you've got a ball park figure as long as you are eating at a reasonable deficit you'll lose weight. It won't be quite the precise amount predicted but you will lose. I always log a portion of my exercise calories. So for example if my HRM says I burned 600 calories running I log 400. That way I can be sure that I'm not over eating. Having said that I regularly go over my calorie goals and thus far I'm managed to keep losing weight so the deficit I've built up must be enough.

    Experiment until you find a system that works for you.

    this. i lost 25 lbs exclusively using MFP's calcuations. until you can get your hands on a HRM, just use it. if you think it seems like too much, knock off 25-50 cals.
  • billsica
    billsica Posts: 4,741 Member
    I wouldn't go by mfp's calculations at all.
    If its a cardio machine, they have a readout that is more accurate.
    If outside, a smart phone with gps can hep.
    You can take your pulse and use a stop watch, but ain't nobody got time for that!
    HRM is the "best" way, one with a chest strap. <--good present of goal gift, etc.

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