Not losing weight? This might be why...

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  • andie2013
    andie2013 Posts: 101
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    I trust my HRM a little more than the machines and even then, the HRM is just an estimate, too.
    What I do is, I try not to eat my calories back.
  • MosierTim
    MosierTim Posts: 56 Member
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    I have found the Estimated calorie burn on the machines to be LESS than the estimated Calorie burn here on MFP. To an extent, it is all a guessing game which is why I am not a big fan of eating back all my exercise calories.
  • edixon908
    edixon908 Posts: 68 Member
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    Thanks for this helpful information. Explains why I have hit a plateau using those calories.
  • EFELICIA64
    EFELICIA64 Posts: 2 Member
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    I eat what I set my calorie intake for and I don't take account for my exercise... I work a little harder during my workout if I know I am going to have a glass of wine or a good chocolate treat!
  • Crochetluvr
    Crochetluvr Posts: 3,143 Member
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    I have been using my HRM when I am on my stationary bike...it always says I have burned over 100 calories more than the machine says. BUT the HRM doesn't take into account calories I would burn doing nothing. So I figure the machine is probably close to accurate and I would rather err on the side of less than more.
  • 1MandM1
    1MandM1 Posts: 87 Member
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    Apparently, this is a topic of high interest to those who have a picture of a cat in their profile.

    Yes it is :P
  • nakcuh
    nakcuh Posts: 3
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    The numbers on my gyms elliptical are vastly overrated, MFP guestimation however is very close to my HRM!
  • GretchenReine
    GretchenReine Posts: 1,427 Member
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    I don't trust MFPs numbers OR the machines. If it weren't for my HRM...I'd be way off in my calories.
  • mariagabriella
    mariagabriella Posts: 267 Member
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    my HRM actually shows less burned than some machines, but I don't use machines much either, so...

    I never eat back all my exercise calories, only some. if you know your body well enough you'll know how much and what you need after a workout.
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
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    I personally do not even try to estimate calories burned with exercise. I do an exercise regime based on my goals and adjust calorie intake based on what is happening on the scale\calipers\mirror\tape measure

    This

    If a difference due to overestimation of calories burned is causing you to gain weight (or not lose) then perhaps you are giving yourself too narrow a margin by which to eat and exercise.

    Some people are really good at the "eat back exercise calories" plan, usually because they are active people by nature and they're making sure to get sufficient calories to support their lifestyle. For me personally, physical activity is a huge part of my lifestyle and burning calories is a side effect, not a direct attempt to lose weight. Weight loss comes from diet. Physical fitness comes from exercise.

    I'm sorry to say it, but doing a 30 minute elliptical workout every day doesn't mean you need to eat more.
  • softsculptor
    softsculptor Posts: 102
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    Well, I see your point, and I think it may be true for many people who are already eating too much but if you are exercising for an hour 5x a week and on a 1,200/ calorie intake, I would argue that it is important to eat back at least some of your calories. No nutritionist would recommend less.
    I personally do not even try to estimate calories burned with exercise. I do an exercise regime based on my goals and adjust calorie intake based on what is happening on the scale\calipers\mirror\tape measure

    This

    If a difference due to overestimation of calories burned is causing you to gain weight (or not lose) then perhaps you are giving yourself too narrow a margin by which to eat and exercise.

    Some people are really good at the "eat back exercise calories" plan, usually because they are active people by nature and they're making sure to get sufficient calories to support their lifestyle. For me personally, physical activity is a huge part of my lifestyle and burning calories is a side effect, not a direct attempt to lose weight. Weight loss comes from diet. Physical fitness comes from exercise.

    I'm sorry to say it, but doing a 30 minute elliptical workout every day doesn't mean you need to eat more.
  • invictus8
    invictus8 Posts: 258 Member
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    I focus on:

    1. getting a caloric deficit from food intake alone
    2. improving cardiovascular health from intense cardio
    3. increasing/maintaining muscle mass with strength training

    So the elliptical is mostly for #2, not for #1 (or #3).
  • softsculptor
    softsculptor Posts: 102
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    I think it depends on your calorie intake and how much you are exercising. if you are starting out with a 1,200 calorie/day intake it is definitely not a good idea to do high-intensity workouts without eating some of your calories back.
  • Shayztar
    Shayztar Posts: 415 Member
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    Well, I see your point, and I think it may be true for many people who are already eating too much but if you are exercising for an hour 5x a week and on a 1,200/ calorie intake, I would argue that it is important to eat back at least some of your calories. No nutritionist would recommend less.

    At the same time, some people eat more that 1200 calorie and factor in their regular exercise into their daily calorie allotment. They eat higher than their BMR automatically, regardless what MFP calculator tells them. Other people have been successfully working weight loss for so long that cals in/cals out become intrinsic to them.

    I would hope that if you were only eating 1200 calories a day, you would eat back almost all of your exercise calories.

    Buy a HRM. They are way more accurate than a machine, or even the MFP entries. They are not perfect either, but nothing in life is. :)
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
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    Well, I see your point, and I think it may be true for many people who are already eating too much but if you are exercising for an hour 5x a week and on a 1,200/ calorie intake, I would argue that it is important to eat back at least some of your calories. No nutritionist would recommend less.

    I don't think anyone should be shooting for 1200 calories a day, but that's just me. If the idea of eating the bare minimum is something that appeals to you personally (I'm using the collective "you" here), you are better off raising the caloric bar and just trying to meet it consistently without calculating how many calories you burn and how many you eat back. If you force yourself into a narrow caloric margin, you give yourself very little room for error in terms of miscalculation or overestimation of calories burned.
  • waldo56
    waldo56 Posts: 1,861 Member
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    You don't trust the exercise cals on the machine (Eliiptical) but trust the calorie goals on the other machine (MFP). Interesting.

    Adjust your calorie goals on MFP based on results and don't worry if your exercise cals are right or wrong, the error will be cancelled out by the goal adjustment.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    MFP puts my normal 40 minute workout as burning around 200-300 calories. I see a lot of people on my friends list posting that they burned three times that amount in the same time period. That was my first clue. I checked around on different websites for average burns when walking/jogging in place and found that what I enter into MFP is within about 50 calories on average. I usually leave about 100-200 calories per day uneaten, unless I do strength training which always makes me hungry.

    The OP is absolutely correct that some people who aren't losing are WAY over-estimating their burns.
  • softsculptor
    softsculptor Posts: 102
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    1,200/day works for some people...it works for me and I don't feel like I am restricting myself at all! I have only been really hungry on one occasion, and on that day I simply ate more. I eat pasta regularly, but I also find myself making healthier food choices.

    At the same time, I am a 5'3 female. I imagine it is less practical for someone taller and/or male.
    Well, I see your point, and I think it may be true for many people who are already eating too much but if you are exercising for an hour 5x a week and on a 1,200/ calorie intake, I would argue that it is important to eat back at least some of your calories. No nutritionist would recommend less.

    I don't think anyone should be shooting for 1200 calories a day, but that's just me. If the idea of eating the bare minimum is something that appeals to you personally (I'm using the collective "you" here), you are better off raising the caloric bar and just trying to meet it consistently without calculating how many calories you burn and how many you eat back. If you force yourself into a narrow caloric margin, you give yourself very little room for error in terms of miscalculation or overestimation of calories burned.
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
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    Also, weight loss is something that, for each of us, has taken some amount of experimentation to get right. I highly doubt any one of us has come to MFP, immediately calculated our exact TDEE and BMR, correctly guessed the amount of calories we burn through exercise, and lost weight consistently without ever gaining a pound on the scale, eaten too much or too little, or gone through a weight loss plateau.

    There are a lot of people who are afraid of not losing, or gaining, during the process so they want to calculate everything exactly so they don't "screw up". Well everyone screws up at some point, you just have to keep going and not be afraid to make changes.
  • softsculptor
    softsculptor Posts: 102
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    Agreed! It is highly individualized!
    Also, weight loss is something that, for each of us, has taken some amount of experimentation to get right. I highly doubt any one of us has come to MFP, immediately calculated our exact TDEE and BMR, correctly guessed the amount of calories we burn through exercise, and lost weight consistently without ever gaining a pound on the scale, eaten too much or too little, or gone through a weight loss plateau.

    There are a lot of people who are afraid of not losing, or gaining, during the process so they want to calculate everything exactly so they don't "screw up". Well everyone screws up at some point, you just have to keep going and not be afraid to make changes.

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