Caloric info low/Exercise calculations high?

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DaNae9402
DaNae9402 Posts: 61 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Does anyone think that some of the calorie info is too low? More noticeable, do you think the exercise calculations are exaggerared? How do you compensate for this? Any advice?

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  • spark409
    spark409 Posts: 96
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    u can use quick tools to add calories if you think some food is too low.

    Also you can fix calories burned on your exercise tab by actually putting the numbers in yourself. eg I burned 400 calories on the ellipse this morning not 422 (in 50 min) so I changed it.

    Hope this helps!

    (but overall in diet and exercise I see maybe +/-20calorie leeway, but it seems pretty accurate enough, and make sure with food your checking if calorie info is uncooked or cooked)

    :)
  • ahndredre
    ahndredre Posts: 9
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    Every calculation I see as an estimate, a general range/area, instead of and exact measurement. So, even though MFP says I should eat 1200 calories a day, if I'm in 1250-1400 range, I don't stress in the least.

    In regards to food, a lot of the time I'll put a higher serving than what I'm actually eating just to compensate for anything I've missed, and unexpected added ingredient, miss judgement of size, ect. But thats only for food that isn't already pre measured out. For example, I go exactly by the nutrition info for a cheese/bread slice or 3/4 cup of Cheerios vs estimating the calories in my stepmoms almon Dijon chicken. I add a bit for that one since almonds are higher in calories and just makes sense to me for it to be more. My thought process is, I'd much rather overestimate than underestimate and wonder why I'm gaining weight all of a sudden.

    For exercise, I just don't log it. Some days I do just to see what it would say, but without a heart rate monitor, there's no way to ensure that those figures are true for me personally. I just stay withing my range of calories and know that anything else I do will only benefit my goals.

    I hope that was what you're looking for, becaus I know I've thought about the same thing before and it has affected how I go about losing. :)
  • needamulligan
    needamulligan Posts: 558 Member
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    I use a food scale and measuring cups if I am unsure of a portion size. I also know that my bowls will hold 1.5 cups and my ladle is a .5 c serving. I haven't used a heart rate monitor myself but my husband does. That will help get an accurate number of calories burned.
  • wahmx3
    wahmx3 Posts: 646 Member
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    I haven't found any calorie info to be off, I have looked at labels a few times just to check and sometimes will go to a company website to see what they say. The exercise calories are generally way too high, unless you are a bigger person just starting out, in that case, you would burn more than someone smaller or more fit. For me, I just have my BMR calculated and changed my calorie goals to suit that and I don't track my exercise on here. If you track it here, just eat back about half of those calories and you should be fine.
  • bellanena
    bellanena Posts: 74
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    I definitely think the exercise is off. I do the elliptical at the gym and with the heart rate monitor ( i think is accurate) I'm only burning half what MFP thinks I burn LOL
  • RawVeganFlirt
    RawVeganFlirt Posts: 189 Member
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    i always under estimate calories out and over estimate calories in, just incase!
  • remisenforme
    remisenforme Posts: 180 Member
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    I wear a heart rate monitor when I'm doing cardio and it always says about half of what MFP says I burned! In terms of food, I'm not sure about everything but prepackaged food that I have compared to the package in my hand have been accurate. In terms of fruits and veggies, etc. I hope they're accurate because I don't know that information off the top of my head! :)
  • Naples6020
    Naples6020 Posts: 18
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    MFP exercise calculations are waaay off!!! On my treadmill for 60 min of exercise it says I burned 420 calories. On MFP for the same time is over 900 calories. Major problem if you eat back your exercise caloires. If you cut MFP by half you should be ok. Calories seem to be ok on things. If it does not look right I always research it on the internet.
  • KALMdown
    KALMdown Posts: 211 Member
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    Yup to the exercise calories. I enter MFP exercise calories by .5 - .75 of what it says. My Timex HRM runs high too and I enter it at .50 of what it gives me. Seems to be working. I noticed when I was entering exactly the numbers that MFP gives, I was barely losing.
  • ThomasLeckey
    ThomasLeckey Posts: 3 Member
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    I would go with your Heart Rate Monitor. It is set up just for you. If your profile is off then the calories will be off also. I am at 235 so burn alot more then someone 175. Eating under the count they give us is a good idea just in case.
  • pjeddy741
    pjeddy741 Posts: 14
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    I am a label reader and have found, if you choose the proper brand and serving size- the calorie predictions on here are actually pretty accurate- and I find them easier to look-up and more varied than even the weight watchers database.

    As to exercise calories burned predictions- I was convinced they were overestimating- I monitored my HR average and did the calculation for calories burned based upon my weight and heart rate. The calculated amount of calories burned and the predicted clories burned (by MFP) were actually within 20 calories of each other. While I realize these are just calculated numbers- at least they seem consistant.
  • DaNae9402
    DaNae9402 Posts: 61 Member
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    Thanks for the replies. I think I'll try to get a heart rate monitor just in case. I love MPR!
  • smokinjackd
    smokinjackd Posts: 341
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    Bewteen my fitbit and HRM i know exactly the calories I am burning. As far as calories, and Im not sure if you mean food consumed or calories burned I find the food to be accurate 90% of the time.
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
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    as far as food entries go, I see a lot of errors in the database. I usually try to go for the ones that are not starred. They are from the FDA. If I use one that is starred, which means one of us added it, I always check it to make sure its right. I even had the barcode scanner give me the wrong food the other day!

    Exercise calories are subjective. I mean, what is really "moderate"? Give yourself a month or two and look at your entire calorie intake for the period vs calories burned, calculate your deficit, and then compare it with your weightloss. That will show you how accurate you are at your estimates.

    (BTW, to the guy that said fitbit and HRM give you an exact calorie burn - those estimate too!)
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    I wear a heart rate monitor when I'm doing cardio and it always says about half of what MFP says I burned! In terms of food, I'm not sure about everything but prepackaged food that I have compared to the package in my hand have been accurate. In terms of fruits and veggies, etc. I hope they're accurate because I don't know that information off the top of my head! :)

    ^^^This

    I do a lot of small workouts (jogging a flight of stairs, power-walking when a normal pace would do) and do not log them to make up for the difference. Also, I quit logging my warm-up and cool-down to help compensate.

    With food, I try to be as precise as possible and check different sources for nutrition info. Plus I error on the side of caution by estimating a little more than what I actually ate.
  • smokinjackd
    smokinjackd Posts: 341
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    @gauchomark

    BY exact I mean exact enough for me, obviously Im not in a research lab hooked up to a machine on a treadmill, but from my results, triple, quadruple checking, cross referencing, and researching the hell out of it I guarantee I am within a few hundred calories of what my devices are reporting. Don't understand your need to nitpick, but maybe its just your personality.

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