Frustration with Amount of Calories Burned during Activities

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happyflasher
happyflasher Posts: 2
in Fitness and Exercise
I started with MyFitnessPal about 2 weeks ago, and it's been very enlightening. According to this, I definitely haven't been eating anywhere close to what I should be per day. I'll give a little background on myself: I am a 22 year old female, 175 lb, 5'6" (should be about 150 lb - optimal weight). I am a student at University but I also am a dance instructor and take at least dance or yoga every day of the week. So I stay pretty active but nothing too crazy.

What's frustrating is that some sources say aerobic dance burns 380cal/hr, and some say over 600!! That's a huge difference and makes a big difference to how much I am eating a day. Also, when I'm teaching versus actually taking a class, I usually just cut the calories in half, since I estimate I'm doing about half the work, but I have no idea if that's accurate. Can anyone suggest a more reliable way to figure out how many calories I'm burning a day??

Replies

  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
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    A heart rate monitor is much more accurate. A good one with a chest strap will monitor your heart rate during exercise, and will give you a much better idea of calories burned, whether you're participating or teaching.

    If money is tight, look for new models on eBay - I was going for either a Polar or a New Balance, and the NB came up first. I got a brand new New Balance N4 for $26.
  • becki1815
    becki1815 Posts: 51 Member
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    I wore a monitor (bodymedia.com) religiously for almost a year.

    In my Zumba class, I would burn 650-700 for the hour.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    +1 on the HRM. It will be basing your calorie burn on your actual level of intensity not what someone who created a website thinks.
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
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    Definitely one for HRM - if you're a class instructor you may well find doing the same basic thing week in week out means your heart rate doesn't get nearly as elevated as it might for others.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    Only way is a HRM - w/a chest strap.
  • Aniseedvan
    Aniseedvan Posts: 28 Member
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    Another vote for chest strap & HRM - I was taking CardioTrainer's word for my calorie estimates and they were slightly too high - e.g. 30 mins cycling is about 150 for me, not 178 it was telling me.
  • vienna26
    vienna26 Posts: 115 Member
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    Definatley recommend investing in a heart rate monitor, i treated myself to one for my birthday and i love it, i know now exactly around how many calories i need to eat back when i exercise to make sure net around my bmr
  • brandee1212
    brandee1212 Posts: 20 Member
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    I use a Bodybugg and find it's very accurate.
  • XXXMinnieXXX
    XXXMinnieXXX Posts: 3,459 Member
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    I'm backing the hrm too. Definitely worth it for the use you'll get. Don't go for a polar though. Everyone I know including me has had a lot of problem after a while with it just stopping reading your heart rate. I hear the garmins are much better, the harm in FR70 looks good and I have a friend who says hers is great, much better than the polar she had! X
  • JustLindaLou
    JustLindaLou Posts: 376 Member
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    Another vote for the HRM!!! It has been very enlightening. (I use the Polar FT4 because it shows the breakdown between minutes in fitness zone and fat burning zone. I need to both get fit and burn fat LOL!) Since walking is my primary exercise, it is hard to calculate my MPH especially when I take the dog (stopping along the way LOL); the HRM really helps and includes my warm up & cool down time too... A 35 min walk might include 5 min either end of slower pace, so just entering "walking 3.0 mph pace, 35 min" is definitely not going to be as accurate as entering my own "walking Per HRM"

    Shop around & look for sales! My ex works at a Big 5, he was able to get them to price match one for me with what I found on Amazon!
  • ovege
    ovege Posts: 110 Member
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    Another vote for heart rate monitor. I always wear mine and can burn between 250-500 calories/hour doing aerobics depending on my exertion level. It can vary so much day to day so I just wear it and override the calorie estimate on MFP.
  • HMToomey
    HMToomey Posts: 276
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    I have a HRM and a fitbit I take 30% off of the amount the HRM says I burn during a workout and then round down to the nearest 50 (because I don't believe that I burned 811 calories this morning during my Zumba class so I say I burnt 550) If I did burn all those calories then I have some banked but I really doubt it! Fitbit calculates what I burn during the rest of my day. So, for instance today I have burnt 902 calories: 550 from Zumba this morning and 352 from the average wandering around at the farm stand and puttering around my house all day.

    I always try to go with an estimation that I burnt less and TRY to over estimate what I take in. In the end it is all estimation your muscles can't tell you how many calories they truly burnt so try to be conservative.
  • LisaKC
    LisaKC Posts: 328 Member
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    I'm on board with the HRM. I have a Garmin Forerunner 305, and use it for biking and running. Before I got it, the estimates I found for cal burn were enormous. Now I have a more realistic number to work with.
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
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    HMToomey: I believe HRMs will often provide you a figures which includes your base calorie burn - ie what your body is using to keep functioning too. So it's including that rather than in addition, while MFP should give figures in addition.
  • AzhureSnow
    AzhureSnow Posts: 289 Member
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    +1 for HRM. I can't imagine working out without mine! I use a Polar FT7
  • happyflasher
    happyflasher Posts: 2
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    Thanks everyone! Sorry, got a little busy today. That sounds like a good idea, at least for the beginning to get a good idea of how much I'm burning. And thanks for the cheap tips, I'll definitely check out eBay, as I don't have a heck of a lot of money to throw around. Thanks for the suggestions!

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