MFP Things to Beware Of
Options
GrahamSt
Posts: 25 Member
(1) MFP seems to massively overestimate calories burned for some activities, including cycling.
I think they are using a similar system to Endomondo, a variant of the formulae from this paper:
"Prediction of energy expenditure from heart rate monitoring during submaximal exercise", J Sports Sci. 2005 Mar;23(3):289-97.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15966347
Plus these activity figures or some like them: https://sites.google.com/site/compendiumofphysicalactivities/
When logging exercise I usually knock about 25% off what MFP suggests (you can edit the calories after you enter the duration).
e.g. my commute is 50 mins moderate cycling. MFP says that's 625kcal, I log it as 450kcal.
One day I'll borrow a heart rate monitor from somewhere and determine a more accurate figure for me.
(2) The food database is mainly contributed by users - so not all of it is accurate. Always a good idea to check the packet or compare the nutritional info from other similar entries if it is the first time you've logged that food. Making your own recipes helps too.
(3) It is worth reviewing your goal from time to time. Go to "Settings->Update diet/fitness profile". This lets you recalculate your daily calories allowance, shifting it down a bit if you've lost some weight already (as your BMR will have dropped).
Anyone got any others?
I think they are using a similar system to Endomondo, a variant of the formulae from this paper:
"Prediction of energy expenditure from heart rate monitoring during submaximal exercise", J Sports Sci. 2005 Mar;23(3):289-97.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15966347
Plus these activity figures or some like them: https://sites.google.com/site/compendiumofphysicalactivities/
When logging exercise I usually knock about 25% off what MFP suggests (you can edit the calories after you enter the duration).
e.g. my commute is 50 mins moderate cycling. MFP says that's 625kcal, I log it as 450kcal.
One day I'll borrow a heart rate monitor from somewhere and determine a more accurate figure for me.
(2) The food database is mainly contributed by users - so not all of it is accurate. Always a good idea to check the packet or compare the nutritional info from other similar entries if it is the first time you've logged that food. Making your own recipes helps too.
(3) It is worth reviewing your goal from time to time. Go to "Settings->Update diet/fitness profile". This lets you recalculate your daily calories allowance, shifting it down a bit if you've lost some weight already (as your BMR will have dropped).
Anyone got any others?
0
Replies
-
Strange as it tends to be quite close to my edge 800, but i try to eat only half my exercise calories unless it's a big big ride.0
-
Is that with an HRM hooked up to the Edge 800?0
-
Yup, but I don't think either is too accurate. Hence the half approach. I wont die if i don't eat my full quota, i have enough fat still to see me through. Though i do go dizzy when i stand up if i haven't eaten enough.0
-
Hmmm.. from what I've read on the web, a heart rate monitor should give a fairly accurate calorie burn figure, assuming it is set up properly.
But I'm no Sports Scientist and I've no idea how they work out what accurate means or how many calories you actually burned.0 -
I too think its high sided on some activities and pretty close on others I tend to mark down a bit if it looks silly.0
-
Okay, a new thing to be aware of:
You can now connect to other fitness services and devices. I've hooked up to me Endomondo account so any exercise I track with Endomondo automatically gets logged in MyFitnessPal too.
This is great BUT Endomondo is even more generous with the Calories Burnt calculation than MFP is.
It reckons my fairly flat 11 mile commute on bike is worth over 700 calories :laugh:
I suspect at least part of the problem is that Endomondo (any many other services) deal with total calories burnt, whereas MFP has already accounted for your basal rate so only really wants to log any ADDITIONAL calories burnt
(e.g. just sitting on the couch for an hour might burn 80kcals just keeping your body ticking over. Going for a walk might burn 200kcals total - but you only want to log the 120 additional calories as MFP has already allowed for 80 base rate).0 -
One thing that annoys me about MFP is the way that it rounds up weight loss figures. For example I have lost 13.8 pounds since starting using MFP but the ticker states 14 pounds - I do not want to "claim" this until I have lost the full 14!0
-
Thanks for this Graham. Always suspected MFP calories were inflated! Strava calc's/output seem a bit more on the mark.0
