Things that make you go...Hmmmm....(outrageous calorie burn)

MoniqueB79
MoniqueB79 Posts: 17 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Have you ever seen someone post an outrageous calorie burn on MFP and think to yourself that is unFREAKINGbelieveable!!! No really… unbelievable. I know it’s none of my business…ppl can sabotage their own lifestyle changes…but being someone who is still 260lbs even after losing 70lbs…I know how much work goes into burning 10-15 calories a minute!!! It’s not easy…at ALL! Sometimes after I do a HIIT workout I am blinded by sweat with my heart rate WAY out the zone and come to find out I only burned 120 calories in 20 minutes…and you want to tell me you burned 90 cals walking to your mailbox for 5 minutes? I think not!!!

Sometimes I just get so annoyed when someone posts a ridiculous exercise…then it’s even more annoying when they wonder why they are NOT losing weight. Really!?!?!

OK…I'm done ranting…I shall dismount my soapbox now! :O)

DISCLAIMER: I am in no way trying to be mean… I know that there are some folks that just don’t know any better… like me in the beginning....but this really bugs me and when I have mentioned it to a couple Pals they blew it off and then the next week complained about not losing. So….
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Replies

  • Erienneb
    Erienneb Posts: 592 Member
    I had someone, I think she deleted me because I made a comment.

    Normally it's not my business and I don't care. But she would post these INSANE calorie burns like 1000 calories for 60 minutes on an elliptical and while that's possible, you have to work your butt off to do it and I doubted she was. I never said anything on her updates but she had a status along the lines of "Why am I not losing weight" and when I said maybe her burns weren't accurate she told me she had a spreadsheet so it had to be accurate....

    Ok. If that works for you fine. But just because it's on a spreadsheet doesn't make it right. I feel bad saying anything but really? Don't dismiss out of hand the possibility that you have an accounting error going on.
  • Captain_Tightpants
    Captain_Tightpants Posts: 2,215 Member
    Sometimes. But you gotta remember that someone who is 350lbs or more is going to burn a metric craptonne of calories even just walking on a treadmill for half an hour.

    I'm 245 and if I go 4.0mph on a slightly inclined treadmill for 30 mins my HRM registers a near 400 cal burn. So if I had the time to just walk and watch a movie I could feasibly hit 1200 cals or more.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I always use the MFP database calorie burn. Walking at a slow pace (2 mph such as shopping) and hiking cross country give calorie burns that seem unbelievable to me. Shopping definitely will burn more than sitting but I find it hard to believe someone at a healthy weight could burn more than 1000 calories just walking slowly all day. Hiking is great exercise and does burn a lot but it just seems high for cross country. I could be wrong on that one though.
  • alsunrise
    alsunrise Posts: 386 Member
    saw one yesterday that made me stop and think.... wow... I'll just go shopping for 3 hours instead of running for 1 hour and still burn 800 calories, ummm yeah right.
  • waldo56
    waldo56 Posts: 1,861 Member
    The running #'s are good (if you know your pace). Those should be the great BS meter, it is hard to burn more calories than running as long as you exhaust yourself running in that time span (ex if your 60 minute pace is 5.5 mph, you would be hard pressed to burn more calories than that in 60 minutes via any activity, that activity would have to be crazy taxing).
  • ChristinaK69
    ChristinaK69 Posts: 249
    I know my outside calorie burns are accurate because I use a garmin with HRM...the rest I guesstimate ...never as high per minute as a run. I really am not as concerned about how many calories I burn as how long I exercised.
    I do know that heavier people burn more per exercise than a lighter person doing the same thing.
    Yeah, I agree with the outrageous calorie burns that don't make sense. I may even be one of those people. But, my focus is more on the quality of food I consume and the amount of time I sweat.
    I totally love your rant. It was warranted and we all need to hear it.
  • Amberonamission
    Amberonamission Posts: 836 Member
    Me and one of the people on my friends list both do 30DS with HRMs. She is half the size I am; she burns 200 in 30 min I burn just short of 350.
  • VanessaGS
    VanessaGS Posts: 514 Member
    That's why I got myself a FitBit. I love it.
  • VeganZombie13
    VeganZombie13 Posts: 297
    `I go by what my bodybugg says.
  • OfficiallySexyVal
    OfficiallySexyVal Posts: 492 Member
    Actually, this is why I decided a while ago that I need a HRM, because i think the cals quoted by MFP are a bit of because I have hit several plateaus! I think I may buy myself one for my birthday next week!
  • GeekGirl23
    GeekGirl23 Posts: 517 Member
    Honestly I'm starting not to trust the calorie burn that MFP gives you. This is why I have a fitbit on the way... not that it's going to be exact but probably closer to the real truth. I don't eat back my exercise cals so it really doesn't affect me
  • TKRV
    TKRV Posts: 165 Member
    Sometimes, I blame the MFP calculator. I use rock-climbing as my main exercise of choice. Usually, I am at the gym for at least 2 hours rock climbing. If I log those 2 hours though, MFP says I burned between 1500 calories or more. Doubting this, I usually shave off 30 minutes to account for the time I spend on the ground, but it still seems too much.

    If I were to assume that MFP was giving me a completely accurate burn, I would be eating a lot. I'm looking into buying a HRM so that I can get a better idea of what I burned during a workout.

    I guess, what I'm saying is that they may just be taking MFP's numbers for face value and assume they are spot on.
  • fit921
    fit921 Posts: 92 Member
    I think sometimes people confuse intensity for time. Yeah I could walk for three hours at a ridiculously slow pace and say I walk three hours everday but come on....you have to get out of your comfort zone and get your heart rate going in order for it to do any good (relsults wise).
  • XXXMinnieXXX
    XXXMinnieXXX Posts: 3,459 Member
    There are a few factors that will make you burn more... Male... Very over weight and depends on fitness levels. I've found my calories burnt to be way higher that I expected since getting a ki fit / body media fit. Today I worked, 6 hours and did 2 hours of walking around shopping... 3300 calories. On days I'm stressed i also burn more. Fitbit gave me. A lot less, but I hear this is within 10% accurate compared to good standard oxygen tank tests.

    I didn't believe the numbers and argued it out with a KI scientist... My body struggles more than some as I have chronic fatigue and pain syndrome and still recovering from some surgery. Lots of factors. I got. A1000+ calorie adjustment today and all I did was 2 hours shopping!

    I Weights 215lbs by the way. Wouldn't have believed the numbers myself had I not seen them and argued them out with a scientist! I also have a desk job touch typing. X
  • sunnyside1213
    sunnyside1213 Posts: 1,205 Member
    One of my friends logs over 2000 calorie sometimes, but it's usually after a spin class.
  • XXXMinnieXXX
    XXXMinnieXXX Posts: 3,459 Member
    I think sometimes people confuse intensity for time. Yeah I could walk for three hours at a ridiculously slow pace and say I walk three hours everday but come on....you have to get out of your comfort zone and get your heart rate going in order for it to do any good (relsults wise).

    Not true... I lost a lot of weight just walking after liver surgery this year. It's still expelling calories... For some it is all they can do. For me sometimes it is all I can do due to health issues. 85lbs down so definitely works if your good with food too... Any exercise burns calories and helps. I love hard exercise, but walking does the job when I can't do that. X
  • Mrsbrandnewmeslimandtrim
    Mrsbrandnewmeslimandtrim Posts: 267 Member
    bump
  • HeidiMightyRawr
    HeidiMightyRawr Posts: 3,343 Member
    Well I don't trust the MFP estimates at all, but if they used a HRM or fitbit or something then I'd believe it. As you said, it's a LOT of hard work to burn 10-15 calories per minute but it can be done!

    I've never weighed more than 150lbs and a couple of times in the past I've burned around 11-12 calories an hour (I think that was my max ever) from workouts such as P90X or HIIT on the elliptical. I would imagine those that are 200lb+ could get a bit more with a lot of effort too.
  • Lconsla
    Lconsla Posts: 226 Member
    I have an HRM, and last night when i was working out the calories lost were far greater than i'd seen previously, then I did some strenght training (with HRM still on) and logged it all. Came out to over 900 calories burned, but even now I cant help but wonder how accurate that was. Or how accurate it was calculating before? The one i have looks/acts like a wrist watch. Does the placement on the wrist count? Tightness of the band count?
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    The running #'s are good (if you know your pace). Those should be the great BS meter, it is hard to burn more calories than running as long as you exhaust yourself running in that time span (ex if your 60 minute pace is 5.5 mph, you would be hard pressed to burn more calories than that in 60 minutes via any activity, that activity would have to be crazy taxing).

    Agreed.

    For some reason people are under the impression that you can burn more calories doing something other than running but it will be easier? It won't. Burning calories is hard.

    That said, I only comment on unrealistic calorie burns if the person who posts them goes on to plateau, can't figure out why they're not losing weight, and asks for help. Otherwise I don't think it's my business to be the calorie police.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    Great job with your post about accurate calorie estimates OP!! I wish you nothing but success in all your fitness and health goals. :flowerforyou:
  • amydee714
    amydee714 Posts: 232 Member
    There have been times that MFP has logged some ridiculous calories burned for me. I just don't eat them back, or I only eat a small portion of them back. I only log the exercise that I do to log the exercise, not to get more calories to eat.
    I have asked for an HRM for Christmas (which given that I suffer from SVT) would be the best thing for me so I can track my heart rate anyhow.
  • Bankman1989
    Bankman1989 Posts: 1,116 Member
    You guys MAY be hanging out with the wrong peeps..lol. You need to join Hustla Balla's challenge where most people burn 10-15-20 k a week. I have burned over 35k in a week.

    You might think that is a lot but I find that on my endomondo website I have friends on their burning 50-60k or more weekly.

    It might be BS to some but if you are doing it it's between you and God.

    I teach 8-10 hours of spinning each week and at least match that with weights. I also walk all day long in the field as an outside rep.

    I can normally smell BS a few miles away, however most of the burns you guys have suggested are cheating wouldn't crack HB's top 10.

    Maybe exercising more will help you attain a loftier burn. But if you aren't healthy and/or NOT really doing it WHAT'S THE POINT OF POSTING IT IN THE FIRST PLACE?
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    You guys MAY be hanging out with the wrong peeps..lol. You need to join Hustla Balla's challenge where most people burn 10-15-20 k a week. I have burned over 35k in a week.

    You might think that is a lot but I find that on my endomondo website I have friends on their burning 50-60k or more weekly.

    It might be BS to some but if you are doing it it's between you and God.

    I teach 8-10 hours of spinning each week and at least match that with weights. I also walk all day long in the field as an outside rep.

    I can normally smell BS a few miles away, however most of the burns you guys have suggested are cheating wouldn't crack HB's top 10.

    Maybe exercising more will help you attain a loftier burn. But if you aren't healthy and/or NOT really doing it WHAT'S THE POINT OF POSTING IT IN THE FIRST PLACE?
    You're very defensive about this.
  • schondell
    schondell Posts: 556 Member
    I feel as though MFP greatly exaggerates calorie burn (for me personally) and so I just adjust it to what my HRM monitor says
  • cmpollard01
    cmpollard01 Posts: 246
    i'll be honest, i'm one of those people that's had some outrageous burns at times...but i use my HRM for random things, like black friday shopping last week. so when i logged that i burned a crap ton of calories, i knew it was mostly correct (not an absolute, but a good indication). that said, i hate using the MFP amounts-they are outrageously off!
  • DoomCakes
    DoomCakes Posts: 806 Member
    I totally agree... but like you said, it's not on us. If they want to tweak their calories to something outrageous to justify the burger they ate, then that's on them. Your body isn't going to notice the cheat you entered for your MFP friends! I also think it's silly when people use prepping food or cleaning as an exercise. I could see it for someone who maybe is bed ridden because they're that obese and it's their first time moving in a while... but stuff like that is just part of your average daily life... I clean daily, I cook daily... and I'm pretty sure it's not "working out". But again! It's on them. lol.
  • BritneysStuntDouble
    BritneysStuntDouble Posts: 849 Member
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  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
    Have you ever seen someone post an outrageous calorie burn on MFP and think to yourself that is unFREAKINGbelieveable!!! No really… unbelievable. I know it’s none of my business…ppl can sabotage their own lifestyle changes…but being someone who is still 260lbs even after losing 70lbs…I know how much work goes into burning 10-15 calories a minute!!! It’s not easy…at ALL! Sometimes after I do a HIIT workout I am blinded by sweat with my heart rate WAY out the zone and come to find out I only burned 120 calories in 20 minutes…and you want to tell me you burned 90 cals walking to your mailbox for 5 minutes? I think not!!!

    Sometimes I just get so annoyed when someone posts a ridiculous exercise…then it’s even more annoying when they wonder why they are NOT losing weight. Really!?!?!

    OK…I'm done ranting…I shall dismount my soapbox now! :O)

    DISCLAIMER: I am in no way trying to be mean… I know that there are some folks that just don’t know any better… like me in the beginning....but this really bugs me and when I have mentioned it to a couple Pals they blew it off and then the next week complained about not losing. So….

    Yes!! I not going to pretend it doesn't drive me bonkers when I see HUGE calorie burns being logged by people that are NOT losing weight. Yep it's not my business, it's there own self sabotage but it's still frustrating to see it. Also when people log consistently as in every single day big calorie burns on non-exercise activities such as - shopping, hanging christmas lights, sewing/quilting, moving household items, food preparation, more shopping and more sewing.
  • perfectingpatti
    perfectingpatti Posts: 1,037 Member
    You guys MAY be hanging out with the wrong peeps..lol. You need to join Hustla Balla's challenge where most people burn 10-15-20 k a week. I have burned over 35k in a week.

    Truth. He's hardcore.

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