Accuracy

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BrownEyedGirl6483
BrownEyedGirl6483 Posts: 5
in Fitness and Exercise
MFP's calorie burn counter says I burn 1,083 doing 62 minutes of Zumba and 32 minutes of walking (2.7 miles). I have a hard time believe this. It just doesn't seem right.

I'm a single mom so I cannot afford to go out and buy a FitBit or anything like that. Can someone tell me how many calories I should probably knock off of that total to be accurate?

FTR---I do Zumba Core 2 nights then Zumba Cardio usually 3 nights a week for 60 to 65 minutes. I go HARD when I do it. There's no point in doing it if you aren't doing it to get the maximum benefit...just wasting time.

My walk is also VERY fast. I do it during my lunch at work so time is limited and again....I want to get the maximum benefit.

I have 54 lbs to lose be at my "healthy weight" and 60 lbs to lose to be at my "goal weight" so I'm not skinny.

Replies

  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    That's 1100 calories for 94 minutes of work. That does seem pretty high.

    I'd figure something like 6-9 cals per minute. Estimate lower if you are lighter, more if you are heavier.
  • TimeWarp9
    TimeWarp9 Posts: 91
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    For your walking (or running...) GENERALLY, a person will burn approximately 100 calories per mile....
  • davemunger
    davemunger Posts: 1,139 Member
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    I have found that the MFP calculators don't work well for me (there is a LOT of variation from individual to individual), so I just created my own custom exercise ("dave running") and knock about 30% off the MFP estimate. That seems to be closer to reality. But it's really all guesswork unless you have your calorie burn calibrated in a laboratory. A heart rate monitor can get you a little closer to the true value, but even that is not perfect.
  • laurabelle2013
    laurabelle2013 Posts: 88
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    My HRM shows about 520 cals after a 60 minute HARD sweaty Zumba class. I'm 5'7" and 137. hope that helps...
  • aelunyu
    aelunyu Posts: 486 Member
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    context is everything.

    if you are doubting that you burned 1000 calories in your workout, as indicated by how tired/burned out/exhausted you feel afterwards, you probably didnt burn anywhere near that much.

    if you've been doing the same 90 minute zumba and walk for the last 3 years, your body probably wont even need many calories to maintain that level of activity. whereas someone just starting their zumba class and is really trying to maintain intensity might be able to achieve a 1000 calorie burn in the same timeframe.

    so it comes down to how hard you are working, or if you're just going through the motions. Which I would label is a "sedentary workout" ...yes that exists, and it does nothing to help you lose weight.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,951 Member
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    I did a hard 60 minute spin class last night.

    I logged it as 40 minutes, and even then I think the number might be a bit high on MFP's side.
  • BrownEyedGirl6483
    BrownEyedGirl6483 Posts: 5
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    Thanks all.

    I think I'll knock 30% off of the MFP total. That seems more accurate. I did wear a friends HR monitor at a Zumba class one night and I burned 607 calories in 65 minutes of workout. I am heavier (for now) so I know I burn more (for now). I'd rather underestimate how much I'm burning via exercise than over estimate.

    I'm also going to add kettlebell into my routine on my core nights or the other two days that I don't do cardio. right now, I'm just trying to figure out the best way to learn to do Kettlebell exercises without hurting myself. There's many beginner videos but, who do you trust? You know?

    I'm at the point where I HAVE to do this right this time. I'm sick of the up and down and I want to be FIT and not just skinny.
  • BrownEyedGirl6483
    BrownEyedGirl6483 Posts: 5
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    Well, I changed my eating habits in November. I started doing Zumba in February. I started getting intense at the end of March. I made it my goal to have a fit, muscular body in April. So I'm still pretty new at it.

    I figured my calorie intake with my doctor, who is a fitness buff. So I'm good on that stand point.

    I'm down almost 35 lbs since November.
  • abenardini
    abenardini Posts: 43 Member
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    My HRM shows about 520 cals after a 60 minute HARD sweaty Zumba class. I'm 5'7" and 137. hope that helps...

    My HRM showed 560 last night after an hour of hard Zumba. I am also 5'7" and I am 146. This is pretty close to ^
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    My HRM shows about 520 cals after a 60 minute HARD sweaty Zumba class. I'm 5'7" and 137. hope that helps...

    My HRM showed 560 last night after an hour of hard Zumba. I am also 5'7" and I am 146. This is pretty close to ^

    I'd bet you two both have the same HRM. Or at the very least the HRMs use the same formula for estimating calories.
  • ShannonMpls
    ShannonMpls Posts: 1,936 Member
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    Estimate your effort on a 1-12 scale, with one being lying down and 12 being a sweaty mess (you likely couldn't maintain that for a long length of time). You can use that as an estimate of calories burned per minute.

    In my experience, MFP greatly overestimates most cardio, but is pretty accurate for walking and running.
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
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    Honestly, sounds fairly accurate to me. For your walk, you likely burned 200 to 250 calories. You said in another 65 minute session of Zumba you burned more than 607 calories. Let's say you burned 650. If you burn 250 in your walk, that would be 900 calories. Not too far off from 1083. If you subtract your BMR from that 1083, you'd likely be at around 985 calories.
  • chelledawg14
    chelledawg14 Posts: 509 Member
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    I use an HRM for zumba and it's an intense 33 minute work out. At 166, I'm burning about 218-260 cals in that time. I walk 1.8 miles there and burn anywhere from 146-180 cals in 22-26 minutes. It depends on how much traffic there is on the way and how often I have to wait at intersections. I'm 46.
  • Roll_Tide_Meg
    Roll_Tide_Meg Posts: 255 Member
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    I sometimes burn that much. I have a HRM and I do Zumba on the wii and usually always burn about 800-1000 in an hour. I'm 5'8 and 193 pounds.
  • Curleycue0314
    Curleycue0314 Posts: 245 Member
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    I use a HRM for everything. You can get one for aroung 40 dollars or so. Mine DOES NOT have a feature that calculates my Calories burned, so i manually do the formula using my average heart rate, age. weight AND the fact that i'm a woman. ALL of these things impact your calories burned. I've found that even the machines that link to my HRM overestimate as well because they don't use all of these factors. You may still be estimating a little high as my number is ALWAY below what the machine(and MFP for that matter) says the activity burned!
  • laurabelle2013
    laurabelle2013 Posts: 88
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    Thanks all.



    I'm at the point where I HAVE to do this right this time. I'm sick of the up and down and I want to be FIT and not just skinny.

    sounds like you are really moving and exercising, that's half the battle! When they weight drops you are going to be a hot mama! But I too had to admit that my abs were going to be found (and lost) in the kitchen!
  • anxietygirl
    anxietygirl Posts: 70 Member
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    I usually use MapMyRide for calorie counting, because MFP doesn't really have my usual brisk-walking speed (somewhere between 3.75 and 3.9 mph) available for counting. So I pick the closest MFP has and generally count in the middle of my two calorie counts. I think MapMyRide overestimates, but only sometimes. Sometimes it seems dead on.
  • BrownEyedGirl6483
    BrownEyedGirl6483 Posts: 5
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    Thanks all.



    I'm at the point where I HAVE to do this right this time. I'm sick of the up and down and I want to be FIT and not just skinny.

    sounds like you are really moving and exercising, that's half the battle! When they weight drops you are going to be a hot mama! But I too had to admit that my abs were going to be found (and lost) in the kitchen!

    Yes...the food part is HARD. I LOVE food but I'm trying to teach myself to love the right food...and water. Water is not my favorite thing either. I'm trying to stay toward lean meats, whole grains, green vegetables and colorful fruits. Those are my goals each day. I've done pretty good. I pretty much quit eating red meat and only eat meat in general a couple times a week. I LOVE beans and I think that's an awesome sub for meats. I also like spice and that helps with what could be bland foods.

    I USED to be thin....I'm 5'6 and weighed 126 lbs in my early 20's. Then I got married and gained 20lbs, had a baby and gained 35 lbs, then my marriage started going south and I gained even more. I'm separated and starting a new chapter in my life. That new chapter will include a new, healthier me....not one that is embarrassed about going to dinner and eating what she wants because she feels judged.

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