Am I REALLLLLY loosing that many calories ??

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jamiesillimandunn
jamiesillimandunn Posts: 270 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm a newby to MFP. ...I love it , I have never been on a diet or workout plan that lasted more than a day I'm 27 mother of three 4,3,2 stay at home mom, I have plenty of time to focus on the lifestyle change here in my home to better myself and my family :) I have been counting calories and excercising everyday a couple time a day usually 30 min each . When I log my calories burned from workouts the number seems soooo unrealistic to me ! Is it possible I'm really burning that much in my workouts ?? I do give it my all in most cases but some workouts like Pilates and yoga are more beneficial when done in smooth steady breathes ? Unlike my swimming which is vigorous and tiring ! You will feel that one for sure, I'm 237 lbs 5'7 needing some advice please feel free to freind me as well need all the support I can get :) thanks

Replies

  • Raeontherun
    Raeontherun Posts: 107 Member
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    Yes, it's pretty accurate as long as you are selecting the right level: light, moderate, vigorous. You need to make sure you are eating your exercise calories back too.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    It's not accurate at all. The only way to know exactly is to buy a heart rate monitor with a chest strap that will monitor your heart rate and tell you exactly how much you're burning. Even then it's not totally accurate, but still better than MFP estimates. Honestly before I got one I didn't even dare eating any exercise calories back (which you're supposed to do) unless I went for a walk (that's more or less accurate).
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    As you can see, MFP's estimates are bang on for some people and really off for others. It was always correct for my exercise DVDs but underestimates my walking calories (I live in a very hilly neighborhood - terrain makes a difference!). Getting a heart rate monitor would be the best way to check. I suppose you could check your heart rate manually at several points during your workout and do some math, but personally I hate math.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
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    I think mfp is pretty accurate as the first poster has said, and if you only eat back about half of what you burn you'll keep yourself right - some days I don't eat many back, some days I eat them all - just listen to your body, if you're properly hungry you need the fuel :-D

    Keep up the great work, you can do this :)
  • Fit_Kenzie
    Fit_Kenzie Posts: 124
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    no, but you might be" losing" them
  • lauren3101
    lauren3101 Posts: 1,853 Member
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    It can be. It was pretty close with my walking but not so much with things like swimming. I would recommend getting a heart rate monitor. Or, if you do a lot of walking, a fitbit. Best thing I've ever bought.
  • SarahBeth0625
    SarahBeth0625 Posts: 685 Member
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    I wear a heartrate monitor every workout (Polar FT4) and I use those numbers. It's about 100 calories less than what the elliptical machine tells me!
  • Donners185
    Donners185 Posts: 329 Member
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    MFP database can sometimes overestimate calories used during exercise. When I started using a Heart Rate Monitor it turned out I wasn't burning quite as many calories as MFP suggested. The difference in some burns was amazing/shocking. I'd say if you can afford it buy a HRM with a chest strap as the user above stated. Not 100% accurate but definitely a better estimation as it will be based on your personal performance during exercise. :-) Feel free to add me.
  • IrritatedDoro
    IrritatedDoro Posts: 89 Member
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    It almost always overestimates what I think I burn by about double. However, the exercise bike I use at home seems to underestimate because it doesn't take into account age or weight on the standard setting, but it has a heart rate monitor which is good. I use my sustained heart rate to figure my calories when riding the bike. When doing any walking, I usually just halve the amount that MFP wants to use.
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
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    I think mfp is pretty accurate as the first poster has said, and if you only eat back about half of what you burn you'll keep yourself right - some days I don't eat many back, some days I eat them all - just listen to your body, if you're properly hungry you need the fuel :-D

    Keep up the great work, you can do this :)

    Exactly. I normally underestimate exercise and over estimate my foods, so my ledger is usually in the green.

    Keep it up!
  • jagh09
    jagh09 Posts: 555 Member
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    My stats are very similar to yours! I started out just about the same weight. The heavier you are, the more calories you burn. So you could be doing the same activity as a woman who is 175 lbs, and she'll get less calories for it. As you lose weight, you'll see those numbers drop too. You lose calories to eat, and you burn less! HA. Punishment for success. :-)

    I think the amounts they calculate can be a little inflated, and my nutritionist actually recommended that I don't eat back my calories. That's working for me, but it doesn't work for everyone! I eat on the higher side, set to lose 1 lb per week, and work out around 4 days per week for an hour or so.
  • sandy_gee
    sandy_gee Posts: 372 Member
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    I'm on both sides with this one. I went and bought a 35$ HRM off ebay just to see for myself.

    A lot of the activities were bang on (within 50ish on either side).
    According to my HRM I burn about 3 times MORE calories than MFP estimated when I'm on a hike or out walking.
    Buuuuut then just to be a pain and go for the other side of it, MFP estimated that I would burn approx 1000 in a baseball game, but my HRM will track it to around 620 burnt.

    So uh.... yeah.
  • michellechawner
    michellechawner Posts: 892
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    It was no wonder I was at a plateau for WEEKS.... it's because MFP said I was burning calories when I really wasn't. Finally got a fitbit to track my activity and now I'm finally losing again. MFP said I was burning up to 350 cals in exercise a day... I was barely burning 100. Since calories burned depends on size and weight of a person, You won't burn the same as a 400 pound person. Heart rate, weight, height, lifestyle, all need to be taken into consideration. and what I find moderate may not be truly moderate exercise. Best bet is to get a heart rate monitor or a fitness tracking device to calculate everything for you - I'm glad I did, now that i'm finally losing again!
  • djkronyx
    djkronyx Posts: 77 Member
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    Yes, it's pretty accurate as long as you are selecting the right level: light, moderate, vigorous. You need to make sure you are eating your exercise calories back too.

    I would NOT eat your exercise calories back UNLESS you are losing body weight too rapidly, or you are just feeling plain miserable from constant hunger pains (and even then don't eat them all back). Once you become comfortable with your rate of weight of loss you can adjust your intake accordingly. Due to the different ways each individual's body functions and the inaccuracy of "guesstimated" calories burned, many mistakes are made which can lead to frustrating results...see it all the time on MFP. Simple rule: UNDERestimate your calories burned and OVERestimate calories eaten. Food packaging and nutrition labels will definitely try and give you the "best" numbers to sell their product (IMO)!
  • TwelveSticks
    TwelveSticks Posts: 288 Member
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    I've been backwards and forwards with this myself. I was surprised by the MFP estimates at first too. I mostly only walk for my exercise, but sometimes I do proper hikes in the hills and those burns looked particularly unrealistic. So I started using an App on my iPhone (I tried out several actually), and then got an HRM (as others have advised, above) and was surprised to find that the burns they gave were even bigger than the MFP ones.

    At first, I never ate back my exercise calories, so it didn't matter much what the numbers were, but as I increased my exercise levels, it became necessary to start eating them back as my weight loss was slowing. BUT, when I started to do so, I actually put on weight (even though I was supposedly still under my adjusted goal every day). So I still don't trust the burns, HRM-derived or not!

    What I've settled on now (which is working fine for me) is to:

    a) eat back 2/3rds of my supposed exercise calories (to allow for the apparent overestimate), but
    b) cap that at a maximum of 500 calories in a day (because if my HRM tells me I've burned 2,000 cals hiking, there's no way I'm eating 2 extra meals!)

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