How the heck do I approximate cals burned doing this?

focuseddiva
focuseddiva Posts: 174 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Here's a typical workout for me on a Sunday:

Treadmill:
I do 6.5 miles in about 80 minutes.
Roughly 20 minutes of that is running at 6.0 mph. So I'll run for 3 min, walk for 2 min. Run for 2, then walk for 3. i do this until I hit 6.5 miles in distance. Sometimes I'll run for 1 min, walk for 4. Just depends. When I walk, it's never at less than 4.2 mph. Sometimes it's at 4.3 or 4.4 mph.

So how would I even begin to go about calculating on MFP how many calories I've burned in this kind of session??

Replies

  • AllanMisner
    AllanMisner Posts: 4,140 Member
    Anything you did do would only be an estimate (unless your going to a specialized clinic where they measure oxygen). I'd do one of two things:
    1) buy a HRM that gives calorie estimate, or
    2) use 100 calories per mile.

    The first option is probably more accurate, but there is a cost. The second is likely an under-estimate for me at 210 lbs (conservative estimate) and costs nothing.
  • 257_Lag
    257_Lag Posts: 1,249 Member
    I've been using this calculator since I started. Close enough for me.

    http://42.195km.net/e/treadsim/
  • KendraElmendorf
    KendraElmendorf Posts: 837 Member
    HRM! i love mine. Very useful for activities that I know burn calories.
  • JeralynSh
    JeralynSh Posts: 139 Member
    I love my smarthealth pedometer that, while it make not be *exact*, gives me my calorie burn.
  • Faye_Anderson
    Faye_Anderson Posts: 1,495 Member
    Change your activity level to incorporate your exercise, then log it as 1 calorie burned. Problem solved :flowerforyou:
  • Vince_1964
    Vince_1964 Posts: 359 Member
    you can also just do an "average" of your speed for the 80 minutes (4.875 mph ... rounded up to 4.9 mph). Then extrapolate the calories burned at your speed by using the exercises in the database. For example, walking 80 minutes at 5.0 mph and 210 lbs burns 1017 calories (according to database) ... so at 4.9 mph, that comes out to 997 cals for 80 minutes. It's not going to be 100% accurate, but it'll give you an estimate.
  • Vince_1964
    Vince_1964 Posts: 359 Member
    Or just get the HRM ...
  • focuseddiva
    focuseddiva Posts: 174 Member
    Ha. Okay, thanks. I like the idea of averaging it out. Or, maybe I just understimate and pretend I just walked the whole time and then all the extra cals that I don't eat back are bonus. That would be some sort of Jedi mind trick I would pull on myself, though.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    HRM won't help. Averaging is a bad idea because there is a 2x difference between in net burn between the two forms of exercise. Just add up how many miles walked, and how many run. Then use the standard equations:

    net calories burned walking = 0.3 * body weight in pounds * miles walked
    net calories burned running = 0.63 * body weight in pounds * miles run

    Simple.

    In your case, you're running 2 miles, walking 4.5 miles. Plug the numbers in and go.

    PS. This assumes a 2% incline on the treadmill. if it's less than that, knock 10% off of the burn numbers.
  • emirror
    emirror Posts: 842 Member
    I did it the way Mr Knight said. I added up all the time I spent at each speed, and lumped those together under that speed in my tracking.
  • ccshopsalot
    ccshopsalot Posts: 31
    Get an HRM, I was able to get a great deal on heartratemonitors.com. Makes this a bit more accurate and extremely motivating when you see what you burn :)

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