how in the hell are these people getting 900 calorie burns

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Replies

  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
    It's at about 170. My heart rate for insanity goes up to over 180 and in 45 mins of that, I burn about 400 cals. And I work muchhhhhh harder

    wow. That's a lot higher than I can get.

    :)

    Good job.
    I think some of us are special snowflakes that way (seriously). I am jealous of the guy who jogged and had an average heart rate of 138! Mine would have been 178, even if I was jogging at a speed that I could walk faster than. I've been a regular exerciser for 15 years (with a few breaks) and it hasn't improved. My resting heart rate is often under 60, but get me doing cardio and it's "Goodnight, Irene!" :laugh:
  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,661 Member
    It's at about 170. My heart rate for insanity goes up to over 180 and in 45 mins of that, I burn about 400 cals. And I work muchhhhhh harder

    you sustain at 180? how old are you?

    I don't think i've seen anything above 179 on my HRM, and that was a spike, when i was completely out of shape.

    the more conditioned i am the harder it seems to reach those high BPMs. Like i'm doing probably twice the volume of work then i was when i first started insanity but my HR is definetly lower on average.

    whats your guys thoughts on that? I'll often see people post these high BPMs for long periods of time. not sure if that means i'm doing good or bad. thoughts?
  • _Resolve_
    _Resolve_ Posts: 735 Member
    If you don't have a HRM or FitBit or BM then you can always use the not so easy way to figure out calorie burns

    taken from http://www.my-calorie-counter.com/mets_calculation.asp

    A standard way for software to estimate calories burned is using two variables:

    1) your weight
    2) a table of standard METS values for various exercises and activities
    METS relates to oxygen requirements. Starting with 1, which is the least amount of activity such as resting, the values increase as does the amount of activity. For example, walking 4 mph has a METS value of 5. Standard tables exist that provide METS values for a wide range of exercises and activities.

    To calculate the calories burned based on the METS, use this formula:

    Weight (in kg, kg = lbs/2.2) * METS = Calories Burned per hour

    This does not take into account differences in metabolism due to gender, age, or body composition which may cause results to vary.

    Sample METS Values
    METS Activity
    1 sitting quietly and watching television
    2 walking, less than 2.0 mph, level ground, strolling, very slow
    3 loading /unloading a car
    4 bicycling, < 10 mph, leisure, to work or for pleasure
    5 tennis, doubles
    6 skiing, downhill, moderate effort, general
    7 climbing hills with 0 to 9 pound load
    8 rock or mountain climbing
    9 running, cross country
    10 swimming laps, freestyle, fast, vigorous effort
    11 running, 6.7 mph
    12 fire fighter, general

    And I should also say that BodyMedia out of the box is set up for the national average of MET burns just like the scale above, to truly figure out your own MET burn one would have to first figure out their Vo2 max and do the math then adjust the BodyMedia MET values to record your correct output.

    http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/vo2max-calculator.aspx
  • maybyn
    maybyn Posts: 233 Member
    It depends a lot on weight. For example for running a full 60 minutes, a 120 lb person will burn around 600 calories, a 180 lbs person will burn around 900. But I am pretty sure a lot of people tend to overestimate in general. Like the will look up at some table where they see that the "average" person would burn 600 calories from one hour high impact aerobics class, and they ignore their weight, or the fact that the pure workout minus warming up, breaks to catch their breath, stretching etc was only 40 minutes.

    125lbs, 5'6" here. No way would I burn 600 cals running for 60 mins. More like 450 cals max (!) so 900 cals would be running 2 hours non-stop (not even for walks).
  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,661 Member
    It's at about 170. My heart rate for insanity goes up to over 180 and in 45 mins of that, I burn about 400 cals. And I work muchhhhhh harder

    wow. That's a lot higher than I can get.

    :)

    Good job.
    I think some of us are special snowflakes that way (seriously). I am jealous of the guy who jogged and had an average heart rate of 138! Mine would have been 178, even if I was jogging at a speed that I could walk faster than. I've been a regular exerciser for 15 years (with a few breaks) and it hasn't improved. My resting heart rate is often under 60, but get me doing cardio and it's "Goodnight, Irene!" :laugh:

    ^^ this, i have the 138 experience.

    and a lot of my thing with insanity is that my HR will get pretty under control in the 30 sec breaks, or even if i take a few seconds during a set
  • fast_eddie_72
    fast_eddie_72 Posts: 719 Member

    When you set up your goals for MFP, it'll have asked you what your normal activity levels are- sedentary, moderate or highly active. If you entered active to reflect the fact that you've got a pretty physical job, it's been accounted for when MFP came up with your TDEE; logging that activity is redundant.

    I think this is pretty big. MFP already accounts for some activity. I don't know exactly their formula, but using Harris Benedict, even sedentary multiplies your BMR by 1.2. So if you put that you're moderately active, then "eat back" all the "extra" calories you burn doing moderate activity, you're not going to see any results. At least not any good ones. lol I work out almost every day, but I have MFP set up for sedentary because I know I'll want to eat a little extra that day I do a long run. And seeing that relatively low number for my calorie goal helps me stay in check.

    Just by the numbers, my BMR is 1,851.
    Multiply by 1.2 for HB and that's 2,221.
    X7 for a week is 15,547.
    Minus 3,500 for one pound I want to lose is 12,047.
    Divide by 7 for a week, and one day comes up to 1,721.

    Yup. That's what MFP gives me. So if I want to lose more than one pound a week, or eat more than 1,720 calories a day, I better do some exercise. And here's where it get's crazy. If I want to do 2 lbs. a week with diet alone, which a lot of people say they're trying to do, that would cut me to 1,221. I wouldn't last long with that goal.

    Point is, for me, if I wanted to eat, like, 2,000 calories a day and still drop a couple of lbs. I'd have to do a pretty fair bit of exercise. Way more than a half hour here or there.
  • mamma_nee
    mamma_nee Posts: 809 Member
    shoveling snow for 2 1/2 hours got me almost double that
  • lizzyclatworthy
    lizzyclatworthy Posts: 296 Member
    Yeah, I only get chance to do that much on a friday which can be an insanely high calorie day, date or steak night, far too much wine, and there's always the threat of drunked fried chicken and recovery cola!
  • sassyjae21
    sassyjae21 Posts: 1,217 Member
    It's at about 170. My heart rate for insanity goes up to over 180 and in 45 mins of that, I burn about 400 cals. And I work muchhhhhh harder

    you sustain at 180? how old are you?

    I don't stay at 180 the whole time- my heart would prob explode lol. It gets to over 180 during the worst of the exercise and it drops during the 30 sec break, then it picks up again.

    And i'm 30. I thought the higher it got that meant the more out of shape you were? lol that's why i'm like what? good job?? no!! lol
  • rbear713
    rbear713 Posts: 220 Member
    I get mine by running the vacuum for 15 minutes. That's 900 minimum! i broke my metabolisms in the other direction!

    BAHA!!

    This is 100% correct. HAS TO BE!! Because the metabolisms, you see, they broke!! AND in the other direction? That's a doubler right there!!

    FO REALZ - I regularly burn 1000+ in a day. When I started exercising, I could not, because I could not endure long enough. But after two years of going hard every day or twice a day, I can burn 1000 in 100 - 150 minutes, depending on intensity and routine.

    But I REGULARLY go hard for 2 - 2.5 hours, sometimes twice a day. I try to mix as much strength into my routine as possible, but I am addicted to ENDURANCE right now...trying to find my limit in terms of HOW LONG I can go... I also eat BIG on those days, because my body wants me to....

    Think about marathoners...think they burn 900 cals? How about Triathaloners? Ironmen? Tour de France bikers?

    900 calories is a small number when you get into the upper echelons of fitness, and although it may be hard for the OP to wrap their head around it today, I say GO HARD every day for a year, and then ask the SAME QUESTION.....

    betcha the answer is different...
  • csi4us
    csi4us Posts: 74
    Easy I don't get off the elliptical until I reach 400-500 calories burned, then I take a zumba class in the evening, which brings me to about 900-1000 calories. Yay I can eat more! on those days!
  • jobean12
    jobean12 Posts: 99 Member
    When I bike home from work I burn about 1200 calories........ it's 18 miles..
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    Everyone who is so certain of their calories burns...

    ...on what are you basing this certainty?



    (HRM isn't an acceptable answer as these are approximations at best.)
  • PatheticNoetic
    PatheticNoetic Posts: 905 Member
    I've had one 900 calorie burn ( I forget exactly how much but it was around that) work out since being here and it was the day I did a 15 kilometer hike in the scrub with a baby in a hiking pack carrier on my back.
    I also ate a loooot of calories that day to compensate for that deficit (had nachos for dinner).
  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,661 Member
    It's at about 170. My heart rate for insanity goes up to over 180 and in 45 mins of that, I burn about 400 cals. And I work muchhhhhh harder

    you sustain at 180? how old are you?

    I don't stay at 180 the whole time- my heart would prob explode lol. It gets to over 180 during the worst of the exercise and it drops during the 30 sec break, then it picks up again.

    And i'm 30. I thought the higher it got that meant the more out of shape you were? lol that's why i'm like what? good job?? no!! lol

    i would also interput higher BPMs reached with relative ease as being out of shape. but there is always the possiblity of one pushing oneself incredibly hard, or at least i believe there to be lol.

    I can some times get into the 170s during the high knee ladders in MAX sports Interval. Thats the hardest set in the whole program if you ask me.

    typically the highest i get is low 160s. anything above 158 and i consider myself to be working very hard. I think thats about 70-75% of my max HR
  • jmt08c
    jmt08c Posts: 343 Member
    I'm an ex-collegiate swimmer...hop in the pool and you get a full body cardio workout like no other, especially if you struggle in the water. There's a reason why Phelps needed to eat 10000 calories a day in Beijing. Personally I used to consume roughly 8000 for maintenance. You do the math.
  • PatheticNoetic
    PatheticNoetic Posts: 905 Member
    Everyone who is so certain of their calories burns...

    ...on what are you basing this certainty?



    (HRM isn't an acceptable answer as these are approximations at best.)

    I accept that I wont know for certain and that all suggested numbers for caloric burn/ consumption at best can be ballpark figures. Whether it's healthy to or not I put in a range for error each day until I know for certain how this is going down. Which means I need to visit my doctor.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    It's at about 170. My heart rate for insanity goes up to over 180 and in 45 mins of that, I burn about 400 cals. And I work muchhhhhh harder

    you sustain at 180? how old are you?

    I don't stay at 180 the whole time- my heart would prob explode lol. It gets to over 180 during the worst of the exercise and it drops during the 30 sec break, then it picks up again.

    And i'm 30. I thought the higher it got that meant the more out of shape you were? lol that's why i'm like what? good job?? no!! lol

    i would also interput higher BPMs reached with relative ease as being out of shape. but there is always the possiblity of one pushing oneself incredibly hard, or at least i believe there to be lol.

    I can some times get into the 170s during the high knee ladders in MAX sports Interval. Thats the hardest set in the whole program if you ask me.

    typically the highest i get is low 160s. anything above 158 and i consider myself to be working very hard. I think thats about 70-75% of my max HR

    I can average a 165 HR over 2.5 hours when I do over 50 miles on my bike. I don't think I am out of shape. I also have a low resting heart rate as well (41-44bpm usually).

    Not sure how it all plays in. Just sayin' really.
  • _Resolve_
    _Resolve_ Posts: 735 Member
    Everyone who is so certain of their calories burns...

    ...on what are you basing this certainty?



    (HRM isn't an acceptable answer as these are approximations at best.)

    Answer to this is on the previous page, of course its not 100% accurate but im happy with 90%
  • ThriceBlessed
    ThriceBlessed Posts: 499 Member
    Everyone who is so certain of their calories burns...

    ...on what are you basing this certainty?



    (HRM isn't an acceptable answer as these are approximations at best.)

    I base mine on results. In the past 30 weeks of using my bodymedia armband, my average weight loss almost spot on to what it "should be" based on my daily calorie deficit. I print out my statistical averages every 28 days, so I'm able to see what deficit I've averaged for the the previous 4 weeks. Over time (30 weeks) my weight loss is right about where it should be according to my average calorie deficit, average calorie deficit for the past 30 weeks is roughly 1000 calories per day, average weight loss for the past 30 weeks is about 2 pounds per week.
  • sassyjae21
    sassyjae21 Posts: 1,217 Member
    Everyone who is so certain of their calories burns...

    ...on what are you basing this certainty?



    (HRM isn't an acceptable answer as these are approximations at best.)

    Who's certain? Looks like most are saying things like "about", "on average" and "ish".
  • dakotababy
    dakotababy Posts: 2,407 Member
    I think this is very rare....and a lot of people over estimate. I only came close to burning 1000 calories ONCE while doing turbojam, when I first started to lose weight. Every other time, i was usually around 700. More often now, I tend to burn 500.

    ETA - for individuals who feel like they need to challenge how I get the number for my calorie burn, I use a Bodymedia Armband.
  • EMTFreakGirl
    EMTFreakGirl Posts: 597 Member
    Skiing, snowshoeing and running get me high burns, yesterday's skiing was almost 2000.
    I'm a paramedic and religiously wear my HRM/BMFit and a "good" trauma and/or code call can burn 2500 +!!!! On days where I get several critical patients I could eat an insane amount IF I were to eat back all my calories, however I usually just increase my carbs/calories on those days with a handful of nuts and dried fruit, maybe an extra greek yogurt, and add a couple extra protein shakes so that I can fuel my body AND take advantage of the great burn. :wink:
  • kr1stadee
    kr1stadee Posts: 1,774 Member
    I take a crazy fitness/taekwondo class 3 times a week and my burns can range anywhere from 650 to 800 calories in 75 minutes. We push it the entire time.

    I shovelled one night and it read 400 calories in 30 minutes.

    Big burns ARE possible!

    (and yes, it's all estimations - I use my PolarFT4)
  • sazrina
    sazrina Posts: 99 Member
    According to my HRM I burned 950 yesterday, 45 min spin class followed by 5km run and 5 mins on the rower. Running is the best thing I've found for high calorie burn.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    Everyone who is so certain of their calories burns...

    ...on what are you basing this certainty?



    (HRM isn't an acceptable answer as these are approximations at best.)

    I base mine on results. In the past 30 weeks of using my bodymedia armband, my average weight loss almost spot on to what it "should be" based on my daily calorie deficit. I print out my statistical averages every 28 days, so I'm able to see what deficit I've averaged for the the previous 4 weeks. Over time (30 weeks) my weight loss is right about where it should be according to my average calorie deficit, average calorie deficit for the past 30 weeks is roughly 1000 calories per day, average weight loss for the past 30 weeks is about 2 pounds per week.

    I get this...because I do the same thing with my records (because nerd)...but how do you differentiate between non-exercise and exercise burn?
  • sassyjae21
    sassyjae21 Posts: 1,217 Member
    Everyone who is so certain of their calories burns...

    ...on what are you basing this certainty?



    (HRM isn't an acceptable answer as these are approximations at best.)

    I base mine on results. In the past 30 weeks of using my bodymedia armband, my average weight loss almost spot on to what it "should be" based on my daily calorie deficit. I print out my statistical averages every 28 days, so I'm able to see what deficit I've averaged for the the previous 4 weeks. Over time (30 weeks) my weight loss is right about where it should be according to my average calorie deficit, average calorie deficit for the past 30 weeks is roughly 1000 calories per day, average weight loss for the past 30 weeks is about 2 pounds per week.

    I get this...because I do the same thing with my records (because nerd)...but how do you differentiate between non-exercise and exercise burn?

    There's an online calculator you can use that uses a formula where you put in how much you burn according to your HRM, time worked out, etc. and it calculates those calories to actual exercise calories burned compared to what you would burn anyway if you were just sitting around. I don't know where it is. I know that's SO helpful. lol
  • davemunger
    davemunger Posts: 1,139 Member
    Join me on a 19-mile trail run one of these days and I'll show you how to burn 900 calories and not even be halfway done :)
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
    Everyone who is so certain of their calories burns...

    ...on what are you basing this certainty?



    (HRM isn't an acceptable answer as these are approximations at best.)

    I base mine on results. In the past 30 weeks of using my bodymedia armband, my average weight loss almost spot on to what it "should be" based on my daily calorie deficit. I print out my statistical averages every 28 days, so I'm able to see what deficit I've averaged for the the previous 4 weeks. Over time (30 weeks) my weight loss is right about where it should be according to my average calorie deficit, average calorie deficit for the past 30 weeks is roughly 1000 calories per day, average weight loss for the past 30 weeks is about 2 pounds per week.

    I get this...because I do the same thing with my records (because nerd)...but how do you differentiate between non-exercise and exercise burn?
    BRB comparing data from Polar F11 and BodyMedia Fit for my workout last Thursday, which had a cardio period and my HR maxed at 183.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    I think this is very rare....and a lot of people over estimate. I only came close to burning 1000 calories ONCE while doing turbojam, when I first started to lose weight. Every other time, i was usually around 700. More often now, I tend to burn 500.

    ETA - for individuals who feel like they need to challenge how I get the number for my calorie burn, I use a Bodymedia Armband.

    LOL@need to challenge.

    I've been on MFP long enough to see a recurring theme between unrealistic burns and unexpected plateaus/failure to progress. It's fascinating really, the certainty with which people are convinced their numbers are accurate even when their results don't support their confidence in the numbers.

    Oh, sure, there are a lot of variables at play here...I mean, who's to say that my own calculation of non-exercise burn isn't estimated too high, which means my exercise burns are too low and the inaccuracies are buried when netted...

    ...but I'm sticking with my position that *most* people who think they are burning >900 calories in a single session most likely are not.