?app for calories burned
4Lab
Posts: 20
Hi, new to MFP. I mistakenly posted to the regular site and most responses were to eat less and weigh my food....I don't see that happening. Maybe I will re try that for a couple of days to re educate myself. I have never been a low calorie eater but it appears I may be eating less than I am exercising. I have been eating at my TDEE-15% for moderate exercise. Not losing fat though I have gained muscle and strength but not to the gains I would expect for the amount of work I am doing.
My current question is how to find out how many calories I burn in exercise. I don't really have a clue. I do Crossfit 4-5 days per week and it varies daily in how much is Olympic weight training and metabolic conditioning (HIIT). but it is very hard on most days. Any suggestions on how to figure out this valuable data point in my calculations? Thnx
My current question is how to find out how many calories I burn in exercise. I don't really have a clue. I do Crossfit 4-5 days per week and it varies daily in how much is Olympic weight training and metabolic conditioning (HIIT). but it is very hard on most days. Any suggestions on how to figure out this valuable data point in my calculations? Thnx
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Ok, I think I have my answer to the HIIT part....a Polar HR monitor. Now how to I calculate Olympic weightlifting days calories, or just assume that is captured in the 'moderate exercise' part of the TDEE equation?0
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Forget wasting money on HRM, won't be useful for calculating calories burned from HR.
The formula for that is only valid in the aerobic HR zone when steady-state HR for 2-4 minutes.
The exercise you describe is mostly anaerobic and no where near steady-state HR, so you'd get totally inflated values.
But you must have missed something regarding TDEE deficit method.
Exercise is included in the TDEE usually, so you don't need to know what any exact burn was, you eat the same daily anyway.
Several doing Crossfit have had great success using the spreadsheet on my profile page, and separating the lifting part of the workouts where you really take 2-3 min rests between lifts for maybe 15 minutes on some days, and the high cardio part of the workout where there is no rest for the other 45-60 min.
And if lifting for 15 min is 2 to 3 times a week, then that is 2.5 x 15 min = 37.5 min of lifting.
And then high cardio circuit is 2 x 60 say = 120, and 2 to 3 times 45 min is 2.5 x 45 = 112.5 min of high cardio weekly.
You get the idea, take the average of whatever may change.
That's what is great about a best estimate TDEE based on actual exercise type and time, you can focus in better but still know your potential changes get balanced out.
Only place that method would fail is say doing a long run or bike ride for like 2-3 hrs 2 x monthly. Don't want to average that out over the week.
And then after a month of eating at a reasonable level, or estimated TDEE if no diet break has occurred for a long time and needing a reset, recalcing TDEE based on actual results.
Stick on the Simple Setup tab, and Progress tab. And be honest with activity calculator.
And weighing food isn't need - but it does take a good month of data then to calculate what your TDEE appears to be with sloppy logging.
Then you take a deficit from your sloppy logging total and continue from there.
So while your numbers may appear to be eating 1800, you could really be eating 2200.
Well, if you lost no weight on 1800, you remove a sloppy 250 calories from that and eat a sloppy logged 1550.
But in reality you are actually eating closer to say 1900, even though you don't know that exactly.
Then just go month by month. Don't change workout routine prior to a monthly weigh-in to cause false water weight gain, and you can keep that up.0 -
Awesome, thank you. I will do that, I will probably have questions as I go along. Most appreciative!0
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Sorry for hijacking this thread, but I have a question for you, heybales.
When you say "Forget wasting money on HRM, won't be useful for calculating calories burned from HR. "
Do you mean that I don't really need to use my HRM, even during cardio (which is all I can do due to wrist injury)? As long as I am accurately inputing the minutes in the spreadsheet?0 -
Sorry for hijacking this thread, but I have a question for you, heybales.
When you say "Forget wasting money on HRM, won't be useful for calculating calories burned from HR. "
Do you mean that I don't really need to use my HRM, even during cardio (which is all I can do due to wrist injury)? As long as I am accurately inputing the minutes in the spreadsheet?
Correct, if you are getting the level right, only if your high cardio was really an incredible pace and effort would the accuracy be very far off.
Now, the HRM can be very useful as you get more fit, and perhaps you do a treadmill test from time to time to see what the avg HR is for 3 mph level walking, and 4 mph level walking. Perhaps 90 and 120 say.
Because it should go down as your heart and lungs and oxygen system get better.
But normally then you go faster because it's easier.
So you could discover that what used to be medium cardio, is now high cardio because you are more fit and weigh less. Because then it becomes 80 and 100, and you find you can push yourself so easy that even your easy workout is higher than 100.
After such a test, you can also then wear it on whatever activity you really do in order to see where it actually falls. Because there are many that will do stair-master, elliptical, recumbent or normal bike, as medium cardio level, more for recovery, not hard workout.
So perhaps you do 1 day high level hard cardio, next day medium level.
But eventually you get fit enough that both the easy and hard day fall under high cardio level.
Eventually, the TDEE calculator on the Progress tab will point out if the estimates were close or not. Like maybe you lost more than expected, so TDEE is actually higher. So you re-adjust to keep a reasonable deficit.0 -
That makes a lot of sense.
Here is another question that I've been thinking about today. If I eat 1600 calories, but my HRM tells me I expended 540 on a workout, which is more than usual, my total net calories would then be under 1100. Do I need to eat some calories back? Am I looking to make sure my net calories doesn't go below my BMR of 1400?0 -
That makes a lot of sense.
Here is another question that I've been thinking about today. If I eat 1600 calories, but my HRM tells me I expended 540 on a workout, which is more than usual, my total net calories would then be under 1100. Do I need to eat some calories back? Am I looking to make sure my net calories doesn't go below my BMR of 1400?
First, that 540 is estimated total calorie burn, not what was burned above and beyond what you would have burned resting or sleeping or whatever else you would have done.
So in reality, you were going to burn 1400 / 24 hrs = 58 calories an hr, if sleeping.
So say that 540 is 1 hr, you burned 540 - 58 = 482 calories above sleeping burn.
But you are in a diet, so you actually have accounted for every hour of the day an expected average calorie burn, your non-exercise maintenance figure / 24.
So say sedentary 1.25 x 1400 BMR = 1750 daily maintenance no exercise / 24 hrs = 73 calories expected to burn every hr.
540 - 73 = 467 calories burned above what was planned and accounted for already as part of your diet.
Also, that would be by your timing of 24 hrs ending at midnight, which your body isn't doing.
Is a 24 hrs window not ending at midnight with the workout in there actually that low with all the eating going on?
Even better, is the 48 hrs with the workout in the middle below your BMR?
Because everyone can find probably in their week some 24 hr period where they did not eat above their BMR, and your body is just fine. You'd need extended time for that to possibly matter.
In fact, studies have shown metabolism increases in first 24 hours of a fast.
Now, if you had 6 days a week with that same workout, going below BMR that much, and only 1 day a week eating 200 more than BMR - then you either have a lot to lose, or are doing weight lifting to retain muscle mass, or selected TDEE level wrong.
Unless you have a lot to lose or are mainly lifting, there should be more balance to the week.0 -
That makes a lot of sense.
Here is another question that I've been thinking about today. If I eat 1600 calories, but my HRM tells me I expended 540 on a workout, which is more than usual, my total net calories would then be under 1100. Do I need to eat some calories back? Am I looking to make sure my net calories doesn't go below my BMR of 1400?
First, that 540 is estimated total calorie burn, not what was burned above and beyond what you would have burned resting or sleeping or whatever else you would have done.
So in reality, you were going to burn 1400 / 24 hrs = 58 calories an hr, if sleeping.
So say that 540 is 1 hr, you burned 540 - 58 = 482 calories above sleeping burn.
But you are in a diet, so you actually have accounted for every hour of the day an expected average calorie burn, your non-exercise maintenance figure / 24.
So say sedentary 1.25 x 1400 BMR = 1750 daily maintenance no exercise / 24 hrs = 73 calories expected to burn every hr.
540 - 73 = 467 calories burned above what was planned and accounted for already as part of your diet.
I never thought about it that way! Thank you for enlightening me. It all makes a lot more sense now!0 -
Ok recalculated based on sedentary job but doing Crossfit 4 days/week. Also recent mild knee injury.
BMR 1440 TDEE 1971 TDEG 1614
Changed macro's.
Now the hard part.....I am having a real hard time pulling back the fat and adding in more carbs. Hungry with less fat and bloated w/ more carbs. Calories are close.0 -
So the important part of the macros is hitting the protein and fat grams. % given is just to hit the gram goal.
You can always eat more of those and lower carbs.
Then just go by do you have enough energy for your workouts with less carbs.0 -
You are the bomb diggity! Such a great resource, thank you. So you really think as long as I stay at my calorie goal and lower my carbs in order to allow more fat, while meeting my protein goal....I could pull this off and drop some belly fat/body fat? This is much more motivating. I really always believed that one macronutrient calorie (ie carb>>>increased insulin, etc), was ultimately different (hormonally) than the same caloric yet different macronutrient (ie fat>>no insulin spike yet more satiating ?sp). Even though energetically, they have their respective burn in a calorimeter. I hope you are right, it is much more appealing. Still not used to this calorie counting and resist it.....and hungry with less fat. But gotta find my holy grail!...thus will try it for a while. Thank you again 'Mr.Bombdiggity'0
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Thank you.
About the only times the carbs matter more is doing endurance cardio frequently, and then really only after the workout a bunch to recover stores and be prepared for the next workout.
If the TDEE estimate is good enough, and your body isn't stressed out bad enough already or from the deficit taken, should be good.
4 weeks of accurate data for eating levels and valid weigh-in's will allow calculating the true TDEE for that level of workouts, as long as you came in from the high side unstressed physiologically speaking.
That's the Progress tab far right.0
