Overestimating calories burned and weight loss

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alereck
alereck Posts: 343 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I will start by saying I am no expert but I have noticed that most people using this website seem to be grossly overestimating the calories they burn when exercising. I am not sure how people calculate the calories they burn or how accurate HRMs are but burning 1,000 calories is very hard.

I have participated in gym programs where they claim you will burn an average of 1,000 calorie per workout (they will offer these after the holidays to burn all the food we inhaled) and these are excruciating nonstop circuits that work your whole body with a mixture of cardio/plyo/strength… I find it very hard to believe that people are working out this intensely every day of the week.

I have seen logs that will relate a higher than 1,000 calories burn with walking and Zumba. I do not care how long and fast you walk or how many Zumba classes you do, you are not burning 1,000 calories on those alone.

I am not writing this to judge. Everyone here has similar goals of being healthier and the posts contain a lot of good information for those who seek it. I am hoping those who have more concrete information can either agree or disagree with me so that no one ends up harming their progress because they are making mistakes.

Think about it, if you estimate you burned 1,000 calories but you actually burned 200, then you would be overeating by 800. Most people trying to lose weight will eat at a deficit of 500 that means you are eating to gain weight, 300 more calories a day then you actually burned. Then if you tell yourself you don’t eat back all the calories you burn then you are just screwing up the math and counting calories do not work anymore.

Some of those logging this kind of numbers are the same ones posting comments about how they are struggling to lose weight. I wanted to throw this out there and have people talk about it to make sure it is not stopping those trying to lose weight from achieving their goals.
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Replies

  • Nightcometh
    Nightcometh Posts: 67 Member
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    If you were referring to my Zumba and walking I posted today, I mentioned in the comments that it was wrong. I had added "dancing" instead of Zumba, before I knew Zumba was listed in the exercise list. When I deleted dancing and added Zumba, it added up all my calories from BOTH instead of deleting the first entry. I burned around 550 in Zumba, and 60 in walking.
  • alereck
    alereck Posts: 343 Member
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    No, I was not. I have noticed this for quite a while on a lot of posts. I was not referring to anyone in particular, if it was intended to a person in particular I would have sent a private message.

    This website can be very helpful when used correctly, I'm just trying to help those who are serious about calorie counting and it can be very frustating when you think you are doing things well and you are dieting but not seeing results.
  • indisguise
    indisguise Posts: 235
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    Do you think the sites estimates in general are accurate? On Friday I went for a 3.5 hour (22.9 miles) bike ride. The tracking app I use said I burned 1,230 calories. Using the amount of time the app said I was actually moving and the average speed, I entered it in the exercise diary here as "Bicycling, <10 mph, leisure (cycling, biking, bike riding) for 210 minutes" and the site said I burned 1,130 calories.
    I know it was a long ride, but both those numbers seem a bit high to me...
  • bexcobham
    bexcobham Posts: 107
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    I did Banish Fat Boost Metabolism and No more Trouble Zones (each are 55 minutes) by Jillian Michaels yesterday, plus random bursts of burpees throughout the day. I cut out the warm up and cool down times and it calculated a burn of over 700 cals. They are pretty intense and one has a lot of plyo moves. Still, 700 cals seems like a lot - and I ate them back 'cause I've got the PMS hunger demon on my back. :(
  • besaro
    besaro Posts: 1,858 Member
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    you worry about you, i will worry about me.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
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    I personally have to run 10 miles to burn 1,000 calories, but I don't weigh a lot and my body is efficient. People with greater mass will burn more calories. But I do agree that people sometimes overestimate. I saw someone here the other day who was claiming an 800 calorie burn for a 30 minute walk. That's insane!
  • LittleMissFit83
    LittleMissFit83 Posts: 38
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    That's why its best to invest in an HRM for a more accurate burn calculation. :)
  • sehirjne
    sehirjne Posts: 2 Member
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    I walk a lot every day. I do 10 30 minute walks @ 2.5 mph and the log says I burn a lot. Is it wrong. The log I'm talking about is the one you use to log your exercises.
  • leantool
    leantool Posts: 365 Member
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    Most people know, mfp database overestimates calorie burns.eg,i am on arrhythmia prophylaxis medication that doesnot allow ,y heartrate go beyond 90. So HRM s won't really be effective for me.i eat TDEE -20 % which is 1225 for me(yep, me a small asian woman).so it does not matter if i burn 1 or 500!

    It is not all size fits one,people adjust and experiment before they can find what works for them.

    P.s. if you have query about people in your friendlist ,p.m. them.friends,in real life or on line ...are to be treasured,just saying seeing the immediate response to your thread.good luck and take care
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Do you think the sites estimates in general are accurate? On Friday I went for a 3.5 hour (22.9 miles) bike ride. The tracking app I use said I burned 1,230 calories. Using the amount of time the app said I was actually moving and the average speed, I entered it in the exercise diary here as "Bicycling, <10 mph, leisure (cycling, biking, bike riding) for 210 minutes" and the site said I burned 1,130 calories.
    I know it was a long ride, but both those numbers seem a bit high to me...

    The longer the ride and the more accurate the average speed, the more accurate the math.

    And that is exactly how the database entries are right on for exercise that has an intensity to it - pace, speed, ect.

    And like you were - honest with the actual time and speed.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    I personally have to run 10 miles to burn 1,000 calories, but I don't weigh a lot and my body is efficient. People with greater mass will burn more calories. But I do agree that people sometimes overestimate. I saw someone here the other day who was claiming an 800 calorie burn for a 30 minute walk. That's insane!

    Sadly there are many database entries for walking (or were a month ago) that have incomplete descriptions, the words are cut off.

    And those are totally screwed up, some massive, some actually way too little.

    The other entries are correct where the words are complete to the end of the description.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    I walk a lot every day. I do 10 30 minute walks @ 2.5 mph and the log says I burn a lot. Is it wrong. The log I'm talking about is the one you use to log your exercises.

    This is within 4% of measured in lab, so much better than the 14-35% off a HRM can be.

    How does this compare? And yes, HRM, database, treadmill - all would report that gross option. Net is what you'd eat back.

    http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs.html

    And walking alot of time and slow is exactly where that difference of gross and net will get you badly.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    One of my yoga instructor constantly reiterates that we burn 2,000 calories in a one hour class. I love the guy, but it wish he would STFU. no one burns 2,000 calories in a one hour yoga class. NO ONE IN THE HISTORY IF THE WORKD NO MATTER HOW HARD IT IS. But, this kind of stupid crap is what makes some people believe it.

    Wow, is he fighting with the spin instructor for getting people in the class by claiming high amount?

    Think a student reported a high HRM burn because of a hot yoga class and heat elevated HR, and he jumped on it?
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Mid-aerobic HR zone (152) for 60 min is 1000 cal burn for me biking or running. And that's an easy cardio workout, can do that for up to 4 hrs biking, 3 running.

    That is based on lab VO2max test and the data points, not a HRM calculations.
  • VelveteenArabian
    VelveteenArabian Posts: 758 Member
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    I'm one of the people that post over 1k cals burned through Zumba. I wear a HRM with a chest strap and that's where I get my number from.
  • manicautumn
    manicautumn Posts: 224 Member
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    I've had a day or two with exercise over 1000 calories. I set my activity level to sedentary and my FitBit adjusts it accordingly. So, yes, my burns are often over 600 a day from walking but that's also just partially adjusting to higher activity level.

    I don't think it's fair to condemn everyone without knowing their situation. Different bodies burn things differently and different classes/programs/routines can be more or less intensive than the label reveals, imho.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    There are a few cases where this simply may be true like in my case. You are forgetting that there are people of different sizes here. For someone just shy of 250 pounds it's not hard to burn close to 1000 calories in 90 minutes of just walking (through MFP does not agree with my HRM and says I burn 800, which is the number I use). Imagine a very brisk walk, while carrying at least a 100 pounds and I guarantee you will have that kind of burn.

    But you are right, many do over-estimate, not to mention forget to subtract the calories they burn just sitting for the same period of time.
  • hopper602
    hopper602 Posts: 204 Member
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    MFP thinks that if i golf for 4 hours (riding in a golf cart) I burn 1200+ calories. I take every estimate with a grain of salt and if i create my own workout and shoot for a very low number and dont even think about eating it all back. I agree that the overestimating is counter productive to the folks who think cleaning for 45 mins burns 700 calories.

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