Numbers Geek vs Exercise Calories – Who wins?
awesomek001
Posts: 167 Member
OK, I’ll admit it. I love digging through data to find trends, manipulate information to give me the answers I’m looking for, and just plain old play with numbers. I’m a certified numbers geek.
Why do I tell you this? Well, because tracking = numbers. And this weekend, I had an epiphany about tracking exercise calories. There are hundreds of posts on “Should I eat my exercise calories back” – and there are thousands of permutations on either “yes” or “No” - - Check out your BMR, Watch your TDEE, MPF calculates high, IMO don’t eat them every time – just some times. (Shall I add more acronyms?)
Here’s where the numbers geek comes out. Why don’t the exercise calories reflect only the difference between what I expended during my exercise & what I would have expended just “being”? Maybe this is why there are such diverse answers to “Should I eat those calories back” . . .
For Example – I calculate that I burn about 100 per hour just being awake (Sitting on the couch, watching TV, cuddling with my puppies). Of course, numbers geek makes sure that it’s precise – that’s wearing my HRM for the first hour of my Saturday. So, if I bike for an hour and the calories burns shows 300 calories, I’ve really only burned an extra 200 calories because I would have burned 100 just ‘being”.
So the question isn’t “Should I eat all my exercise calories back” but rather “How much should I adjust based on time of day / hourly regular calories burned” to get the number to be precise?
Why do I tell you this? Well, because tracking = numbers. And this weekend, I had an epiphany about tracking exercise calories. There are hundreds of posts on “Should I eat my exercise calories back” – and there are thousands of permutations on either “yes” or “No” - - Check out your BMR, Watch your TDEE, MPF calculates high, IMO don’t eat them every time – just some times. (Shall I add more acronyms?)
Here’s where the numbers geek comes out. Why don’t the exercise calories reflect only the difference between what I expended during my exercise & what I would have expended just “being”? Maybe this is why there are such diverse answers to “Should I eat those calories back” . . .
For Example – I calculate that I burn about 100 per hour just being awake (Sitting on the couch, watching TV, cuddling with my puppies). Of course, numbers geek makes sure that it’s precise – that’s wearing my HRM for the first hour of my Saturday. So, if I bike for an hour and the calories burns shows 300 calories, I’ve really only burned an extra 200 calories because I would have burned 100 just ‘being”.
So the question isn’t “Should I eat all my exercise calories back” but rather “How much should I adjust based on time of day / hourly regular calories burned” to get the number to be precise?
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Replies
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Wearing a HRM while sedentary won't give you accurate calorie data. But you could google a RMR calculator and probably get a decent estimate. It's always an estimate.
But overall, I agree. If you use a HRM for exercise calories and it doesn't adjust out RMR, you're probably over-estimating how much you can 'eat back'.0 -
You'll lose your mind if you think you can be precise, unfortunately. All our methods of estimating calories expended are just that, estimations, so being totally accurate is a fantasy without some serious scientific equipment and an analysis of your particular body.
If you enjoy it, have fun crunching the numbers and trying to make it work, but "good enough" has to come in at a certain point. It's hard for numbers people, I know, but you really will make yourself a little nuts if you're desperate for actual math.0 -
If your end goal is "how much to adjust your HRM calories down", one easy way is to take your BMR estimate divided by 1440 (the minutes in a day) to get a per-minute BMR estimate. Then take that amount off each workout calorie estimate. My BMR is about 1 cal/min so for a 60 min workout I'd deduct 60 calories. If I tracked that stuff.
If you're spending hours at low-intensity workouts it might add up to a lot. If it's only a 30-min. intense workout now and then, it won't make much difference.0 -
I always back out 2 kcal/min when calculating my exercise calories. It's an easy round number that's somewhat close to my TDEE without intentional exercise.0
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If your end goal is "how much to adjust your HRM calories down", one easy way is to take your BMR estimate divided by 1440 (the minutes in a day) to get a per-minute BMR estimate. Then take that amount off each workout calorie estimate. My BMR is about 1 cal/min so for a 60 min workout I'd deduct 60 calories. If I tracked that stuff.
This is exactly what I do to log exercise. Yes, I'm a serious numbers geek.
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I just exercise as much as I can because I want to get fit and track the calories I eat because I figure if I mostly eat less of them I'll lose weight.
On days where I go for hours long bike rides I often add a few hundred extra calories just because that little bump keeps me on the bike longer.
My personal opinion is we don't have anywhere near enough information to be terribly specific about anything. Tracking calories burned is always only an estimate and tracking calories eaten is always only an estimate often bound to the honesty of the food packagers we do business with.
I just know a fat guy doesn't ride dozens of miles a day and eat mostly healthy stuff so I am banking on that to lose my weight. I think I would go mad if I tried to get things down to any specific number that I wanted to correlate to a specific weight loss.0 -
If you are a numbers geek you need to make sure your numbers are accurate first. Using a HRM like this is like using a sundial to measure your weight........ that’s wearing my HRM for the first hour of my Saturday.0 -
The only thing that matters if you track is that you are consistent in the manner you track.
They are all estimates. And using a HRM in way it wasn't intended is counter productive.
Estimates.0 -
You'll lose your mind if you think you can be precise, unfortunately. All our methods of estimating calories expended are just that, estimations, so being totally accurate is a fantasy without some serious scientific equipment and an analysis of your particular body.
If you enjoy it, have fun crunching the numbers and trying to make it work, but "good enough" has to come in at a certain point. It's hard for numbers people, I know, but you really will make yourself a little nuts if you're desperate for actual math.
This. Calorie counting is as much art as it is science. As long as you're losing weight at the end of the day, right?0 -
If you are a numbers geek you need to make sure your numbers are accurate first. Using a HRM like this is like using a sundial to measure your weight........ that’s wearing my HRM for the first hour of my Saturday.
Sadly, I think you're full of hocus pocus. It actually works out close to what 2 of the 5 different calculators do. (the 2 which are realistic). Why would you think that using a HRM wouldn't be accurate if you're not pounding out a workout???0 -
If you are a numbers geek you need to make sure your numbers are accurate first. Using a HRM like this is like using a sundial to measure your weight........ that’s wearing my HRM for the first hour of my Saturday.
Sadly, I think you're full of hocus pocus. It actually works out close to what 2 of the 5 different calculators do. (the 2 which are realistic). Why would you think that using a HRM wouldn't be accurate if you're not pounding out a workout???
He's correct. HRM are intended for the conversion of heartbeats to oxygen consumption based on comparison curves of exercise at steady state.0
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