Calculating exercise calories

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orangesmarties
orangesmarties Posts: 49 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm really unsure of whether MFP estimations are correct. I'm trying not to eat over my exercise calories, so it doesn't make much difference anyway - but I was just curious if there was a more effective way of calculating calories burned according to your weight and performance. I just want to know what I burned hahah!

Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    If you want to be more accurate (not exact, as it's all estimations), the best way to go is to purchase a heart rate monitor that straps onto your chest
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    If you are using MFP to estimate the exercise cals I would suggest only eating 50-75% of them. They tend to estimate on the high side.
  • irisheyez718
    irisheyez718 Posts: 677 Member
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    I use a HRM with a chest strap, to get as close as I can on calories burned. I have the Polar FT4, and I love it.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,404 MFP Moderator
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    If you are using MFP to estimate the exercise cals I would suggest only eating 50-75% of them. They tend to estimate on the high side.

    This or change your activity level to include exercise and do not eat back exercise calories.
  • MoveitlikeManda
    MoveitlikeManda Posts: 846 Member
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    i was told on here to alway "over estimate on calories in and under estimate on calories out"

    so I weigh all my foods and measure fluids etc so i know where im at with calories in

    But to get my calories out, when i go to the gym i add up all the calories the machines (treadmil, bikes) say iv burned and then only log some of them

    so say tonight at the gym my total burned comes in at 534 id log that i burned 200-300.

    i then do eat some of those back but not all, depends how hungry I am lol

    I dont know if this a good way to do it but its been working for me :smile:
  • melannebeck
    melannebeck Posts: 7
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    Hi pal! :) I normally work out at the gym and log the calories the machine says--I always add my weight in to the machine for "more accurate" estimate. However, I read that machines over-estimate by about 20%. Anyway, everything everyone said above is good. Dont eat back all the calories (I need to work on this), and I liked who said that overestimate calories in, and underestimate calories out. The heartrate monitor is a good idea too, if it tells you how many calories you lost-I dont know if it does, or doesnt, Ive never used one. But this is a good question that I wondered myself! :)
  • rhtexasgal
    rhtexasgal Posts: 572 Member
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    I conducted a test on my own to see how accurate the elliptical at the gym was on calories. Of course, I always used the same machine too. I used a HRM as well as my Fitbit over a period of two weeks - one week for each method - and compared it to the elliptical's readings. Of course, the elliptical overestimated calories burned, but not that much, at least on the machine I used. It was consistently telling me that I burned 25 calories more than the average I was getting from my Fitbit and HRM. So ... with that said, I take whatever the elliptical gives me, subtract 50 calories and log that to give me a little leeway, just in case.

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