I Do Not Think My Calories Burned Is Correct..Need Advice

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binterla
binterla Posts: 21 Member
in Getting Started
I am new to MFP...but not new to losing weight. Over the period of 2011-2013 I lost 160lbs. I started gaining weight back when I was sick last year ..then Christmas...then I was just out of control. So I gained 36lbs. That is when I found MFP. I have been tracking my food and exercise for 11 days. I lost 4 lbs in 5 days. Then today I got on the scale and I was up to my beginning weight which is 236. I am 53 and disabled but I stay very busy in mornings on the weekdays. I take silver sneakers classes at my local JCC. On Mon I take 3 hour long classes...chair yoga...we only sit for 5 min. at the beginning and the end. Then I take a strength and resistance class where we do cardio...resistance bands and weights. Next I take tai chi. On Tues. and Thurs. I take stretch class and water aerobics classes...both 1 hour long. Wed. are like Mon. Minus the tai chi. Fri is like Mon. minus the chair yoga. I have just begun to use the gym on the weekends. I ride the bike and walk on the treadmill. But the gym equipment shows I only burn around 150 calories..where the MFP data base says around 500 calories burned. I have stayed under my 1610 allowed calories every day except for yesterday. So am I eating too much? I am not running...doing crossfit classes..or doing anything else I see other people doing..I can't. I have physical limitations. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
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Replies

  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Go with the lower as far as calories burned and make sure you only eat half back. Remember weigh loss comes from the caloric deficit so you want to weigh and measure all food.
  • oksanatkachuk
    oksanatkachuk Posts: 149 Member
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    Difficult one.. I d suggest to pick up cal goal, eat that for 2 weeks and see how it do. On that adjust plus or minus.
  • binterla
    binterla Posts: 21 Member
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    Thanks..what I was thinking
  • binterla
    binterla Posts: 21 Member
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    So I should add calories?
  • olivia_june
    olivia_june Posts: 111 Member
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    Are you weighing and measuring your food? It's very easy to drastically underestimate portion sizes. I would eat 1600 and not worry about how many calories you may burn....MFP ALWAYS overestimates exercise calories so it's important not to take them as gospel.
  • ChildrenCryinNCoffee
    ChildrenCryinNCoffee Posts: 477 Member
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    Just FYI MOST gym equipment (treadmills, etc.) have the "projected caloric burn" default set for a 5'2" 150 lbs woman.

    Wear a HR monitor for best results.
  • Onderwoman
    Onderwoman Posts: 130
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    Can't really tell from what you wrote if you are eating too much because you didn't give us a baseline and if you added and which calories you added from working out. I'd add what the machine says, MFP is over estimated by a lot usually.
  • jacqui1612
    jacqui1612 Posts: 128 Member
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    Get a heart rate monitor (HRM) . I had the same thing when I started. Get a HRM, I have a Polar. They are really great. You might, if you do some research, find one that is water resistant so you can wear it for your water classes as well.
  • stephe1987
    stephe1987 Posts: 406 Member
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    Weigh/measure your food.
    Drink lots of water.
    Only eat back half of your exercise calories just in case (calories burned was lower than it said, calories eaten is higher than you thought).
  • intangiblemango
    intangiblemango Posts: 38 Member
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    A Polar FT4 Heart Rate Monitor is only $60 on Amazon (or another heart rate monitor, that's just what I have and I like it) and it will help you get much better estimates about how many calories you are burning.
  • KrazyKenny1967
    KrazyKenny1967 Posts: 54
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    I dont trust the "calories burned" numbers here or on gym equipment.
  • oremus1
    oremus1 Posts: 100 Member
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    I dont trust the "calories burned" numbers here or on gym equipment.

    me too. the mfp calorie burn rates seem very very high
  • cookiealbright
    cookiealbright Posts: 605 Member
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    I'm 58 and I try to eat 1200 calories a day. I eat back half of the calories I burn and sometimes don't eat them back at all. When you get older it's harder to lose weight so I think you may be eating too much. Good luck to ya! :flowerforyou:
  • records1138
    records1138 Posts: 28
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    I have a rule of thumb to never eat the calories that MFP claims I burned off during exercise. Instead, I just eat within my 1600 calories for the day, and take the burned amount as a bonus. If you're just going to turn around and eat the calories you just burned off by working out, then what's the point of working out? You can eat the same amount without bothering to work out.
  • bumblebreezy91
    bumblebreezy91 Posts: 520 Member
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    This drove me crazy, too. I ended up buying a heart rate monitor (Polar FT4 HRM, specifically). MFP overestimates calories burned and machines, even with my entered stats (age and weight), seem to underestimate calories burned compared to my HRM. I avoided eating back my exercise calories and tried to go with the lowest reasonable number, but not knowing still drove me nuts. I weigh and measure my food and take my HRM with me to the gym. I still avoid eating back calories burned. I initially stayed away from the idea of getting a HRM because I thought they were just for hardcore gym-goers only (and I'm just a treadmill/light weight machine user so I felt like it was unnecessary) but I'm glad I caved.
  • alska
    alska Posts: 295 Member
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    Hi, It's best to get a Heart Rate Monitor and wear it while you exercise. It will show you how many calories you burned. I burn only half of what MFP says. I had no idea I was over eating because of it :( I also bought a scale to weigh my food so that I am not guessing anymore.
  • formerfatboy1
    formerfatboy1 Posts: 76 Member
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    Heart monitors are accurate and are a good investment if you want to keep track of calories burned. I never eat back the calories burned and honestly wouldn't want to cause my body fat percentage will become stagnant and weight loss as well. calories burned are calories burned.
  • itsbasschick
    itsbasschick Posts: 1,584 Member
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    the HRM i've owned also give a higher burn. in fact, every calculator and device i own gives inaccurate burn. i suggest you eat back exercise calories if you're hungry, and especially if you get dizzy, weak or lightheaded (hopefully you wouldn't wait that long). for me, i usually eat back around half my exercise calories (usually as protein - greek yogurt or protein powder), depending on the workout intensity, but on a regular walking day may not eat back any. your results may differ, so you may need to experiment a little.
  • samc0ker
    samc0ker Posts: 1 Member
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    I use a heart rate monitor that you wear around your chest and I find that my calorie burn is always more than MFP app tells me it is. I wouldn't trust the equipment at the gym unless you know they calibrate the heart rate sensor because the treadmill I use at work will tell me my HR is like 70 but my watch is reading 150. You can buy one at stores like Best Buy and I wouldn't go back to working our without it.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    I'm 58 and I try to eat 1200 calories a day. I eat back half of the calories I burn and sometimes don't eat them back at all. When you get older it's harder to lose weight so I think you may be eating too much. Good luck to ya! :flowerforyou:

    1200 is MFP's lowest default minimum. I'm 53 and wouldn't go there unless I had to (5'5" = >1,200). As we age, we lose lean muscle mass unless we take steps to prevent it (strength train, eat lots of proteins and a MODEST deficit).

    OP - find your TDEE and your BMR. TDEE should include exercise....this is maintenance. BMR is the number of calories you would use if you stayed in bed all day. If you are obese you can take a larger deficit (less than BMR even) & not worry about lean muscle....but as you get closer to goal eating enough (at least BMR) is more important to maintain muscle mass. It's not the one-size-fits-all 1200 approach.

    http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

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