MFP not giving me many calories for exercise

jesse_dylan
jesse_dylan Posts: 17 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I've been using the UP24 with the UP app. I log food with MFP, but I log activity with UP.

Anyway, I try to be conservative when logging my exercise, but just the same, MFP does not give me very many "extra" calories for my exercise. Up will say I've burned 600-something from a long walk and various other activities, but then MFP will only give me 124 extra calories to eat. It is getting so I can't even fit my meals into my allotment anymore. You'd think if UP thinks I burned 600 calories exercising that MFP would give me 600 to eat.

I have a goal of losing 2 lbs weekly on MFP. Meanwhile UP has set my goal at eating 500 calories less than maintainence daily. The goals probably conflict. I wonder if that's causing this issue.

Replies

  • BeckiCharlotte13x
    BeckiCharlotte13x Posts: 259 Member
    600 calories for a walk and some other activities seems very high... Are you sure thats accurate? Obviously depends on what those other activities are though.

    Half an hour on the treadmill with walk and running intervals and I'll burn generally about 250 calories max.
  • jesse_dylan
    jesse_dylan Posts: 17 Member
    Well, let's say it was 250 calories instead. How come MFP isn't giving me those 250 calories to eat back again?

    Normally I'll have about an hour and a half of intense walking, an hour on an exercise bike, and do some a Pace fitness workout and some stuff. I wonder if I can look back and see what that was. It is definitely possible I'm over-estimating my calories, but even when I low-ball, it just seems like MFP is not giving me all it should. :P

    Like UP will say I've had 537 calories "active burn," but meanwhile MFP just gives me a generic 124 "exercise" calories. I don't get how 537 becomes 124.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    I don't use one but lots of people on here recommend using a HRM. Should be more accurate. You're not burning 600 calories taking a walk and "various other activities".
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
    I have never heard of a person saying MFP was dramatically underestimating. I've actually heard the exact opposite a lot though.

    Calories burned depends on a lot of factors like your height, weight, body fat, duration and intensity of workout, but in all honestly an hour walk would probably be closer to 124 calories than 600 for MOST people. I am 5'3 155 pounds, for an hour walk I'd probably burn 200ish calories according to my heart rate monitor.

    A goal of 2 pounds per week is aggressive - too aggressive if you have less than 75 pounds to loose. How many calories do you eat day, including exercise?

    Also, this link is a GREAT resource: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • jesse_dylan
    jesse_dylan Posts: 17 Member
    Even if I'm overestimating my calories, though (or the UP is), I don't get why MFP wouldn't then go along with the over-estimation. MFP doesn't have any information about my exercise other than what UP gives it, so if UP is saying I burned 600 exercising in a day, why wouldn't MFP agree with that 600?

    I'm at about 198 now and hoping to get down to 169 or starters. Like any good American, though, I am impatient. :)

    The 600 calories was just an example. Let's not get stuck on that. :)
  • lorib642
    lorib642 Posts: 1,942 Member
    I've been using the UP24 with the UP app. I log food with MFP, but I log activity with UP.

    Anyway, I try to be conservative when logging my exercise, but just the same, MFP does not give me very many "extra" calories for my exercise. Up will say I've burned 600-something from a long walk and various other activities, but then MFP will only give me 124 extra calories to eat. It is getting so I can't even fit my meals into my allotment anymore. You'd think if UP thinks I burned 600 calories exercising that MFP would give me 600 to eat.

    I have a goal of losing 2 lbs weekly on MFP. Meanwhile UP has set my goal at eating 500 calories less than maintainence daily. The goals probably conflict. I wonder if that's causing this issue.

    What are you plugging it in as? If I take an hour long 3 mile walk I enter it as 1hour walking 3 mph. It gives me about 300 extra calories. I don't eat back unless I am really hungry. Maybe 2 lbs/week is too high a goal? I had to turn mine down to 1 lb/week. It may go slower but it is something I can tolerate.
  • happycauseIride
    happycauseIride Posts: 536 Member

    I have a goal of losing 2 lbs weekly on MFP. Meanwhile UP has set my goal at eating 500 calories less than maintainence daily. The goals probably conflict. I wonder if that's causing this issue.

    There is your issue. I don't use UP but I have a BodyMedia armband I use. A 2 lb weekly loss on MFP is a 1000 calorie daily deficit. You need to set them the same so they don't conflict each other.
  • lorib642
    lorib642 Posts: 1,942 Member
    oh, the calories come from UP? I don't know how that interface works
  • jesse_dylan
    jesse_dylan Posts: 17 Member
    Yeah, it's really confusing. :(

    So since I can't change it in UP, as far as I can tell, I need to figure out how to set MFP so that it is also keeping me at a 500 calorie deficit daily? And then it can just be up to me whether I want to eat that many calories or not.

    It's rough--I wish UP would provide better documentation for their stuff and for using it with other apps! I've posted there but gotten very little help. I'm surprised how helpful you guys are! Thanks for that! I was expecting silence in reply like when trying to post over there. :P

    Maybe I should just log my stuff in MFP instead and give up on UP.

    Edit: Just re-read--so it sounds like I can just set MFP to 1 lbs. per week instead of 2 and they'll be on track with each other. I think that's a good idea, and then I can always eat less if I want.

    Thanks you guys! I really appreciate it! Hope this works. :P
  • lorib642
    lorib642 Posts: 1,942 Member
    500 calorie deficit is 1 lb/week (someone will correct me if I am wrong)

    I haven't used any of those gadgets but some people swear by them
  • jesse_dylan
    jesse_dylan Posts: 17 Member
    Okay, changed it--thanks again.

    One other thing I was going to ask. I already told MFP that I'm sedentary (which is pretty darn true), thinking that would be easiest and then I could record activity that I do (i.e. it counts my steps, and I log exercise). So, given that I told it I'm sedentary, I'm still confused why it wouldn't consider exercise I do as extra beyond sedentary.

    But maybe fixing the goals on here will fix it.

    Edit: Hmm, now UP is telling me I have 688 calories remaining, and MFP is telling me I have 806 remaining. They both have the same information as far as my activity and eating, and goals are set the same.
  • lorib642
    lorib642 Posts: 1,942 Member
    Yes, if you enter exercise it should give it to you, but I don't know how UP works. It doesn't sound like you are sedentary, though. You may want to think about that
  • alikonda
    alikonda Posts: 2,358 Member
    UP and MFP each have their own calculations for your BMR - the calories you would burn simply by existing at your height and weight. Subtract the daily deficit from your MFP calories. If you work out and move enough such that the _total_ number of calories burned by UP is greater than your calorie goal for MFP, the MFP calorie goal will change. Fitbit and some other activity trackers actually make distinct exercise entries in your diary for you, but UP does not (or at least, it never has for me!). I wear my UP all the time but only log my exercises in MFP in order to be sure of getting calorie credit for them.

    Hope this was helpful!
  • lorib642
    lorib642 Posts: 1,942 Member
    Okay, changed it--thanks again.

    One other thing I was going to ask. I already told MFP that I'm sedentary (which is pretty darn true), thinking that would be easiest and then I could record activity that I do (i.e. it counts my steps, and I log exercise). So, given that I told it I'm sedentary, I'm still confused why it wouldn't consider exercise I do as extra beyond sedentary.

    But maybe fixing the goals on here will fix it.

    Edit: Hmm, now UP is telling me I have 688 calories remaining, and MFP is telling me I have 806 remaining. They both have the same information as far as my activity and eating, and goals are set the same.

    I am going to search for any UP links for you
  • jesse_dylan
    jesse_dylan Posts: 17 Member
    Good point! Well, if I don't make an extra effort, about the only workout I get is a pace express workout, which is really intense but only lasts 15 minutes and can't possibly burn more than 100-200 calories. I don't have a lifestyle or job where I walk around much at all, sadly, so I have to make an effort to walk when I can and get on the workout bike in addition to my pace workout and weight lifting and stuff.

    But basically without deliberately doing exercise, I am sitting in chairs, in my sofa, in my car, at my desk. It is basically walking from one sitting location to another (and those walks are probably 30 steps). Kind of sad!
  • lorib642
    lorib642 Posts: 1,942 Member
    There are a lot of posts about synching the 2

    https://www.google.com/search?q=up24+myfitnesspal+sync&oq=UP24+myfit&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l3.7013j0j8&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8
  • jesse_dylan
    jesse_dylan Posts: 17 Member
    UP and MFP each have their own calculations for your BMR - the calories you would burn simply by existing at your height and weight. Subtract the daily deficit from your MFP calories. If you work out and move enough such that the _total_ number of calories burned by UP is greater than your calorie goal for MFP, the MFP calorie goal will change. Fitbit and some other activity trackers actually make distinct exercise entries in your diary for you, but UP does not (or at least, it never has for me!). I wear my UP all the time but only log my exercises in MFP in order to be sure of getting calorie credit for them.

    Hope this was helpful!

    Yes, interesting! So maybe I am going about this the wrong way. So you just use the Up for counting steps and that kind of stuff but not for workouts?
  • lorib642
    lorib642 Posts: 1,942 Member
    Good point! Well, if I don't make an extra effort, about the only workout I get is a pace express workout, which is really intense but only lasts 15 minutes and can't possibly burn more than 100-200 calories. I don't have a lifestyle or job where I walk around much at all, sadly, so I have to make an effort to walk when I can and get on the workout bike in addition to my pace workout and weight lifting and stuff.

    But basically without deliberately doing exercise, I am sitting in chairs, in my sofa, in my car, at my desk. It is basically walking from one sitting location to another (and those walks are probably 30 steps). Kind of sad!

    Not any sadder than me. I am slowly trying to move more
  • jesse_dylan
    jesse_dylan Posts: 17 Member
    There are a lot of posts about synching the 2

    https://www.google.com/search?q=up24+myfitnesspal+sync&oq=UP24+myfit&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l3.7013j0j8&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8

    Thanks, I'll check those out! I thought I had looked everywhere, but I see some results on there that I have not yet perused. I will look at them. Thank you! I hope I can get this figured out sensibly. Maybe I am just getting caught up in minutiae like it says not to do in that article I was linked to at the top of the thread. :)
  • CWalisser
    CWalisser Posts: 2 Member
    I use a Garmin Sportwatch for running and walking and a bicycle computer for cycling. Both have heart rate managers and both track elevation gains. They also have age, speed, cadence information, much more than the generic amounts that MyFP provides. In general, over about 422 days of logging exercise on MyFP, I have found that the app gives about 30 percent more calories than the Garmin and my bike computer provide. I use the the calorie amounts from my devices to log my calorie credits. Better to err low on exercise and high on food intake anyways. My brother, on MyFP for well over 500 days, has had a similar experience. MyFP gives too many credits for exercise, IMHO.......
  • alikonda
    alikonda Posts: 2,358 Member
    Yes, interesting! So maybe I am going about this the wrong way. So you just use the Up for counting steps and that kind of stuff but not for workouts?

    Yep! I found that the exercise options in the UP app were waaay too limited and I really wanted to see discrete exercise entries in my MFP diary, anyway. I would agree, however, that MFP auto-estimates of calories burned seem to be pretty high so I usually adjust them down.
  • StephyTheGreat
    StephyTheGreat Posts: 13 Member
    I agree. I feel like MFP lowballs calories burned for many activities. According to every other calorie calculator on the net and other apps I use, the calories burned for BRISK, LONG walks (1.5 - 2 hours) / 11,000ish steps is almost 600 calories for my weight and height. But MFP gives me 122 calories. 122 calories for a brisk 2 hour / 6 mile walk? I don’t think so. Even if it’s not close to 600 it has to be more than 122 calories.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    StephyTheGreat wrote: »
    I agree. I feel like MFP lowballs calories burned for many activities. According to every other calorie calculator on the net and other apps I use, the calories burned for BRISK, LONG walks (1.5 - 2 hours) / 11,000ish steps is almost 600 calories for my weight and height. But MFP gives me 122 calories. 122 calories for a brisk 2 hour / 6 mile walk? I don’t think so. Even if it’s not close to 600 it has to be more than 122 calories.

    The last post on this thread was from 2014 before you bumped it with your post.

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