Srsly?

jenbusick
jenbusick Posts: 528 Member
edited September 23 in Fitness and Exercise
OK, NOW I understand why people ask if they have to eat all of their exercise calories. Normally, I work out with my Wii Fit and use its calorie counts, and that has worked well for me -- my weight loss has been hitting right on target, and when I go over net calories, I gain just like you'd expect.

Today, though, I worked out in my flower beds for 3.5 hours, and for that I used MFP's estimate of calories. It says I burned 994 calories today! And that I need to eat 1463 calories for supper!

Based on the calorie counts I get from the Wii, and my level of exertion, I don't believe it. It's overestimating badly.

Replies

  • kao708
    kao708 Posts: 813 Member
    Just for fun I entered 3.5 hours of gardening and it told me I would have burned over 1700 calories. I wonder if their definition of gardening includes crawling around on the ground, digging in the dirt, pulling weeds (hard)...sounds like they are considering gardening a high impact activity. If you think it's too high, just log half of it. If you really spent that much time out there working in the dirt you may have actually burned that much. Gardening and yardwork can be hard core! :)
  • SafariLara
    SafariLara Posts: 172
    Where do you live that you can work on your flower beds?? mine are still covered in snow :sad:
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    A lot of the database entries will be incorrect for you. Why? Because it might have been entered by a guy that weighed 350 lbs. You won't burn the same amount of cals as him. The exercise database may have an entry that is more appropriate for you - but maybe not. For somewhat uncertain things, I usually evaluate how much work I did (relative to my normal workout on a machine that gives a burn number) and find something in the database fairly close (or enter the burn manually).

    If you're concerned about accuracy, you may want to get a HRM, which you can tailor a little more specifically for you (although they are not exact either.)
  • jenbusick
    jenbusick Posts: 528 Member
    LOL I live in north Alabama, and it was gorgeous here today! It's 60 degrees right now.

    I hadn't thought about those estimates being for someone much bigger. Maybe if I had been digging a new bed or running the tiller I'd have burned that much!

    I'd put my estimate, based on the Wii and my level of exertion, at maybe 500 cals. That still gives me plenty of calories for supper without having to feel bloated just by the thought of that much food!
  • Pikefireman
    Pikefireman Posts: 11 Member
    I don't bother putting in my hours of Ping Pong played with my kids. But if I did... the counter is very generous and for 30 minutes would give me over 140 calories burned. I just chalk it up to "normal daily activity" and don't stress if I'm a few calories over at the end of that day.
  • JoinerMaus
    JoinerMaus Posts: 44
    I was quite suprised at the small amout of calories that "Yoga" burns. After 10 minutes I was breathing hard and sweating and it says I burn a whole 40 calories.
  • Dom80
    Dom80 Posts: 146 Member
    my recommendation would be to either get a good hrm or as I have a Body Bugg. I know once I got the Body Bugg I was really disappointed at how inaccurate the estimates are on here.
  • jenbusick
    jenbusick Posts: 528 Member
    my recommendation would be to either get a good hrm or as I have a Body Bugg. I know once I got the Body Bugg I was really disappointed at how inaccurate the estimates are on here.

    Thanks! I had never heard of these things.
  • jenbusick
    jenbusick Posts: 528 Member
    I don't bother putting in my hours of Ping Pong played with my kids. But if I did... the counter is very generous and for 30 minutes would give me over 140 calories burned. I just chalk it up to "normal daily activity" and don't stress if I'm a few calories over at the end of that day.

    Yeah, that's how I operate -- but 3 1/2 hours of yardwork is more than my usual exertion. Just not half again my usual exertion!
  • jenbusick
    jenbusick Posts: 528 Member
    I was quite suprised at the small amout of calories that "Yoga" burns. After 10 minutes I was breathing hard and sweating and it says I burn a whole 40 calories.

    LOL Yeah, yoga doesn't burn much, but you know what? I find that it does a lot for me in terms of just how I feel, and how well I can keep up.
  • AMummysLife
    AMummysLife Posts: 264 Member
    You can adjust the calorie amount to what you think you did. I use a pedometer which while not always accurate for he calorie count gives me a general idea of what my exercise log should be saying. If, the exercise doesn't have anything to match mine then I adjust or create my own exercises for the database.
  • jenbusick
    jenbusick Posts: 528 Member
    OK. I readjusted the calorie estimate for the gardening to 500, which was my best guess. That still gave me a lot of calories for the rest of the day. After supper at Cheddar's, which I had to estimate as well (two grilled fish tacos and a cup of chicken tortilla soup, I guessed about 880 cal), I felt uncomfortably full. At home, I made ice cream for the natives, and because I am bad about foregoing dessert when everyone else is having some, I had a small bowl (about 200 cal). This put me only about 50 cal above my estimate.

    I didn't do my Wii workout, because I wanted to see what would happen.

    What happened is that my weight is up 1.1 lb today over yesterday. I was right, the gardening didn't burn anything like 994 cal, or even anything like 500 cal. I'd guess, based on the result, something more like 200-250.

    Should have stuck with my usual intake, around 1500-1600 cal, instead of allowing the two splurges (the soup -- normally I would get steamed broccoli) and the ice cream.

    I either need a HRM, like some of y'all mentioned, or I need to make my own estimates without even looking at the MFP calculators. That led me to estimate way too high.

    Hmmm, just as another experiment, I put the gardening into the Wii Fit Activity Log, to see what figures it would give me. For "normal" intensity it gave me 788 calories credit for 3.5 hours gardening. If I put it in as "light" intensity it gives me about 500 -- what I estimated on my own.

    It can't have been 500, though, or I wouldn't be up a pound today.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    OK. I readjusted the calorie estimate for the gardening to 500, which was my best guess. That still gave me a lot of calories for the rest of the day. After supper at Cheddar's, which I had to estimate as well (two grilled fish tacos and a cup of chicken tortilla soup, I guessed about 880 cal), I felt uncomfortably full. At home, I made ice cream for the natives, and because I am bad about foregoing dessert when everyone else is having some, I had a small bowl (about 200 cal). This put me only about 50 cal above my estimate.

    I didn't do my Wii workout, because I wanted to see what would happen.

    What happened is that my weight is up 1.1 lb today over yesterday. I was right, the gardening didn't burn anything like 994 cal, or even anything like 500 cal. I'd guess, based on the result, something more like 200-250.

    Should have stuck with my usual intake, around 1500-1600 cal, instead of allowing the two splurges (the soup -- normally I would get steamed broccoli) and the ice cream.

    I either need a HRM, like some of y'all mentioned, or I need to make my own estimates without even looking at the MFP calculators. That led me to estimate way too high.

    Hmmm, just as another experiment, I put the gardening into the Wii Fit Activity Log, to see what figures it would give me. For "normal" intensity it gave me 788 calories credit for 3.5 hours gardening. If I put it in as "light" intensity it gives me about 500 -- what I estimated on my own.

    It can't have been 500, though, or I wouldn't be up a pound today.

    You are correct in coming to the conclusion that the activity estimates are way off (another reason not to log it all), but I would be careful about using the next day scale weight as "evidence".
    While we tend to think in daily intervals, our bodies don't. The effects of a particular day's eating don't always show up the next day--sometimes it's more like 2-3 days.
  • MzBug
    MzBug Posts: 2,173 Member
    OK. I readjusted the calorie estimate for the gardening to 500, which was my best guess. That still gave me a lot of calories for the rest of the day. After supper at Cheddar's, which I had to estimate as well (two grilled fish tacos and a cup of chicken tortilla soup, I guessed about 880 cal), I felt uncomfortably full. At home, I made ice cream for the natives, and because I am bad about foregoing dessert when everyone else is having some, I had a small bowl (about 200 cal). This put me only about 50 cal above my estimate.

    I don't think the possibly incorrect exercise calories did you in. You ate LESS than 3500 calories over your limit, and it takes 3500 calories to make a pound of fat. I think it was the sodium in the food you ate at the restaurant! I bet your sodium for the one meal was wayyy over your full daily goal. You are retaining water. You may also be retaining water because of the different muscles used while working in the garden vs your normal workout. Drink extra water today and tomorrow and I bet you will find that your gain was only temporary.

    I agree that the MFP exercise database is "off". You just have to give it your best guess sometimes if you don't have a HRM or Bodybug.
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    OK. I readjusted the calorie estimate for the gardening to 500, which was my best guess. That still gave me a lot of calories for the rest of the day. After supper at Cheddar's, which I had to estimate as well (two grilled fish tacos and a cup of chicken tortilla soup, I guessed about 880 cal), I felt uncomfortably full. At home, I made ice cream for the natives, and because I am bad about foregoing dessert when everyone else is having some, I had a small bowl (about 200 cal). This put me only about 50 cal above my estimate.

    I don't think the possibly incorrect exercise calories did you in. You ate LESS than 3500 calories over your limit, and it takes 3500 calories to make a pound of fat. I think it was the sodium in the food you ate at the restaurant! I bet your sodium for the one meal was wayyy over your full daily goal. You are retaining water. You may also be retaining water because of the different muscles used while working in the garden vs your normal workout. Drink extra water today and tomorrow and I bet you will find that your gain was only temporary.

    I agree that the MFP exercise database is "off". You just have to give it your best guess sometimes if you don't have a HRM or Bodybug.

    Ditto
  • backinthenines
    backinthenines Posts: 1,083 Member
    I am deeply sceptical about people attempting to log energy expenditure based on daily life activities such as "child care", or "cleaning house"...

    Firstly... I think you should ask yourself whether you already did these actvities prior to losing weight in which case, in which case I would consider them "status quo"

    Secondly... I have seen websites that even give calorie scores for things like "grooming" (i.e. cleaning your teeth, having a shower)... I mean "seriously"??? How many people do you know that have lost weight by cleaning their teeth??? :huh:

    Thirdly... When they give calorie expenditure scores they are WILDLY overestimated. A bit of gardening apparently burns as much as a 6 mile run? Well, go run for 6 miles and see if you feel the same. :laugh:
  • Scidoc
    Scidoc Posts: 106 Member
    I would believe it if it was my dad who inputed that data. The guy can literally spend 5 hours in the yard ripping trees from their bare roots with his hands....worst part is the clean up (which my sisters and I would have to do...ew spiders/insects galore!).

    Like someone else said, if you feel like that it is an overestimate, just log in half of it. Good luck!
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