HRM question

Total, at least mine does. I subtract the estimated base calorie burn before entering my numbers.

Do they calculate total calories burned (includes basal metabolism) or net calories burned (just what's attributable to the exercise itself)? I dont want to over calculate. Thanks!

Total cals burned. and since MFP gives you your maintenance calories you should back out maintenance, not just BMR, during the duration of exercise. MFP gives you a caloire allotment based on maintenance then gives you a deficit. so if you only remove BMR you would double count the caloires between BMR and maintenance.

"so if you only remove BMR you would double count the caloires between BMR and maintenance.":
:huh: Sorry you lost me there. How do you calculate actual exercise calories?

As an example say you HRM says you burned 500 calories in 60 minutes, you should back out what you would have burned had you not worked out. Since you would not be in a coma, BMR cals are not enough to back out. What you do is take your maintenance calories/min and take that away from the 500 your HRM says. So if your maintenance is 2100 calories that would be 1.46 (2100/24/60) cals/minute burned. This would give you 412 (500-1.46*60min) calories burned from exercise.

You can get your maintenance calories from your goals page, on the top right of that page you will see calories burned from normal daily activity, those are your maintenance caloires.