This can't be right, is it?

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PeachyKeene
PeachyKeene Posts: 1,645 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am a member of the Lyons Club here in my home town. Annually, we do a bucket brigade at our ! local red light. Yes, we only have one red light. SMALL TOWN living!

Well to get to the point, I stood out at the red light for about 4 hours, standing and walking back and forth. Normally, I am sedentary, I am a legal secretary. Anyway, I figured I would put it into MFP. Well, MFP states that I burned 1251 calories for 4 hours. Do you think this is right?

Replies

  • sbwood888
    sbwood888 Posts: 953 Member
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    Wow. Really? Sounds high to me, but I am no expert.
  • QueenofCups
    QueenofCups Posts: 365 Member
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    well I just entered "standing" and one thing that came up was "fishing from river bank-standing" so I clicked on that and put in 240 minutes and it was 955 calories for me.So it *could* be right.
    I don't know if I would eat BACK those exercise calories, though. :)
  • Shawnalee0703
    Shawnalee0703 Posts: 1,093
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    it's probably closer than you think! :-D
  • spicegeek
    spicegeek Posts: 325 Member
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    a pretty brisk walk is 4 mph - so if you were walking briskly for 4 hours non stop - that 16 miles - about 1600 cals or so

    strolling pace is about 2 - 2.5 mph - say 8 milves covered in 4 hours - about 800 cals ( give or take more if you are heavier less if you are lighter )

    it rather depends how much time you spent walking and how briskly
  • woja9640
    woja9640 Posts: 450 Member
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    It depends on exactly how you are inputting the exercises.

    For the woman who entered standign on the bank fishing? You have to count for the fact that you are casting the line into the water and possibly catching at least 1 fish and fighting to get it to the bank.

    If you know how fast you walk, and you did walk back and forth for 4 hours straight then it may be correct.

    Do you have an iPod? If so, then get a Nike Sport kit which has a chip you can insert into your shoe while walking. This chip measures distance and time. In order to figure out the true speed you walk at, here's the equation: mph = distance divided by time (in hours). So say you walked 14 miles in that four hours. 14 miles divided by 4 hours is a 3.5 mph walking speed.

    I hope this helps you.
  • Classiccolors
    Classiccolors Posts: 5 Member
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    Here's something you could try. Go to your profile page and change the settings from sedentary to active and see what the difference in your daily goal would be. I think the examples they use for active are things like mail carrier and nurse. Do you think the activity you did today would be like that?
  • EKarma
    EKarma Posts: 594 Member
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    it's probably closer than you think! :-D


    I agree!
  • heatherslosingit
    heatherslosingit Posts: 46
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    120 mins slow walking which would be like walking up and down, burns 353 cals so 240 = 706 cals burned
    I think but could be wrong
  • PeachyKeene
    PeachyKeene Posts: 1,645 Member
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    Thanks everyone! I think I will have a cheeseburger on that!LOL
  • JE55Y
    JE55Y Posts: 333 Member
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    Wow! Did you feel weak and in need of food? I would feel like that if I had burnt that many calories. If you had used a Pedometre you could have gained a more acurate amount of calories burnt
  • cbirdso
    cbirdso Posts: 465 Member
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    I think MFP, like a HRM, estimates strenuous exercises like running, walking, strength training, etc. fairly accurately, but low level activity for extended periods always seem WAY OFF and I too would like to know why that is. When I see someone record such activity then I read that the person ate back a majority of those calories and then comes to the conclusion that eating back exercise calories is wrong and makes them gain weight, I suspect it was the 'extended activity' calculation that is in the wrong, not the notion that if you increase your activity, you need to match that with increased nutrition in order to let your body know it is okay to burn fat.
  • cbirdso
    cbirdso Posts: 465 Member
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    Here's something you could try. Go to your profile page and change the settings from sedentary to active and see what the difference in your daily goal would be. I think the examples they use for active are things like mail carrier and nurse. Do you think the activity you did today would be like that?

    I think this is a really good point, because I HAVE done that in the past. Now that I have lost weight, I am more active, so I changed my activity from Sedentary to Lightly Active because now I am doing more activities that I didn't before and that I don't record like occasional gardening and slow walks. And do you know what...???, MFP only added 150 calories a day! That to me seems to be more realistic.

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