Yet another exercise calorie issue

llkilgore
llkilgore Posts: 1,169 Member
edited September 25 in Health and Weight Loss
I get what everyone is saying about eating back exercise calories, and even believe it should be done. My problem is that I've always had a strong suspicion that MFP systematically overestimates the calories burned, at least for me. While I've lost weight nearly every week I've been on the program (all but 1 week so far), I've always come up short of the predicted loss. And not only that - I've come up short by a fairly consistent percentage nearly every week. So I knew something wasn't quit right. Either there was an error somewhere in the math or generalized assumptions made by MFP didn't happen to apply to me.

So last night I was searching around the net, trying to get a better handle on the issue, when I came across this site:

http://www.caloriesperhour.com/index_burn.php

At first I found it to be very reassuring - at least so far as MFP's math is concerned. I ran the numbers on several different cardio activities and the results were either dead on the same as those of MFP or within a few calories. But then I read this page:

http://www.caloriesperhour.com/tutorial_net.php

Either I'm confused (which is entirely possible) or MFP double counts the BMR calories for the duration of the exercise. Ether that or the individual(s) responsible for this site don't know what they're doing.

Well, at any rate.... Henceforth I'll be eating back only two thirds of the exercise calories MFP gives me*, at least until someone straightens out my thinking on this.

*I just realized that the two thirds fudge factor is valid only for the activity in the example, which happens to be one I do every day. For other activities I'll need to subtract the contribution of BMR/hour from the calculate value.

Replies

  • melischemitz
    melischemitz Posts: 46 Member
    If you use a heart rate monitor you won't have to use MFP's calculations.
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
    Just to give you some perspective, I've been using MFP estimates (and eating almost down to the last cal) for 6+mo and have been losing pretty steadily. I'm all for finding what works for you though and if 2/3 of your cals works for you, then go for it.

    I just wanted to post that I think you may want to consider getting an HRM so you can be fully confident in the cals you are burning/eating back. I'm pretty sure when you get them you find your "base" cals burned and subtract them from the time of your workout- it's by far the most accurate.

    Best of luck!
    ~Gonks
  • velvetkat
    velvetkat Posts: 454 Member
    I didn't know how to figure out what was right either with the burning of calories and certain activities so I got a Heart Rate Monitor so I wouldn't have any question. I use it with every exercise I do including any pool exercises. I do not use it during the regular activities I do during the day as I figure I would be doing those anyway and should not be counted as a part of my exercise. I mean I clean every day which would be normal for me.(just my personal opinion.)
  • dave4d
    dave4d Posts: 1,155 Member
    Even with a heart rate monitor, since it counts your calories burned during the hour of your workout, my belief is that you should subtract some calories due to your bmr burn wich is figured into this site.
  • bcmallwalker
    bcmallwalker Posts: 63
    Well, I can't speak from an authoritative viewpoint, just from my experience. But I rarely eat ALL of the calories that I burn. Some days I burn a huge number of calories, from 1300 to over 1600. I can't imagine eating all of that on top of my 1200 calories., but I do eat an extra 600 calories or so on those days. I did eat all of them one day last week, but only because we went to a Chinese Buffet for supper.

    I take their projected weight loss with a grain of salt. But then even though I want to lose another 60+ lbs, for me it's more about learning to create healthy habits and a healthy relationship with food, than it is about losing a certain amount of weight by a certain date.
  • llkilgore
    llkilgore Posts: 1,169 Member
    Even with a heart rate monitor, since it counts your calories burned during the hour of your workout, my belief is that you should subtract some calories due to your bmr burn wich is figured into this site.

    I've wondered if HRMs calculate the BMR and correct for it. Those on the machines at the gym seem to report lower burn values than I would expect, based on MFP's numbers for activities of similar intensity.
  • taso42_DELETED
    taso42_DELETED Posts: 3,394 Member
    Kudos to you for digging in and doing some research. I think incorporating a fudge-factor and/or or using an alternate method of measurement is a great idea. And every few weeks comparing actual results with predicted results and making adjustments is the pro thing to do.
  • 123456654321
    123456654321 Posts: 1,311 Member
    I was always under the impression that you are supposed to subtract the calories that you would normally be burning without exercise from MFP's total burned, otherwise you would be doubling the BMR calories per hour for that particular hour of exercise (wait, did that make sense?) anyhow... ...I do no think MFP does this math for you, but it would be great if they did though!
  • dave4d
    dave4d Posts: 1,155 Member
    I rarely go by mfp numbers for exercise. I don't know how they figure it out. If I am on a machine, I use what is on the machine. If I use a heart rate monitor, I usually subtract around a hundred calories from my total, if I have worked out for an hour, due to BMR.
  • Therapist_mama
    Therapist_mama Posts: 135 Member
    After reading all the responses to this post I am much more confused about this whole issue than I was before I thought I understood it! I am beginning to feel like it is way too much work to keep up with all the calculations and food that must be eaten to do it correctly!!! Ugh! Taso HELP!!!!!
  • taso42_DELETED
    taso42_DELETED Posts: 3,394 Member
    After reading all the responses to this post I am much more confused about this whole issue than I was before I thought I understood it! I am beginning to feel like it is way too much work to keep up with all the calculations and food that must be eaten to do it correctly!!! Ugh! Taso HELP!!!!!

    Hopefully not to confuse the issue further.....

    In an ideal world we could count every calorie consumed and burned to precise accuracy and we would know our exact daily calorie burn down to the last fraction of a calorie. If we had this data, it would be simple to know exactly how many grams of peanut butter to put on our toast, etc, in order to maintain an exact calorie deficit day after day.

    But in the real world, we work with estimates. What if a little more olive oil dripped into my salad? What if the "medium banana" i logged was more like "medium and a half". What if the 300 calories I burned on the treadmill were really 256? What about the hershey's kiss I ate and forgot to log?

    Given that it's easy to underestimate how much we've eaten and overestimate how much we've burned, putting in a "fudge factor", and leaving a few calories on the table each day isn't such a bad idea. I think this is why even a lot of the "i never eat my exercise calories" people seem to have success. There's a margin of error in the data.

    After you have several weeks of data behind you, you can look at the your results and compare to the theoretical, and make some adjustments if necessary.
  • velvetkat
    velvetkat Posts: 454 Member
    After reading all the responses to this post I am much more confused about this whole issue than I was before I thought I understood it! I am beginning to feel like it is way too much work to keep up with all the calculations and food that must be eaten to do it correctly!!! Ugh! Taso HELP!!!!!

    Don't get discouraged with all the "data" stuff! Just eat what you are supposed to and do some daily exercise and you will lose weight. As you get into the healthy lifestyle mode(i refuse to say diet) you will feel comfortable counting your food and your exercise and be able to adjust. I started with about 1400 calories and did 15 min walk. Used the calculations here on MFP and lost weight, Now I eat 1200 calories a day of "GOOD" food and use a HRM and do more exercise and still lose weight! There is no "perfect" way. What ever works best for you.

    You will do fine!! Good luck!! add me as a friend if you would like.
    Kat

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    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Weight Loss Tools
  • taso42_DELETED
    taso42_DELETED Posts: 3,394 Member
    ^^^^^^^ Great common sense advice above. Sometimes it's good to take a step back and remember that eating right and exercising is the whole key, and you don't necessarily have to be a data junkie to succeed!
  • kelsully
    kelsully Posts: 1,008 Member
    I had to tweak my numbers a bit. I like to give myself about 100-150 cals fudge room...because I don't measure things all the time. I also am one of the few people who gets a higher burn number ...most days at least....from my HRM than I do MFP...don't know why..so I usually knock about 20-30 cals off HRM number and give myself a little cushion at the end of my day to make up for eating 30 cashews instead of 28...LOL...When I was at MFP's maintenance goal for me weight was creeping on...despite doing the whole cushion thing then too...I didn't want to really lose so I picked a number between maintenance and losing and have found success....my body comp and size are only considered to a certain degree here so I had to do a big of figuring on my own..still the tool of tracking..setting goals etc is still great
  • Therapist_mama
    Therapist_mama Posts: 135 Member
    Thank you Kat and Taso! I am definitely feeling overwhelmed by all the data stuff and trying to keep up with it all! I decided I am just going to eat sensibly and exercise and never mind counting calories......so for now I am not going to use this site to put in calories and exercise......I will however, check in and see how everyone is doing and let you know I am as well. Thank you for your awesome support!
  • llkilgore
    llkilgore Posts: 1,169 Member
    After you have several weeks of data behind you, you can look at the your results and compare to the theoretical, and make some adjustments if necessary.

    I'm more than ready to make those adjustments and let a big chunk of the recommended exercise calories go. I'm not working against any sort of deadline here, so none of this would particularly matter to me if I were hungry enough want all of the calories MFP tells I should have. But I rarely am that hungry. Most days I've felt like I was having to force feed myself.
  • Therapist_mama
    Therapist_mama Posts: 135 Member
    So I went grocery shopping at Costco today for Milk and eggs and while I was there I was perusing the electronics section of the store and discovered a HRT from New Balance......it was the last one in the store.......I felt a pang of conscience and realized that the universe was giving me a message not to give up! Ugh! I just want this to be easy not hard and time consuming!!!!!
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