over-inflated calories from exercise?

jenc555
jenc555 Posts: 39 Member
edited September 2024 in Success Stories
It seems as if the calorie counts for exercise are really high. I'm actually logging less time than I actually do b/c I think it gives me too much wiggle room. What do you think about it?

Replies

  • gargoyle999
    gargoyle999 Posts: 117 Member
    The auto calories are always a lot higher than what my HRM shows. So your observation seems correct!
  • keynesian
    keynesian Posts: 44 Member
    For me they are pretty similar to the readouts from the gym machines - so I'm happy enough to trust them for most acivities.
  • rodneyderrick
    rodneyderrick Posts: 483 Member
    Nothing wrong with that. I log about 75 percent of what I do.
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
    I've always gone with what the machines at the gym say, or in the case of my circuit training, what MFP says. I always try to eat all of my exercise calories and haven't had a problem. But, my body needs more calories than others do. If I get fewer than 1400 net calories I stop burning fat immediately.
  • DrAlbin
    DrAlbin Posts: 25
    Im finding when i put the time for elliptical, i have to adjust it from what MFP puts in automatically. For 30 min the difference is 200+ calories. As much as i like the larger number, i feel it will be cheating myself. It's not an exact science, but ill take the machines numbers.
  • schnarfo
    schnarfo Posts: 764 Member
    i always thought the ones on mfp were high but then i bought and tested my hrm.... turns out i burn MORE than what mfp was giving me
  • schnarfo
    schnarfo Posts: 764 Member
    i always thought the ones on mfp were high but then i bought and tested my hrm.... turns out i burn MORE than what mfp was giving me
  • dmanakho
    dmanakho Posts: 143 Member
    my time/calories burned on elliptical matches MFP pretty much up to a single calories...

    I guess different manufacturers and equipment have different scales. Looks like the one in my gym matches with MFP .
  • juliapurpletoes
    juliapurpletoes Posts: 951 Member
    I agree completely! My HRM shows way different than MFP...but why wouldn't it? The HRM takes your heart rate constantly and calculates on that info along with other data specific to you! MFP can only use a general population sample.

    And, if you really want to be super accurate, you gotta back out your maintanance calories. Really important once you are down to your last 10-20 pounds.

    :smile:
  • chubbachub
    chubbachub Posts: 40 Member
    I agree, it is over inflated. I can't believe I have burnt off all those calories. I use the machine readings and they are significantly lower. The readings it is giving me for just walking my dog also seem to high. If I need to use their estimates - I'm using it at 60% but yeah most of the time just goin on readouts.
  • PantalaNagaPampa
    PantalaNagaPampa Posts: 1,031 Member
    Agree... the exercise calories seem to be a little high for me. I use a HRM and track the calories on various machines with my weight and age added in with heart rate. I usally am 20-30 percent lower than what the Database has listed.
  • TourThePast
    TourThePast Posts: 1,753 Member
    Unless you're inputting your sex, age and weight into gym machines or online calorie calculators they'll be giving the calories burned for an average person.

    As a short fat middle ages woman, when I started using my heart rate monitor, I found that the gym machines had been overestimating by 25% (treadmill) and 40% (rowing machine). If you're tall and heavy you may find that gym machines / this site underestimate.

    Remember that while this site does know your weight etc, it does not tailor calories burned for any particular exercise on that information. At least I'm pretty sure it doesn't - if it does it's WAY out for a normal person LOL.
  • WolffEarl
    WolffEarl Posts: 379 Member
    It is probably easier to be more accurate for some activities, especially those that are steady state, like jogging at a fixed pace for example. I compared the estimated calories burned for a given speed while running for my weight from three different sites and mfp and they are all within about 20 cal of each other, so not do bad I think.
  • Kolohe71
    Kolohe71 Posts: 613 Member
    Get yourself a HRM... It will take a lot of the guess work out of calculating workout calories burned.
  • writtenINthestars
    writtenINthestars Posts: 1,933 Member
    I agree...I've tested the calories here vs my HRM and my HRM is always lower...I always go with what my HRM reads.
  • edenman34
    edenman34 Posts: 4
    I agree! I log my full time so I can keep track of everything on here so I can see how long and hard I've worked out, but I never eat back all the calories they give me. There are other calorie counters that seem to be more accurate so I rely on those if I am not sure how much I've burned.
  • denisec26
    denisec26 Posts: 199 Member
    hmm my hrm is always higher then mfp
  • StaceyL76
    StaceyL76 Posts: 711 Member
    In the past, I have always used what the actual machines say versus what MFP says. I just bought a HRM and used it today, My HRM said I burned almost 200+ calories than the machines. My HRM was very close to MFP within 20 calories.

    I always thought MFP was too high, but today I was very happy to know that my calorie burn has been higher than I thought! : )
  • Hannah_Banana
    Hannah_Banana Posts: 1,242 Member
    Be thankful, those that only have one, or even two numbers to read!

    I have: My bodybugg, which gives me one number. My heart rate monitor, which gives me another. MFP, which gives me yet another. And last but not least those wonderfully encouraging, but very tricky readers on gym equipment.

    Needless to say, I go with my bodybugg. :love:

    And yes, I do resemble a sweaty icu patient when working out. :bigsmile:
  • EDesq
    EDesq Posts: 1,527 Member
    It seems as if the calorie counts for exercise are really high. I'm actually logging less time than I actually do b/c I think it gives me too much wiggle room. What do you think about it?

    I really think that one should set their eating plan to incorporate all of their activity and let that be that. So if if you say you are an active or very active or sedentary person take the calories that it takes to maintain that THEN reduce those calories depending on how much you want to lose per week. That's how it appears to be here BUT say, if you input that you are Vary active, that is supposed to take into account an exercise routine of X minutes 4+ days per week. Why they give that back when you do exercise or day to day activities, I don't know.

    To be safe, I just in-put that I am Sedentary, then you can add back activity and exercise calories, depending how much you want to lose per week. Something is definitely wrong with giving back calories.
  • fitnessjch
    fitnessjch Posts: 449 Member
    Mines the other way round - MFP is less calories than the gym says. I log what the machine says
  • DangerRanger
    DangerRanger Posts: 327 Member
    I ALWAYS subtract. I rather underestimate than overestimate.<
    does that make sense?lol
  • eeeekie
    eeeekie Posts: 1,011 Member
    After I got my HRM I found MFP to give a lot less than what my HRM read. For one of my exercises it was 300 calories less than what my HRM showed. If you feel more comfortable logging less time to get less calories then do it. I used to do that (although I was way off base) but it felt safer to me.
  • timplar
    timplar Posts: 19
    I agree, the MFP numbers are inflated. I use a HRM, but on the days that I've actually used MFP, I only record 80% of the number it says.
  • legacysh
    legacysh Posts: 464
    I was worried too, bought an HRM and found that it was over calculating on most, and in some cases I was burning more that I expected. So I'm glad I got the HRM and I feel at least it is more accurate for me! I don't eat all my exercise calories back, because I don't trust all the calorie counts and I would rather be safe than sorry in most instances!
  • miranda52
    miranda52 Posts: 3
    I agree, I always subtract a bunch of calories from what it actually says I burn.
  • tmogs
    tmogs Posts: 287 Member
    :smile: MFP goes off the amount of calories burned that you inputted the first time you logged that exercise. From that point on it is giving you an estimate of what you did that first day. MFP doesn't know if you had a good or bad workout day, so just use good judgement until/if you choose to invest in a personal HRM. :smile:
  • IrishChick71
    IrishChick71 Posts: 311 Member
    i always thought the ones on mfp were high but then i bought and tested my hrm.... turns out i burn MORE than what mfp was giving me

    Me too!

    But recently the numbers are averaging out probably because I'm losing weight.
This discussion has been closed.

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