Why doesn't weight training impact daily calorie counts?

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janiegirl108
janiegirl108 Posts: 9 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I alternate my days with cardio and weight training classes. I work my butt off during the weight classes yet MFP does not register it as any calories burned.? Does that mean I must eat less calories on those days in order to stay within my calorie goal even though I am working out and sweating? Seems unfair .. :s
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  • ruggedshutter
    ruggedshutter Posts: 389 Member
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    I use a suspension trainer and log it as circuit training in the cardio section. I log about 1/4 of the value that MFP assigns it.
  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
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    Same, and there is also a strength training option under cardio that you can use. Just do not ever use MFP's default calorie burn for any exercise, unless you're 600 lbs.
  • sgthaggard
    sgthaggard Posts: 581 Member
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    Because there are just too many variables (weight you are lifting, speed, range of motion, etc) to accurately calculate burn.
  • Brittany91389
    Brittany91389 Posts: 32 Member
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    I agree with the person above me. There are too many variables to calculate calories burned on those days. When I lift I make sure my protein intake is a little higher on those days. If I take a class, like BodyPump, you can log it into MFP but even the advertisements for the class say they can't predict how much you'll burn.
  • kelly_e_montana
    kelly_e_montana Posts: 1,999 Member
    edited January 2015
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    Look under cardio and you will find a strength training option.

    Also, you burn calories after a weight work out--not as many as during, but some. There's no good way to know EXACTLY how much you've burned, or what your after burn effect is, so eat more to fuel your workouts. But, after a few weeks if you're not losing, kick the cals down. You kind of have to play with it.

    What is the nature of your weight training classes? Are you talking heavy squats and deads or are you talking Body Pump? I ask because really Body Pump is more of a cardio workout than a strength training workout anyway. You mentioned sweating also and I powerlift and usually don't sweat much. So I'm kind of wondering if you aren't doing cardio...
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
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    It would be useful to know what sort of class you're talking about here. The MFP strength training entry is more for traditional weightlifting (i.e., lift for maybe a minute, 3 minute break, repeat). If it's a class where there are minimal pauses and smaller weights, that's more of a "circuit training" entry, with a far higher calorie burn.
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
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    https://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/11170-why-don-t-you-calculate-calories-burned-for-strength-training-
  • JeyLR
    JeyLR Posts: 1 Member
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    sofaking6 wrote: »
    Just do not ever use MFP's default calorie burn for any exercise, unless you're 600 lbs.

    Can you expand on this point? Should you go higher or lower?

  • tephanies1234
    tephanies1234 Posts: 299 Member
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    JeyLR wrote: »
    sofaking6 wrote: »
    Just do not ever use MFP's default calorie burn for any exercise, unless you're 600 lbs.

    Can you expand on this point? Should you go higher or lower?

    lol ...lower...much lower
  • janiegirl108
    janiegirl108 Posts: 9 Member
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    Thanks for all your responses.. Not sure what Body Pump is but I take 1 hour weight lifting classes at gym.. It covers all body parts and different exercises each class. I guess I can wear a heart rate monitor and really know the calories burned.. and mark is a cardio class.. would that make sense?
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
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    janiegirl108 wrote: »
    Thanks for all your responses.. Not sure what Body Pump is but I take 1 hour weight lifting classes at gym.. It covers all body parts and different exercises each class. I guess I can wear a heart rate monitor and really know the calories burned.. and mark is a cardio class.. would that make sense?

    No it wouldn't. HRMs are inaccurate for calculating burn from lifting.
  • AllanMisner
    AllanMisner Posts: 4,140 Member
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    Okay, let’s break this down from a goals perspective.

    If you want to do the whole deficit game of calories in and calories out, then measure then measure, guestimate, tweak and calculate. Weight training is usually for a greater end. If you’re wanting that greater end, then keep reading.

    We eat to manage our fat, we lift to manage our body composition. Guess which one leads to beater health? Our ancestors never counted calories, because they didn’t even know what calories are. So, how did they maintain health? They worked hard and ate to fuel that work. When the calories weren’t available, they worked less. Since we have more calories than we need (easily available food), we should look at food as fuel.

    Lift heavy and eat what you need to accomplish the goal.
  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
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    Search the cardio exercise database for:
    Strength training (weight lifting, weight training)

    It doesn't burn a lot of calories, but you'll get a little credit.
    If your goal is to lose weight, as a rule, don't eat back exercise calories anyway. Once in a while, if you're still hungry at the end of the day, have 1/2 to 1/3 of them as a snack.
  • ullc316
    ullc316 Posts: 33 Member
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    Lol weights burn way more cals then cardio! Its 2 hard 2 say how much u lift would affect sum1 else say me! 100lbs might be tough 4u but easy for me!
  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
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    JeyLR wrote: »
    sofaking6 wrote: »
    Just do not ever use MFP's default calorie burn for any exercise, unless you're 600 lbs.

    Can you expand on this point? Should you go higher or lower?

    Way lower, like 50%. This morning it tried to give me 378 calories for a 30 minute workout which included a warmup and cooldown so was really 200 *at most*. I logged 175.

  • searsvls
    searsvls Posts: 164 Member
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    It sounds like you are taking a BodyPump type of class. Look under the cardio. It is listed as les Mills BodyPump. I would log 30 minutes if you are doing an hour just based on not knowing exactly how many calories you are burning. Just my two cents.
  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
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    There's no way of accurately gauging or even ball parking how many calories you burn in weight training. Anyway the strength training section of the exercise log exists solely to track your lifting progress. It is not there for calorie management purposes. Also, this question is asked at least twice daily on these forums. Please use the search feature.
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
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    janiegirl108 wrote: »
    Thanks for all your responses.. Not sure what Body Pump is but I take 1 hour weight lifting classes at gym.. It covers all body parts and different exercises each class. I guess I can wear a heart rate monitor and really know the calories burned.. and mark is a cardio class.. would that make sense?

    Again, depends on what the lift / rest ratio is. If you're lifting relatively light weights with minimal (well under a minute) rest breaks between sets, then that logs as circuit training (or bodypump would be even closer). Something like that could also be tracked on an HRM. Where an HRM fails is in more traditional lifting (lift for ~1 minute, rest for ~3 minutes).
  • janiegirl108
    janiegirl108 Posts: 9 Member
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    Thank you all.. according to all sites I should be eating 1200 calories.. seem like so little and I result in being hungry even with high protein intake. so I usually try to NET out at 1200 after exercise.. perhaps that is why I am having difficulty losing.. but eating only 1200 c total does not usually give me enough energy for my cardio and weight classes that I take in the evenings.
  • kprados
    kprados Posts: 1 Member
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    Lifting is icing on the cake. Cardio is how you burn calories. Adequte refuelling is essential. Recovery is mandatory.

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