Friend me if you don't lie about your exercise cals

2

Replies

  • angielisa75
    angielisa75 Posts: 46 Member
    I use my Garmin heart rate monitor, I feel its the most accurate way of keeping track of my heart rate while working out and it gives a good estimate on how many calories I burned. For its about the fat burn not the calorie burn.
  • kellycasey5
    kellycasey5 Posts: 486 Member
    Wow.

    I can burn 350+ calories walking at that rate on the treadmill with the incline cranked up. I am 177 pounds and do this regularly for 45 mins. I wear a hr monitor with chest strap, it is steady state cardio, and I average a hr of 150-155 bpm.

    Some of us get calorie burns like that without lying. It has nothing to do with your running, and it isn't overestimated. I couldn't find the walk that had "insanely uphill constantly" so I choose the 3.5 mph. It might really tweak you to know I can go even slower (2-3 mph range) and burn that. All depends on the incline level I choose. Then again, I "claim" 1 calorie so I don't have to math out my totals with meals throughout the day.

    However, if you want to do a "leisurely" run with similar burns, I suggest a 4.5 mph crawl uphill. Maybe up a mountain trail or set the treadmill as high as it will go. Now you don't have to run so fast :smile:
  • Annanna91
    Annanna91 Posts: 54 Member
    This is exactly the reason why I wear my polar watch when working out, or my garmin when I'm doing an outdoor run. Whilst I'd like to believe that I burn loads of calories I know that I don't.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    I just type in the number of minutes I'm doing what and mfp determines the calories. Also people who weigh more burn more calories.
  • llUndecidedll
    llUndecidedll Posts: 724 Member
    edited February 2015
    If the incline is high enough, then that person may be burning about 100 calories per mile. For example I walk 3 mph at 10% incline, I cut my calorie counter reading in half. That amount still averages out to about 100 calories per mile.

    I don't have an HRM and I only walk, so I always cut the treadmill reading in half. But, I think some people just may not know how exaggerated the calorie burns are that machines and MFP give.

    Honestly, your post reminds me of why I stopped sharing my workouts on my feed. I did a lot of cardio in the past and had a feeling that my friend list at that time was questioning my calorie burns.
  • JennaD075
    JennaD075 Posts: 43 Member
    WOW!
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    edited February 2015
    I'm trying to be in maintenance. I assumed that mfp was overestimating with exercise calories, so I didn't eat them all back AND I am still losing. Therefore, either the exercise calories are correct or the base number is too low or even both are too low. It's all a huge estimate anyway. Still trying to figure out my tdee, but it seems like mfp underestimates it with the little data I have so far.

    So, no idea what you mean by giving too much credit. I don't determine what to enter. mfp does.
  • subversive99
    subversive99 Posts: 273 Member
    Darn, and I was totally planning on friending you until you posted this.
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    it's kinda rude to passive aggressively diss the people on your friends list like this o.p.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,184 Member
    I don't eat back exercise cals, so I log it as whatever MFP logs it as and leave it like that so I can see what I've been doing historically. Didn't realise I'd get called a liar for it, LOL.
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
    Aviva92 wrote: »
    it's kinda rude to passive aggressively diss the people on your friends list like this o.p.

    I can't believe I'm saying this but, I agree with the above.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,184 Member
    PikaKnight wrote: »
    Aviva92 wrote: »
    it's kinda rude to passive aggressively diss the people on your friends list like this o.p.

    I can't believe I'm saying this but, I agree with the above.

    LOL, whenever I see a post that is asking for friends who needs new friends because they're sick of "insert apparently offensive/annoying thing here" I check to see if the OP is a friend, because it seems kind of rude.
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
    PikaKnight wrote: »
    Aviva92 wrote: »
    it's kinda rude to passive aggressively diss the people on your friends list like this o.p.

    I can't believe I'm saying this but, I agree with the above.

    LOL, whenever I see a post that is asking for friends who needs new friends because they're sick of "insert apparently offensive/annoying thing here" I check to see if the OP is a friend, because it seems kind of rude.

    *nods* I don't know about anyone else, but that's not really someone I'd see as a good friend, either as a virtual MFP buddy or a RL one.
  • I know I burn more lifting than any warm up cardio I do. But it's just the facts, MFP isn't 100% accurate but it keeps people motivated in a sense
  • BraveNewdGirl
    BraveNewdGirl Posts: 937 Member
    usmcmp wrote: »
    I'm a liar. I mark all mine as 1 calorie burned.
    This! I just like to keep track of my workouts, I'm not concerned with calories burned.

  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    PikaKnight wrote: »
    Aviva92 wrote: »
    it's kinda rude to passive aggressively diss the people on your friends list like this o.p.

    I can't believe I'm saying this but, I agree with the above.

    :'(
  • PhilP0wer
    PhilP0wer Posts: 76 Member
    My fitbit always low balls my calorie count. At the end of the day all I really care about is how I look and how much I can lift! This site does keep me honest (or at least embarrassed) about my eating habits though :D
  • PrizePopple
    PrizePopple Posts: 3,133 Member
    PikaKnight wrote: »
    PikaKnight wrote: »
    Aviva92 wrote: »
    it's kinda rude to passive aggressively diss the people on your friends list like this o.p.

    I can't believe I'm saying this but, I agree with the above.

    LOL, whenever I see a post that is asking for friends who needs new friends because they're sick of "insert apparently offensive/annoying thing here" I check to see if the OP is a friend, because it seems kind of rude.

    *nods* I don't know about anyone else, but that's not really someone I'd see as a good friend, either as a virtual MFP buddy or a RL one.

    Well crumbs, I was just about to go post something snarky about all my friends.

    giphy.gif
  • LINIA
    LINIA Posts: 1,159 Member
    please answer us back here because I am wondering, at this point, if you understand what is written ; doing the exact same workout I do, a person who is 8 inches taller and weighs twice my weight ( 2x 120 = 240 pounds) will have a very different calorie burn than I am getting.

    also, many of us Do Not eat back the exercise calories, in addition remember that not everyone is overweight on MFP, some of us enjoy being accountable , even though we have never had even one overweight day.
  • I didn't know how bad the over estimations were in MFP until I started using my work phone that has a step counter. I have yet to use it while cleaning on the weekends which is where I get the majority of my exercise right now. I'm still trying to find a doctor for my medical issues so exercise is very sporadic for me. I need to do it though.... I'm HUNGRY lol
  • karmcl
    karmcl Posts: 8 Member
    Aviva92 wrote: »
    it's kinda rude to passive aggressively diss the people on your friends list like this o.p.

    It's not my friends on here...it's when I read about someone complaining on a message board thread that they're not losing--and then I look at their exercise log and see they're overestimating. My MFP friends are all awesome.

    Anywayzzz I'm kinda done w/ this thread now. It probably wasn't very nice of me to assume, and the replies from you all were not very nice either. Have a great day!
  • LynneW1983
    LynneW1983 Posts: 1,161 Member
    sofaking6 wrote: »
    How do you know that you're burning exactly 100 calories/mile when you run? Or are you LYING?

    Love it
  • jazzine1
    jazzine1 Posts: 280 Member
    edited February 2015
    MY JOURNEY, MY CALORIES, MY BURN.

    MY numbers shouldnt bother you because MY NUMBERS dont effect you.

    Besides most ppl just log in the workouts in and MFP displays the number of burnt calories. Your rant should be about how MFP overestimates not about how ppl are lying.
  • debrakgoogins
    debrakgoogins Posts: 2,033 Member
    People generally aren't intentionally lying - they are using MFP's (inaccurate) database, without knowing any better.

    And burns depend on a lot of factors. I'd burn more running a mile than you, because I weigh more.

    All calorie burning is estimation.

    Yes, this! I don't purposely over-inflate my calories burned. I use the MFP data base and it plugs in my calories. I know that MFP overestimates calories used, so I try to only eat back about half of the calories it gives me.

  • Alidecker
    Alidecker Posts: 1,262 Member
    My Fitbit movement gives me calories, but I set my calories low on MFP to begin with. I have a total I aim for with or without the exercise. I adjust these numbers occasionally depending on how things are going. It's really just a place to log food and my fitbit reminds me to get up and move more often.
  • i've always suspected the calories expended on here as being overestimated; however - for my hour run at the weekend, both my garmin and strava stated a higher caloric burn than MFP

    conversely, i find that MFP comes up with a lower BMR for me than other sources, so it's kind of a swings and roundabouts scenario.

    regardless of its accuracy, i've consistently lost/maintained using MFP as my main tracking tool, so something must be working.
  • kishstl
    kishstl Posts: 40 Member
    Everyone calm down, she put a smiley face at the end so it's all OK.
  • allaboutthecake
    allaboutthecake Posts: 1,535 Member
    OP, no offense, but when reading black-n-white posts, yours especially sounds angry.... :) ....I'm not looking to add to my FL, but this just observation.

    Oh, and I use a calibrated trusty HRM with a trusty chest strap, so my cals burned on the hours I spend are pretty accurate. Don't take that away from me.
  • zipitzippy
    zipitzippy Posts: 86 Member
    I use the Pacer app for day exercise as I always have my phone on me & got for long walks to/from train station and at lunch. So I pretty much trust this calorie burn.

    As for calories burned on the treadmill, I go by what the machine at the gym tells me and change what MFP automatically puts in. Majority of the time I don't eat back exercise cals so I use the number on the treadmill which tells me distance walked, time, my weight is inputted and it tells me the calorie burn. I usually fast walk on an incline and burn about 100 calories every 10 minutes of walking.

    I don't however trust the Zumba entry on MFP...but don't bother to change the figure
  • Guns_N_Buns
    Guns_N_Buns Posts: 1,899 Member
    SKME2013 wrote: »
    It does not bother me the slightest whether people are over or underestimating their calorie burn. I cheer them for doing something instead of nothing. If they overestimate they will have trouble losing weight and that is not my problem. Being active is superb and for that everyone who posts sports activities should in my humble opinion be cheered.
    Stef.

    X2