Cycling calorie counts?
chouflour
Posts: 193 Member
The stars have finally aligned, and I started bike commuting this week. I biked on Tuesday and felt good as long as I kept eating and eating. Today (Wednesday) I drove, but am STILL ravenous. My hunger cues are screwy, so I'm not sure if this is exercise-induced hunger or hormonal (aka insatiable) hunger.
MapMyRide (retroactive mapping, not the app) seems to think that I burned 940ish calories in 73 minutes, but I question my ability to burn 770 calories per hour. With online calculators varying from 700-1400, what do people find is reasonably accurate?
MapMyRide (retroactive mapping, not the app) seems to think that I burned 940ish calories in 73 minutes, but I question my ability to burn 770 calories per hour. With online calculators varying from 700-1400, what do people find is reasonably accurate?
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Assuming relatively flat terrain, burn is gonna depend on speed. For me, personally, this is a case where I've found the MFP calculator to be reasonably accurate -- Endomondo always seems too high. Just be sure to back out your RMR -- for me I'll back out 100 calories an hour (122 for a 73 minute ride), so you're not double-dipping.0
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Yeah, my commute is rolling all the way, which makes things a little more complex.
If MFP is close to right on the calorie counts, I'll assume this is exercise-induced hunger, and feed it lots of protein.0 -
According to my heart rate monitor I burn about 100 calories for every 10 minutes.0
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IME experience, MFP has overestimated by about a factor of 2 relative to bikecalculator.com. Strava is usually closer.
You can also treat the ride as being flat, and then add in 1 calorie per 100kg of body weight per 1 metre of elevation/climbing. Not perfect, but it'll put you within a reasonable error bar.0 -
Whenever I try to incorporate long hard or moderate cardio, my appetite soars, making it very hard to maintain a deficit. It might be easier to look at your calorie in/out over a week period rather than a day to see if cycling calories can help.0
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If MFP is close to right on the calorie counts, I'll assume this is exercise-induced hunger, and feed it lots of protein.
Protein? Interesting...now that biking / running season has started in earnest, I've had to bump up my carbs significantly (when I start craving sugar, I know I'm undereating carbs). I've kept my protein steady at 1 g / lb of LBM.0 -
IME experience, MFP has overestimated by about a factor of 2 relative to bikecalculator.com. Strava is usually closer.
You can also treat the ride as being flat, and then add in 1 calorie per 100kg of body weight per 1 metre of elevation/climbing. Not perfect, but it'll put you within a reasonable error bar.
MFP less RMR was awfully close to bikecalculator.com with a flat ride for this ride. They were both at the lower end of estimates I saw, and feel more realistic. I may just go with that and see how I do. The 1 calorie per 100kg (body weight plus bike weight?) per meter could be a useful tool though - do you have a reference for it?If MFP is close to right on the calorie counts, I'll assume this is exercise-induced hunger, and feed it lots of protein.
Protein? Interesting...now that biking / running season has started in earnest, I've had to bump up my carbs significantly (when I start craving sugar, I know I'm undereating carbs). I've kept my protein steady at 1 g / lb of LBM.
Probably not so generally interesting. I have gastroparesis (aka lazy stomach) and managing intake is a balancing act. It's safer (digestively) for me to stay closer to 1g protein/kg BW. Yesterday I had 1g protein/lb of LBM, which is "lots" for me.
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The stars have finally aligned, and I started bike commuting this week. I biked on Tuesday and felt good as long as I kept eating and eating. Today (Wednesday) I drove, but am STILL ravenous. My hunger cues are screwy, so I'm not sure if this is exercise-induced hunger or hormonal (aka insatiable) hunger.
MapMyRide (retroactive mapping, not the app) seems to think that I burned 940ish calories in 73 minutes, but I question my ability to burn 770 calories per hour. With online calculators varying from 700-1400, what do people find is reasonably accurate?
I always use my lean body mass for calculators and if the calculations aren't based on heart rate, they are pretty pointless.
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Generally I find if I am riding at easy endurance pace I get about 100 cal for 10 minutes (600/hr).
We can figure it out almost exactly if we use power values: an average of 166 watts for an hour will net you just about exactly 600 calories burned.
Turns out by some odd trick humans are about 25% efficient when cycling (meaning 25% of the calories you burn end up as power to the pedals). It also happens that there are about 4 kilojoules per kilocalorie (its actually 4.18 but close enough).
Watts are joules/second so if we know how many watts we are riding (need a power meter for this), we can be fairly close in our calorie burn estimation.
For example - lets say we rode at 166 watts for an hour. That might be tough for a newbie cyclist but for me that is a stroll down a nice trail. (166 watts * 3600 seconds)/1000 = 600 Kilojoules
(the divide by 1000 is to go from joules to kilojoules).
Since we happen to be 25 % efficient and there are 4ish KJ per KCal, it is a 1 to 1 conversion to calories. Therefore 600 kilojoules expended into the pedals is almost exactly 600 kilocalories burned by the body overall0 -
I agree with about 100 cal for 10 minutes. I ride to work and use my Polar HRM and its about that. Also i noticed that MFP's estimate without me imputing anything is pretty close to what the HRM numbers are.0
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I estimate 400 calories per hour. That seems to be about right given my weight loss.0
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For commute cycling, on a Brompton in London, my Garmin gives me about 300 cals per hour, or roughly 25 cals per km.
Heart rate is a meaningless indicator in this sense, because I'm in London and the biggest influence on my heart rate is mindless cage dwellers with no spatial awareness, and ped-lemmings who insist on stepping into the road.0 -
I find the MFP "Bicycling, 14-16 mph, vigorous (cycling, biking, bike riding) " to be a very reasonable sounding estimate.
MFP's "Bicycling, 16-20 mph, very fast (cycling, biking, bike riding)" seems too generous but there's a hell of a difference in effort for me in doing 16 or 20mph!
Garmin is ridiculously low for me.
Strava quite a bit low.
Runkeeper a bit high.
These are steady state rides compared to a HRM personalised with tested VO2 max and max HR settings and also compared against a power meter equipped bike.
As a rule of thumb 650/hr is my brisk two or three hour pace. Commuting or other riding in stop/start traffic would be considerably lower.
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I don't know how flexible you are with regards to speed/intensity, but if I stay in the aerobic zone (65-80% max heart rate; essentially able to carry on a conversation) I'm much less hungry at the end than if I'm pushing hard.
In the lower heart rate zone I don't lose that much speed (6% slower), but gain in distance (22% longer ride before fatigue).0 -
I agree with about 100 cal for 10 minutes. I ride to work and use my Polar HRM and its about that. Also i noticed that MFP's estimate without me imputing anything is pretty close to what the HRM numbers are.
A heart rate monitor is the way to go to get a fairly accurate number, my polar occasionally will have hiccups where it will spike my numbers to high for my heart rate. As long as the contacts are kept clean, well-placed and minimal radio interference.. your golden.
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My polar HRM measures me at about 800cals per hour keeping my heart rate towards the 80% mark. Cycling makes me ravenous too. I'm just trying to figure out how I can keep the hunger off. Big breakfast and big lunch and small dinner seems to be the best way for me.0
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I started cycling last summer and still have a hard time believing in the calorie burn. The different apps and calculators will give me (female 5'4" 142lbs) between 800-1200 calories for my rides, which are usually 2-3 hours at 20km/h average of hilly terrain. Even 800 just seems insanely high for two hours of exercise...0
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cokefloat1 wrote: »My polar HRM measures me at about 800cals per hour keeping my heart rate towards the 80% mark. Cycling makes me ravenous too. I'm just trying to figure out how I can keep the hunger off. Big breakfast and big lunch and small dinner seems to be the best way for me.
I just drink a lot of water, especially during the ride. You'll be surprised how much less hungry you are when you're not thirsty.
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800cal/hr is a sustained 222 watts - something that takes most people quite a bit of training to achieve.0
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I usually estimate about 40-50 cal/mile of sustained, rigorous cycling. If you're climbing or riding into the wind, it's a bit more. A power meter is the best way to estimate effort. At some point I need to buy one.0
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The stars have finally aligned, and I started bike commuting this week. I biked on Tuesday and felt good as long as I kept eating and eating. Today (Wednesday) I drove, but am STILL ravenous. My hunger cues are screwy, so I'm not sure if this is exercise-induced hunger or hormonal (aka insatiable) hunger.
MapMyRide (retroactive mapping, not the app) seems to think that I burned 940ish calories in 73 minutes, but I question my ability to burn 770 calories per hour. With online calculators varying from 700-1400, what do people find is reasonably accurate?
MapMyRide is way off in their calculations. I'd say they overestimate by about 100% (meaning that you probably expend about half the calories MMR reports, maybe less).0 -
To the OP: just wanted to say yay! for biking to work. I hope you continue to do so. It's such a great way to get exercise. I don't know your stats or how fast you ride but those calories don't raise my eyebrows on first glance. I think it's partly because I burn mucho calories on my rides. If you're averaging 14mph or more, it's definitely probably along with the commute time. My conclusion: hunger pangs.0
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PingiePingPing wrote: »I started cycling last summer and still have a hard time believing in the calorie burn. The different apps and calculators will give me (female 5'4" 142lbs) between 800-1200 calories for my rides, which are usually 2-3 hours at 20km/h average of hilly terrain. Even 800 just seems insanely high for two hours of exercise...
Can't see why you'd think that was so out of line. 400 cal/hr in hilly terrain strikes me as somewhat low, if anything, especially once you knock off your RMR.0 -
Avg Power: 167 W
Normalized Power (NP): 178 W
Distance: 22.68 km
Time: 46:01
Avg Speed: 29.6 km/h
Elevation Gain: 126 m
Calories: 369 C
Avg Temperature: 11.2 °C
From this morning. That's 20 mph, in the foothills and wind. You burn a lot less on the bike than you think. It's not fair but it is what it is. I wish there were power meters for running and swimming.
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Avg Power: 167 W
Normalized Power (NP): 178 W
Distance: 22.68 km
Time: 46:01
Avg Speed: 29.6 km/h
Elevation Gain: 126 m
Calories: 369 C
Avg Temperature: 11.2 °C
From this morning. That's 20 mph, in the foothills and wind. You burn a lot less on the bike than you think. It's not fair but it is what it is. I wish there were power meters for running and swimming.
That seems wrong, actually. With a variability index of 1.06 and avg power at 167 that *should* be an approx 450 calorie effort. Do you have the data that shows kilojoules expended? (That should come right from the power data)0 -
So I accept that my HRM is overestimating, but pedal meter base their results on the assumption humans are "25% efficient when cycling." I would think an experienced cyclist would be much more efficient than a novice.
Also, I assume the pedal meters are strain gauges. From my lab experience, these get out of calibration very easily if knocked. Perhaps the pedals are a different type or less prone to shock but i'd be surprised.
OP: I eat back half of what my HRM (Endomondo) measures and bank the rest to possibly use later. I've been averaging a little less of 2lbs/week loss so my diet and exercise measurements seem to be dialed in.0 -
Generally I find if I am riding at easy endurance pace I get about 100 cal for 10 minutes (600/hr).
We can figure it out almost exactly if we use power values: an average of 166 watts for an hour will net you just about exactly 600 calories burned.
Turns out by some odd trick humans are about 25% efficient when cycling (meaning 25% of the calories you burn end up as power to the pedals). It also happens that there are about 4 kilojoules per kilocalorie (its actually 4.18 but close enough).
Watts are joules/second so if we know how many watts we are riding (need a power meter for this), we can be fairly close in our calorie burn estimation.
For example - lets say we rode at 166 watts for an hour. That might be tough for a newbie cyclist but for me that is a stroll down a nice trail. (166 watts * 3600 seconds)/1000 = 600 Kilojoules
(the divide by 1000 is to go from joules to kilojoules).
Since we happen to be 25 % efficient and there are 4ish KJ per KCal, it is a 1 to 1 conversion to calories. Therefore 600 kilojoules expended into the pedals is almost exactly 600 kilocalories burned by the body overall
That is the best explanation i have ever read Nice write up
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chadboyer64 wrote: »So I accept that my HRM is overestimating, but pedal meter base their results on the assumption humans are "25% efficient when cycling." I would think an experienced cyclist would be much more efficient than a novice.
Also, I assume the pedal meters are strain gauges. From my lab experience, these get out of calibration very easily if knocked. Perhaps the pedals are a different type or less prone to shock but i'd be surprised.
OP: I eat back half of what my HRM (Endomondo) measures and bank the rest to possibly use later. I've been averaging a little less of 2lbs/week loss so my diet and exercise measurements seem to be dialed in.
The difference is actually minimal. Untrained cyclists have been measured at 24% and the most well-trained Tour-level riders only measure at 27%.
The meters are not necessarily in the pedals but yes they are strain gauges. I have one on each bike, one is in the crank spider itself (Quarq) and the other bike has it in the rear wheel hub (Powertap). Both are demonstrated in lab settings to not drift out of calibration much at all (and if they do they are defective)0 -
Avg Power: 167 W
Normalized Power (NP): 178 W
Distance: 22.68 km
Time: 46:01
Avg Speed: 29.6 km/h
Elevation Gain: 126 m
Calories: 369 C
Avg Temperature: 11.2 °C
From this morning. That's 20 mph, in the foothills and wind. You burn a lot less on the bike than you think. It's not fair but it is what it is. I wish there were power meters for running and swimming.
That seems wrong, actually. With a variability index of 1.06 and avg power at 167 that *should* be an approx 450 calorie effort. Do you have the data that shows kilojoules expended? (That should come right from the power data)
Just what garmin connect is pulling from the upload. Not using cheetah or anything:
Avg Power: 167 W
Max Power: 478 W
Max Avg Power (20 min): 170 W
Normalized Power (NP): 178 W
Intensity Factor (IF): 0.892
Training Stress Score (TSS): 54.5
Work: 416 kJ
Here's another one from Saturday - seems a touch low in my mind as well considering the effort but still better than my old 25 cals/km ballpark.
Distance: 85.72 km
Avg Speed: 28.4 km/h
Elevation Gain: 845 m
Calories: 1,216 C
Moving Time: 2:59:58
Max Speed: 57.2 km/h
Elevation Gain: 845 m
Elevation Loss: 844 m
Avg Power: 162 W
Max Power: 649 W
Max Avg Power (20 min): 199 W
Normalized Power (NP): 181 W
Intensity Factor (IF): 0.902
Training Stress Score (TSS): 221.9
Work: 1,597 kJ
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