Unfortunately, actual calorie burn is a much more complicated process than these simple apps can calculate with any acceptable degree of accuracy.
Even the calculation for your TDEE and BMR are best guesses. I recommend just using them as an initial guideline and then just getting to know yourself and determine your own values. It requires staying as consistent as possible with your consumption and activity level and then monitoring your loss over several weeks or months. If you want to change your rate of loss, then just adjust one thing, either intake or activity and then monitor again.

My sister and I walk every day and her app estimates 50+ calories more than MFP does. I went to livestrong.com and they talk about MET values and direct you to another site where you can calculate a decentish estimate. I fear that short of exercising in a lab with wires and whatnot dangling from our bodies, estimates are the best we will likely get.

It all depends on the exercise - blanket statements saying the database exaggerates are a gross simplification.
Some will be reasonably accurate, some will be completely fancifully exaggerated, some will be low.

The more standard activities like walking and running are pretty standard formulas. Some of the dance/activity based ones are open to far too much variation in intensity to be reasonable for everyone.

Strength exercise is just about impossible to measure so MFP is as good as anything.

I use a HRM for cardio that's been custom set up with my tested max heartrate and VO2 max but even that is open to variations and outside influences. For example my three hour cycle ride was actually only 2:48 cycling but the HRM is still clocking up exercise calories when I'm sitting at traffic lights. After donating blood my exercise HR was elevated for a few weeks. If it's hot my HR is higher etc etc.

As long as people are consistent, apply a bit of common sense based on their fitness levels and prepared to adjust based on results then the eat back exercise calories method works fine.

Don't even count exercise calories. Just don't! Your body burns plenty of calories just keeping you alive. That's not to say don't exercise. Obesity wasn't a problem with our ancestors. Move more, eat less.

Isn't if funny? I will do that too. If I am over I will go do something to make up for it. I do eat most of my exercise calories and it has worked well for me (lot 80+ lbs.)

I have started waiting to put my exercise in at the end of the day so that I don't even factor it in to what I eat.
That seems to be working better for me.

dbrhseny1 wrote: »

Because I see what seems to be calories burned from exercise I seem to do more exercise than eating. That could be a good thing, but it could also be a disaster since I once had a history of anorexia and as we all know it doesn't take much to trigger it out of remission, so I am simply trying to stay watchful.

I know you will be successful in continuing your recovery. We are all behind you.

getup25 wrote: »

My cardiologist told me today I had to ease up on my exercise. I'm going to try to space it out a bit more so hopefully I don't get the chest pain. The pain is more of a discomfort but he doesn't want that. I understand but it is frustrating. I'm trying to recover from knee surgery. He also put me on half days for work.

It is always hard when various body parts are not cooperating. Our brains want us to go, go, go and the rest of us puts a hitch in its giddyap. I hope he clears you soon. In the meantime get some rest.