Workouts and Calorie counts

pcgboca
pcgboca Posts: 2 Member
in Getting Started
Ok, so I am a Noob to MyFitnessPal but it has proven to be very useful, so I am sticking with it.

My question is why when I do 30 minutes on the Stairmaster, elliptical, or treadmill I get calories added to my daily allowed intake (Which is what I want) but then when I do resistance training it does not add ANY to my total? :neutral:

I want to get lean and really dial in my intake, and I agree with the counter when I am over sodium, etc.....but you cannot tell me pumping Iron for 20-30 minutes takes zero calories?

Thanks
PCGBoca

Replies

  • macgurlnet
    macgurlnet Posts: 1,946 Member
    If you log your strength training under cardio, MFP will give you an estimate. It's very difficult to give a real estimate for anyone as it has no idea what weight you used, how much time you spent resting, etc etc etc.

    Some people look at strength training as just bonus calories that help make up for inaccuracies in logging and with calorie burn estimations.

    ~Lyssa
  • ernestmartin3
    ernestmartin3 Posts: 33 Member
    If you find an answer let me know. I have a fitbit and it did tell me that it was moderate exercise
  • Purrstachio2cat
    Purrstachio2cat Posts: 9 Member
    I have noticed that also. That's one reason I am using MFP only to keep track of calories and nutrients consumed and relying on my Microsoft Band to tally up calories burned. I think perhaps the reason that MFP doesn't add calories allowed for resistance training is that there are too many variables. With a run (or climb), it depends mostly on your weight, speed, maybe heart rate. With resistance training, the calculation would have to consider weight, lean muscle mass - which burns more calories, heart rate which, for me anyway, is more variable when I'm lifting. I'm just guessing here - I don't really know what algorithms it's using.

    Is there an MFP expert out there who really knows why.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    macgurlnet wrote: »
    Some people look at strength training as just bonus calories that help make up for inaccuracies in logging and with calorie burn estimations.

    This is what I do—and I lost the weight & have maintained for a year. YMMV.

    It's human nature to underestimate your food & overestimate your exertion levels. I just consider my lifting burns extra "insurance" I'm eating at a true deficit.
  • macgurlnet
    macgurlnet Posts: 1,946 Member
    editorgrrl wrote: »
    macgurlnet wrote: »
    Some people look at strength training as just bonus calories that help make up for inaccuracies in logging and with calorie burn estimations.

    This is what I do—and I lost the weight & have maintained for a year. YMMV.

    It's human nature to underestimate your food & overestimate your exertion levels. I just consider my lifting burns extra "insurance" I'm eating at a true deficit.

    To go along with this -

    If I do anything with weights, I'm generally hungrier that day and/or the next. I try to bank calories on off days so I've got the wiggle room for extra. And I try to walk extra, too, so I have the calories available for those munchies.

    ~Lyssa

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited June 2015
    It is very difficult to estimate calorie burns from anaerobic activities like weight lifting, etc. There are just too many variables. I've always just chalked up an hour of lifting to a couple hundred calories.
  • Vicktor13
    Vicktor13 Posts: 1 Member
    I'm new to this and my workout is my job. I work in professional kitchens as a line cook, on my feet for 8-12 hours a day, sometimes lifting upwards of 50lbs, but almost every night spend 5-6 hours actually cooking on the line, constantly doing squats, spinning between my station and the stove, and moving as fast as I can to push food out on time in temperatures in excess of 110F ...How should I enter this as exercise?
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    edited June 2015
    Vicktor13 wrote: »
    I'm new to this and my workout is my job. I work in professional kitchens as a line cook, on my feet for 8-12 hours a day, sometimes lifting upwards of 50lbs, but almost every night spend 5-6 hours actually cooking on the line, constantly doing squats, spinning between my station and the stove, and moving as fast as I can to push food out on time in temperatures in excess of 110F ...How should I enter this as exercise?

    Work (including housework, yard work & lawn care) is part of your activity level—not exercise. Start with active for a couple of weeks, then reevaluate your progress: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided
  • mamazum
    mamazum Posts: 1 Member
    Hi, i am new here too. Found same problem with Strength.
    Since I have a personal trainer, we do things in sets(or rounds), I found logged on Circuit Training and enter number of calories my trainer estimates.
    That way I have at least documented when I had a session. Hope it helps. Good luck.

    Hope someone will give us better answer :)
  • pcgboca
    pcgboca Posts: 2 Member
    Thanks to all for the awesome answers - and what's even more awesome is how busy this community is and how informative.

    So I can see there are too many variables to calculate with any accuracy the weight training, so now I get that.

    My wife finds the FitBit very helpful, and I am thinking who cares, I am going to lift weights, do the circuits, do the cardio, and eat by the plan, and the results will come B)

    I have heard not to over focus on too many details, so be it.....

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