Impossible to know exercise calories burned.

wildon883r · May 2011

Just as the title states it really is hit and miss. As an example i don't log any exercise because there is no calories per hour burned rate for my job. My job is physical. I spend 10 hours a day climbing off and on a forklift not to mention walking from here to there and lifting heavy boxes and things off and on my entire workshift. I'm physically very strong although i'm far from a elite fitness runner. The point being is simple. I work for a living physically and there is no way of getting an ACCURATE estimate of calories burned during my work day. The calories listed on food packaging is also a close estimate. Actually we have no idea what food calories are on packaged items per serving. We just take for granted the label is true when its been proven more then not that these numbers are in fact inaccurate.

With that being said MFP caloric ranges has allowed me to eat extremely well and lose 41+ lbs since i started watching what i ate in January of 2011. I very seldom and if i do ever put exercise calories calories burned in my smart phone because to be honest the values aren't really accurate from one person to the next. People can only assume based on what others have came up with as that magic number which varies by large amounts from person to person depending on their physical make up. Somebody that is physically fit will burn way more calories doing the same exact exercise somebody overweight would burn. Everything is not equal therefore this silly idea of eating exercise calories to achieve net calorie goals is about as far from good advice as can be.

I eat more food per day now then when i was at my most heavy weight, and don't exercise any more then i ever have and still am droping 1-2 lbs a week. What i'm not doing is eating junk, I'm not eating worthless over caloric foods from fast food places. I'm not OVER eating and i've chosen to eat normal listed serving sizes instead of hog troughing it like i used to. Eating healthy, eating normal sized portions be it meals or snacks and any exercise is the key. It's really that simple. If everybody ate 3 meals the size of a frozen TV dinner (portion wise) with a couple snacks a day (healthy snacks) there wouldn't be many obese people around anymore. Just sayin.

makeachange22 · May 2011

when you first signed up you're soposed to put very active if that's your lifestyle. you never add your daily activity as excersise becauses its not excersise if your body is use to it . its just daily routine

wannabthin4life · May 2011

I totally agree with you about eating back exercise calories. I was reading web MD website and its unheard of! I Hope your journey continues this great!

Debbiecastor · May 2011

What you say makes a lot of sense!! Thanks for making me think better! !

lecia125 · May 2011

If you truly aanted to know haow many calories you burn in a day, you could get a HRM.

registers · May 2011

Just as the title states it really is hit and miss. As an example i don't log any exercise because there is no calories per hour burned rate for my job. My job is physical. I spend 10 hours a day climbing off and on a forklift not to mention walking from here to there and lifting heavy boxes and things off and on my entire workshift. I'm physically very strong although i'm far from a elite fitness runner. The point being is simple. I work for a living physically and there is no way of getting an ACCURATE estimate of calories burned during my work day. The calories listed on food packaging is also a close estimate. Actually we have no idea what food calories are on packaged items per serving. We just take for granted the label is true when its been proven more then not that these numbers are in fact inaccurate.

With that being said MFP caloric ranges has allowed me to eat extremely well and lose 41+ lbs since i started watching what i ate in January of 2011. I very seldom and if i do ever put exercise calories calories burned in my smart phone because to be honest the values aren't really accurate from one person to the next. People can only assume based on what others have came up with as that magic number which varies by large amounts from person to person depending on their physical make up. Somebody that is physically fit will burn way more calories doing the same exact exercise somebody overweight would burn. Everything is not equal therefore this silly idea of eating exercise calories to achieve net calorie goals is about as far from good advice as can be.

I eat more food per day now then when i was at my most heavy weight, and don't exercise any more then i ever have and still am droping 1-2 lbs a week. What i'm not doing is eating junk, I'm not eating worthless over caloric foods from fast food places. I'm not OVER eating and i've chosen to eat normal listed serving sizes instead of hog troughing it like i used to. Eating healthy, eating normal sized portions be it meals or snacks and any exercise is the key. It's really that simple. If everybody ate 3 meals the size of a frozen TV dinner (portion wise) with a couple snacks a day (healthy snacks) there wouldn't be many obese people around anymore. Just sayin.

I have to write an email, so ic can't say much, check out the "bodybugg" best device for determining how many calories you burn, even at work.

Strive2BLean · May 2011

You are absolutely right. Your very active lifestyle at work is probably all you need in the way of exercise. I think it more than qualifies for being active. I also have a job where I'm on my feet/walking back and forth and feel the same way although I still do cardio three-four times a week and walk while playing golf. I love the feeling I get from cardio and feel I;m doing my body good. I don't pay attention to eating the calories I burn exercising but I do struggle to lose weight even though I eat healthy foods. If what you're doing works for you then just keep at it. I think finding what works is half the battle. Keep up the good work.:happy:

skbruewer · May 2011

I have a BodyBugg, and it seems to do a very nice job of not only tracking my calories burned for the day, but also when I'm most physically active and for how long. It also keeps track of how many steps I'm taking in a day. Now, I only eat back the calories I burn during actual times of exercise, but it is nice to see how many calories you are and should be burning on an average day.

bizco · May 2011

I totally agree with you about eating back exercise calories. I was reading web MD website and its unheard of! I Hope your journey continues this great!

This is totally false. Web MD doesn't know how MFP is set up. MFP automatically includes a daily calorie deficit whether you exercise or not, say 500 calories per day if your goal is to lose 1lb. per week. If you exercise on a particular day, you need to log it in MFP's exercise tab and eat those calories back to maintain the same daily deficit of 500 calories. If you aren't wearing a heart rate monitor that measures calories burned, then it's fine to eat back SOME but not all of those exercise calories. Because as the OP said, it's a database best guess and not specific to any single person.

As another poster already pointed out, your lifestyle setting should be set to "active" or "very active" to account for your job and not log it as dedicated exercise.

AnnaPixie · May 2011

I disagree with you wholeheartedly. Simply becasue there are millions of people on here who eat back their exercise cals and lose weight, myself included.

As the lady said, if you want a more accurate measurement, then you should get a body bugg or HRM.

The point of eating back exercise cals is to a) keep your body at maxiumum nutrition while losing weight. b) To keep your metabolism stoked. c) And to get your body into a sustainable weight loss mode. Sure, you'll lose weight eating less, but will you be able to sustain it for the duration? and way beyond into maintenance?

If you train your body to survive and lose weight at 1200 cals (insert your indivdual base number here), then that's what it will do. If you train it to survive at at 1200 plus the 400 exercise cals (again, insert individual numbers), it will do that too!!

Which one is better long term?

I agree that all calorie calculations are less than perfect, but they aren't THAT off, otherwise people on here wouldnt be losing weight. They just take some tweeking, you can adjust to suit and gain a healthy eating and exercise plan sustainable for life.

That's my logic anyhow, good luck with yours :flowerforyou:

stormieweather · May 2011

The only exercise you should log, for the purposes of eating them back, are purposeful, sweat-inducing ones done for fitness. Daily living is included in your activity level (sedentary, lightly active, active, very active, etc.).

Other sites do not have a deficit BUILT IN, so eating back exercise calories is not part of THEIR plan. This one does.

rodneyderrick · May 2011

Bigger people will burn more calories doing physical activity than smaller people. We need to have an honest discussion about eating back exercise calories because a lot of people simply don't understand the concept. Remember, MFP doesn't recommend losing more than 2 lbs per week, and one pound per week is the recommended number when setting up your account. Losing 2lbs per week is a daily deficit of 1000. Losing 1lb per week is a daily deficit of 500. Overweight or obese individuals usually are extreme eaters and extreme dieters; and when they find a new diet plan, they like to hit it hard and fast; and within a few weeks, they give up because of different stresses, including the stress of starving the body. When people learn how to lose weight while eating back some or most of their exercise calories, they are actually learning how to lose weight without stressing the body. This means they will eventually learn how to balance diet and physical activities in a way that people who don't eat their exercise calories won't.

Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )
Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in year )

First of all, if webMD and all of your other fitness sites fail to talk about the BMR X Physical Activity to estimate an individual's calorie consumption, I can only assume they aren't trying to help anybody lose weight. A man weighing 300 lbs, 5'9, and 34-years-old that does little to no physical activity burns an estimated 3096 calories per day to maintain that 300lbs.

If this individual consumes 2000 calories per day, he'll lose about 2lbs per week without doing any exercise. If he goes to the gym, burns 500 calories doing exercise, then he now burns 3596 calories per day. This means he can eat nearly 2600 calories per day to lose 2lbs per week.

There are hundreds of different methods, formulas, and ways of calculating this stuff, but it's best to lose weight without stressing the body. By the time you've reached your goal weight, you should have learned a few things like how to keep off the weight. Remember, getting too few calories may lead to depression, gallstones, and failure.

lkm111 · May 2011

I do agree with on most of what you wrote. However, I realized that I needed to increase some of my eating because I was running into huge calorie deficits and literally starving myself. Once I found the right balance I started losing. We all have to find that balance, that's for sure!

mrrodriguez · May 2011

I like this topic. About 25 years ago I needed to lose weight. I signed up for a class called "Weight Loss" at our local university. The same principles being used by MFP were taught in that class. Unfortunately we didn't have the lists so easily organized. What we had were lots of tables from different sources listing the calories on one fast food chain's menu, another table with a list of common store bought items (e.g. Hamburger Helper) etc. The packages didn't list the calories back then as I recall.

We also had different lists of calories burned (like MFP) and the teacher emphasized running because you could burn a lot per minute. After a semester in this class I lost 35 pounds and could run a 5K. I kept running and was able to keep my weight down for 20 years. Unfortunately I got injured, bored, whatever and stopped running about five years ago. My weight ballooned up, just like the tables said it would.

When my brother and sister turned me on the MFP it was like a welcome home to weight class. I KNOW that I could balance out calories in with Calories and lose as much or as little as I cared to. I have only been on this site for about two months and have already started to lose again. I look forward to getting back to my old weight, and exercise AND diet have to be a part of the process for me.

Your story reminded me of when I was at the height of my running. I ran on the streets of my local town and one day passed a refuse truck in my running gear with headphones on, Gargoyle sunglasses, and Nike Air Shoes. One man in the truck yelled out at me "come throw some garbage with us!" My comment was "Come run a 10K with me!" Turns out we were both right.

kate2004rock · May 2011

Just as the title states it really is hit and miss.

Isn't even a small idea better than fumbling blindly?

Especially in women's bodies--where our BMR are low anyhow---not eating back exercise calories easily veers under 1200 and into starvation.

Even if they aren't extremely accurate--the biggest part of the benefit for logging foods is having to see the numbers in front of you, and really forcing you to be honest with yourself about what you are putting into your body.

Impossible to know exercise calories burned.

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