burning calories

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peacefulthoughts420
peacefulthoughts420 Posts: 13 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I hope this isn't a dumb question but I was wondering do bigger people burn more calories? I use this app on my phone called "map my walk" and I go by that on how much I burn. This morning I did my walk and got 2 miles in and it said I burned 718 calories and I weigh 366, I was wondering how true this was.

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  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    Yes, absolutely. As you lose weight, you will burn fewer calories than you do now at a higher weight.

    If you want to see if your MapMyWalk burn is reasonably accurate, try a few different online calculators to see what they come up with. Remember that all calorie calculators are just estimates. Here's one to try: http://calorielab.com/burned/
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    Calorie burns are tough to estimate, that's why most people eat back just a percentage....50-75%. Then after a few weeks you can adjust that percentage up or down depending upon your progress.

    So much of what we use / do are estimates.....logging food is an estimate (those who weigh portions are going to be more accurate)....activity level is a range of activity not one set number. It's all estimates.

    Here's another estimate

    http://walking.about.com/library/cal/uccalc1.htm

    .....not nearly as high
  • andysport1
    andysport1 Posts: 592 Member
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    Wow 718 for 2 miles that's a lot I only burn 210 for 2 miles I'm 217lbs, I'd suggest book 550 calories so as to not over estimate. Good luck
  • reconhm
    reconhm Posts: 5 Member
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    Yes, because remember a calorie I just a unit to measure energy. So a person who weighs more will generally use more calories due to the body have to put out more to do work. And great job doing a good work out, keep it up! It only gets easier!
  • ashleighs148
    ashleighs148 Posts: 334 Member
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    My boyfriend and I both wore our polar watches when we took the dog out yesterday to compare. He's 270lbs and I'm 155lbs and he burned more than double what I did.
  • peacefulthoughts420
    peacefulthoughts420 Posts: 13 Member
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    Thank you all so much! I'm still new and this it's hard but I don't plan on giving up, just wanted to make sure I was reading in to this right. :)
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    ashleighs148 wrote: »
    My boyfriend and I both wore our polar watches when we took the dog out yesterday to compare. He's 270lbs and I'm 155lbs and he burned more than double what I did.

    Size is one factor in calorie burn....gender is another. Men typically burn more than women as they have more lean muscle mass. This is wear some cardio machines go wrong....no gender input means there is a default setting.
  • sunandmoons
    sunandmoons Posts: 415 Member
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    No question is ever dumb!!!! I find asking always helps!! If not for MFP I would of given up. The knowledge here has helped me tremendously.

    You will burn more. I'm not sure if its that many calories for a 2 mile walk. If you can get a fitbit or a polar watch they seem to be pretty accurate. I have used map my walk before and gave me a way different number then fitbit and that was a bit confusing

    Keep it up! It does get easier!!!
  • Owlfan88
    Owlfan88 Posts: 187 Member
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    I did 2 miles (technically 2.09 miles) this morning with Map my Walk and it gave me a calorie burn of 218. That was "brisk" 3.5 mph pace and I'm 140 lb female.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
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    Think about how much more effort it would be if you had to carry a 150lb. person on your back while you are walking. That effort translates into more calories burned.
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
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    Not a dumb question at all :)

    Yes, heavier people burn more.

    If you had a 120 lb woman running the same speed and distance as a 190 lb woman - the 190 lb woman would be burning more as it takes a lot more energy (more weight to carry, in the nicest way possible - that's the only way I can really think of explaining what I mean!)
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    I've heard that MapMyWalk tends to overstate calories, so I'd check out some of the calculators like the one linked above: http://walking.about.com/library/cal/uccalc1.htm

    But yes, you will burn more from the same activity (when it's something quantifiable like walking a certain number of miles) when you weigh more, all else equal.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    peacefulthoughts420 wrote: »
    I hope this isn't a dumb question but I was wondering do bigger people burn more calories? I use this app on my phone called "map my walk" and I go by that on how much I burn. This morning I did my walk and got 2 miles in and it said I burned 718 calories and I weigh 366, I was wondering how true this was.

    yes, the bigger you are, the more energy (calories) would be required to move you. It's like an F-150 vs a Honda Civic...obviously, the larger vehicle is going to require more energy to move...

    that said, 718 calories for a 2 mile walk is pretty well inflated, even at your size...I'd cut that in about half.
  • Azuriaz
    Azuriaz Posts: 785 Member
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    Yeah, the only time I miss my built in fatsuit is when I come back from an hour long walk and realize I burned less than half the calories I used to burn.
  • peacefulthoughts420
    peacefulthoughts420 Posts: 13 Member
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    Thank you everyone, this has helped me A LOT! I thought I would burn more because I'm so big right now but wasn't sure, I just wanted to check with other people who have been doing this longer then me. I hope this gets a little bit easier as I go because right now it's really hard but I'm don't plan on giving up, I have two little kids to think about and with everyone here helping me along the way it's making it a lot better on me. Again thank you you all so much!

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