Calories Burned From Daily Activity

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goochinator
goochinator Posts: 383 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
According to MFP, my daily activity burns 2360 calories. For 'fun' I wore my Polar F4 HRM for a 24 hour period of everyday living to see what it said and it read that I burned 3303 calories during normal activity ( no workouts or anything out of the ordinary)

So which is more accurate? I've always gone by my Polar as really accurate, but I dont want to eat too many calories. I was surprised it was off by so much. I'm 35 and 260 lbs.
Should I be eating the (-500/day) 1860 calories that MFP sugggests or 2800 calories?
Writing that just now I feel stupid for even asking- I doubt I can lose anything by eating 2800 calories a day...

Any words of wisdom? Thanks!

Replies

  • goochinator
    goochinator Posts: 383 Member
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    According to MFP, my daily activity burns 2360 calories. For 'fun' I wore my Polar F4 HRM for a 24 hour period of everyday living to see what it said and it read that I burned 3303 calories during normal activity ( no workouts or anything out of the ordinary)

    So which is more accurate? I've always gone by my Polar as really accurate, but I dont want to eat too many calories. I was surprised it was off by so much. I'm 35 and 260 lbs.
    Should I be eating the (-500/day) 1860 calories that MFP sugggests or 2800 calories?
    Writing that just now I feel stupid for even asking- I doubt I can lose anything by eating 2800 calories a day...

    Any words of wisdom? Thanks!
  • Phoenix_Rising
    Phoenix_Rising Posts: 11,417 Member
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    There are a few people on here who can explain why wearing an HRM for 24 hours won't give you an accurate BMR, but I'm not one of them. :wink:

    I'd stick with what MFP put out there for you, calorie wise. If you wanna bump up the cals a little, it probably won't hurt, and honestly you are the best judge of what you need. You will be able to tell if you are eating too many cals if your weight loss slows.
  • rosemarymint
    rosemarymint Posts: 132 Member
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    I just had to bump. I wore my HRM all day and it said about 2400 kcal. Someone please lend us your knowledge as to why that wouldn't be acurate. Inquiring minds want to know. Thanks! :flowerforyou:
  • AmandaJ
    AmandaJ Posts: 1,950 Member
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    I have no idea about HRM but I just wanted to say that you shouldn't feel dumb for ever asking any question and also depending on your body weight you do need to eat certain calories. You can do this!
  • may_marie
    may_marie Posts: 667 Member
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    im gonna bump this because i have notice the same kind of thing and would like to know

    so its not accurate to wear your HRM for 24h ?
    wonder why !!!
  • BrandNewLaura
    BrandNewLaura Posts: 1,650 Member
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    Here's my take on this...I think the number MFP gives you is the number of calories your body would burn if you were comatose and lied in bed all day...so naturally if you wear your HRM you will have a higher calorie burn because you're actually up and moving around, even if you aren't doing anything extra strenuous or that feels like exercise. I have used the number MFP gave me, and I've been steadily losing. I figure that if I'm actually burning more calories than MFP thinks I am, then I'll just lose the weight a little quicker than MFP estimates, and I'm okay with that :happy:
  • goochinator
    goochinator Posts: 383 Member
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    Here's my take on this...I think the number MFP gives you is the number of calories your body would burn if you were comatose and lied in bed all day...so naturally if you wear your HRM you will have a higher calorie burn because you're actually up and moving around, even if you aren't doing anything extra strenuous or that feels like exercise. I have used the number MFP gave me, and I've been steadily losing. I figure that if I'm actually burning more calories than MFP thinks I am, then I'll just lose the weight a little quicker than MFP estimates, and I'm okay with that :happy:

    That does seem to make some sense, but it seems to me that the HRM would give a pretty good indicator of actual output, so that's why its baffling that its such a big difference.
    I've heard that too- calorie count is if a person were comatose and lying in bed all day...but really, how realistic is that?! Obviously if were on this site, then were not comatose and likely not lying in bed all day!!
  • goochinator
    goochinator Posts: 383 Member
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    Just bumping this up in case anyone can give an answer...
  • Wolfena
    Wolfena Posts: 1,570 Member
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    an HRM won't give you an accurate calorie burn reading unless you are working at at least 60% of your maximum heart rate - which, when you are sitting, sleeping or even walking slowly - you aren't doing.

    an HRM is meant to calculate work-out calories, not calories in general.
  • astridfeline
    astridfeline Posts: 1,200 Member
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    the basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the amount of calories burned if one were to be "comatose" all day (as I wake from an unplanned afternoon nap :blushing: )--the amount of calories required for normal daily living (showering, grocery shopping, etc) are above this level and MFP adjusts this by your daily activity level (sedentary, lightly active, active, etc). I was under the impression that it's unhealthy to eat below their BMR.
    I don't have any input on the HRM question though. :laugh:
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
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    BMR - Basal Metabolic Rate. The amount of energy your body uses for very basic functions--breathing, heart beat, digestion.

    TDEE- Total Daily Energy Expenditure. The amount of energy your body uses for everything you do --walking, talking, exercising, typing--PLUS your BMR.

    The biggest issue I see is confusing the two. It's perfectly fine to eat less than your TDEE. Not so with your BMR.

    Now, the HRM--caloric burn is determined by oxygen consumption, not heart rate. The HRM can only propose an estimate based on assumed VO2 levels, which are low when you're not exercising. If your resting heart rate is high or increases during lower-intensity activity, it just means that your heart isn't fully conditioned, not that you're burning high amounts of calories.
  • may_marie
    may_marie Posts: 667 Member
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    BMR - Basal Metabolic Rate. The amount of energy your body uses for very basic functions--breathing, heart beat, digestion.

    TDEE- Total Daily Energy Expenditure. The amount of energy your body uses for everything you do --walking, talking, exercising, typing--PLUS your BMR.

    The biggest issue I see is confusing the two. It's perfectly fine to eat less than your TDEE. Not so with your BMR.

    Now, the HRM--caloric burn is determined by oxygen consumption, not heart rate. The HRM can only propose an estimate based on assumed VO2 levels, which are low when you're not exercising. If your resting heart rate is high or increases during lower-intensity activity, it just means that your heart isn't fully conditioned, not that you're burning high amounts of calories.

    once again ... thank you fo that info,,, i was assuming that your heart rate determined your calorie expediture.. its all very interesting :smile:
    so.. if your not very fit,, and you have a high resting heart rate.. then your hrm might not give you the right amount of calories spent in a work out ?

    always read songbyrd's post,, you'll learn something interesting !!! :happy:
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
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    BMR - Basal Metabolic Rate. The amount of energy your body uses for very basic functions--breathing, heart beat, digestion.

    TDEE- Total Daily Energy Expenditure. The amount of energy your body uses for everything you do --walking, talking, exercising, typing--PLUS your BMR.

    The biggest issue I see is confusing the two. It's perfectly fine to eat less than your TDEE. Not so with your BMR.

    Now, the HRM--caloric burn is determined by oxygen consumption, not heart rate. The HRM can only propose an estimate based on assumed VO2 levels, which are low when you're not exercising. If your resting heart rate is high or increases during lower-intensity activity, it just means that your heart isn't fully conditioned, not that you're burning high amounts of calories.



    once again ... thank you fo that info,,, i was assuming that your heart rate determined your calorie expediture.. its all very interesting :smile:
    so.. if your not very fit,, and you have a high resting heart rate.. then your hrm might not give you the right amount of calories spent in a work out ?

    always read songbyrd's post,, you'll learn something interesting !!! :happy:

    Right.
    A high heart rate generally indicates that the heart isn't filling efficiently, so not enough O2 is getting sent to the tissues, so it beats faster to try and send more blood out as quickly as possible. A lower resting heart rate means the heart fills entirely, is strong enough to push a lot of blood out, and there's a lot of special pieces in the tissues to pick up that oxygen and a lot of oxygen carriers. So a person with a lower HR but a higher amount of muscle (which uses a lot of oxygen) could burn more calories in a day than a person with a higher HR but less muscle.
  • pettmybunny
    pettmybunny Posts: 1,986 Member
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    BMR - Basal Metabolic Rate. The amount of energy your body uses for very basic functions--breathing, heart beat, digestion.

    TDEE- Total Daily Energy Expenditure. The amount of energy your body uses for everything you do --walking, talking, exercising, typing--PLUS your BMR.

    The biggest issue I see is confusing the two. It's perfectly fine to eat less than your TDEE. Not so with your BMR.

    Now, the HRM--caloric burn is determined by oxygen consumption, not heart rate. The HRM can only propose an estimate based on assumed VO2 levels, which are low when you're not exercising. If your resting heart rate is high or increases during lower-intensity activity, it just means that your heart isn't fully conditioned, not that you're burning high amounts of calories.

    once again ... thank you fo that info,,, i was assuming that your heart rate determined your calorie expediture.. its all very interesting :smile:
    so.. if your not very fit,, and you have a high resting heart rate.. then your hrm might not give you the right amount of calories spent in a work out ?

    always read songbyrd's post,, you'll learn something interesting !!! :happy:

    I know, I was waiting for her to weigh in on the subject as well! She knows it all, and can usually explain it so I understand... lol
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
    Options
    BMR - Basal Metabolic Rate. The amount of energy your body uses for very basic functions--breathing, heart beat, digestion.

    TDEE- Total Daily Energy Expenditure. The amount of energy your body uses for everything you do --walking, talking, exercising, typing--PLUS your BMR.

    The biggest issue I see is confusing the two. It's perfectly fine to eat less than your TDEE. Not so with your BMR.

    Now, the HRM--caloric burn is determined by oxygen consumption, not heart rate. The HRM can only propose an estimate based on assumed VO2 levels, which are low when you're not exercising. If your resting heart rate is high or increases during lower-intensity activity, it just means that your heart isn't fully conditioned, not that you're burning high amounts of calories.

    once again ... thank you fo that info,,, i was assuming that your heart rate determined your calorie expediture.. its all very interesting :smile:
    so.. if your not very fit,, and you have a high resting heart rate.. then your hrm might not give you the right amount of calories spent in a work out ?

    always read songbyrd's post,, you'll learn something interesting !!! :happy:

    I know, I was waiting for her to weigh in on the subject as well! She knows it all, and can usually explain it so I understand... lol

    I'm glad to help! Although I certainly don't know it all haha...wish I did!!
  • goochinator
    goochinator Posts: 383 Member
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    Great answers!! Thanks everyone!!!
  • 1Corinthians13
    1Corinthians13 Posts: 5,296 Member
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    BMR - Basal Metabolic Rate. The amount of energy your body uses for very basic functions--breathing, heart beat, digestion.

    TDEE- Total Daily Energy Expenditure. The amount of energy your body uses for everything you do --walking, talking, exercising, typing--PLUS your BMR.

    The biggest issue I see is confusing the two. It's perfectly fine to eat less than your TDEE. Not so with your BMR.

    Now, the HRM--caloric burn is determined by oxygen consumption, not heart rate. The HRM can only propose an estimate based on assumed VO2 levels, which are low when you're not exercising. If your resting heart rate is high or increases during lower-intensity activity, it just means that your heart isn't fully conditioned, not that you're burning high amounts of calories.

    What if you're fit and have a naturally high resting heartrate? I've danced my whole life, and now I run. When I'm running, my heartrate moves quickly into the 180's, sometimes the 190's. But I'm not out of breath, and I feel fine, and when I stop running, within a minute my heartrate is back down to around 100.

    I also have a coworker I was talking to about all this. She actually went through a ton of tests thinking something was wrong b/c of her high heartrate, but she's healthy.
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
    Options
    BMR - Basal Metabolic Rate. The amount of energy your body uses for very basic functions--breathing, heart beat, digestion.

    TDEE- Total Daily Energy Expenditure. The amount of energy your body uses for everything you do --walking, talking, exercising, typing--PLUS your BMR.

    The biggest issue I see is confusing the two. It's perfectly fine to eat less than your TDEE. Not so with your BMR.

    Now, the HRM--caloric burn is determined by oxygen consumption, not heart rate. The HRM can only propose an estimate based on assumed VO2 levels, which are low when you're not exercising. If your resting heart rate is high or increases during lower-intensity activity, it just means that your heart isn't fully conditioned, not that you're burning high amounts of calories.

    What if you're fit and have a naturally high resting heartrate? I've danced my whole life, and now I run. When I'm running, my heartrate moves quickly into the 180's, sometimes the 190's. But I'm not out of breath, and I feel fine, and when I stop running, within a minute my heartrate is back down to around 100.

    I also have a coworker I was talking to about all this. She actually went through a ton of tests thinking something was wrong b/c of her high heartrate, but she's healthy.

    There are no rules for the human body, just generalizations. Everyone has a different RHR, and while it's usually indicative of CV health, it isn't always.

    And that's not an abnormally high heart rate for running..many people reach the high 80% to low 90% of their on-paper MHR while running and can maintain it for extended periods of time because their actual MHR is much higher due to their high level of CV health.

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