Calories burned

heatherp801
heatherp801 Posts: 2 Member
edited November 25 in Health and Weight Loss
I've noticed my calories burned varies quite a bit from what MFP says and the machines at the gym. What does everyone else go off of?

Replies

  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    neither is particulary accurate.

    If you were doing cardio it may be helpful to invest in a HRM.
  • rtp_slg52181
    rtp_slg52181 Posts: 73 Member
    What rainbowbow said.

    And for lifting just count it as a deficit calculating error cushion because it really isn't much.
  • alexistexas33
    alexistexas33 Posts: 121 Member
    I go off of mfp, however I never ever eat the calories back I burn off
  • MeiannaLee
    MeiannaLee Posts: 338 Member
    I wear a hear rate monitor
  • madkcole
    madkcole Posts: 110 Member
    Heather - I noticed the difference too. I got a HRM and go strictly by that. I think I paid about $60 or $70 at Academy. Well worth the investment.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Calorie burns are often overestimated, therefore most only eat back a portion (50-75%) of the burns.
  • daniwilford
    daniwilford Posts: 1,030 Member
    I do not count any burn from strength, weight training. I do not trust the machines. Before getting my Fitbit I counted my walking for exercise, I did it by miles and time, so if I walked for an hour and I went 3 miles, I would count it as moderate pace in MFP, and only eat back a portion of that back. If I was losing too rapidly, I would eat more back, too slowly, I would eat less back.
  • heatherp801
    heatherp801 Posts: 2 Member
    Thanks for all the advice. I do 60 min of cardio usually on the treadmill at a pace of 3.5 or faster with an incline of at least 4. I only eat about half of what MFP says I earned.
  • rustyguy
    rustyguy Posts: 51 Member
    I've had similar questions. If I weigh 350lbs, walk 40 minutes at 3mph am I really burning the 345 calories MFP says? A HRM or Fitbit is a great idea and with Christmas coming maybe I'll treat myself.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
    This is why I switched to the TDEE method. No need to futz about trying to calculate how many calories I burn doing any specific exercise. I just looked at actual weight loss over time and actual calories consumed, and reverse-calculate my TDEE and took a deficit from there.
  • robertw486
    robertw486 Posts: 2,401 Member
    rustyguy wrote: »
    I've had similar questions. If I weigh 350lbs, walk 40 minutes at 3mph am I really burning the 345 calories MFP says? A HRM or Fitbit is a great idea and with Christmas coming maybe I'll treat myself.

    You can cross check the calorie burn on a lot of the calculator sites. Keep in mind that even the trusted calculators are at best estimates. Every body shape and stride is different, and heart rate comes into the picture as well.

    But I'd say that is fairly close.
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