Question about the whole CICO thing in regards to counting the calories "out".

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Dove0804
Dove0804 Posts: 213 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey there,

I tried to find a sticky or something on this but haven't found any that address exactly what I'm looking for.

So far I really have the hang of being as accurate as possible when counting calories going in my mouth. I understand about energy expenditure and using the equations to figure out approximate calories burned at rest.

It seems to me, though, that trying to calculate calories burned from exercise is potentially wildly inaccurate. I have been doing regular strength & aerobics, but never log them as I don't trust the calories it says I burned. I just would rather pretend I didn't burn any instead of accidentally over-eating because I think I have more room to create a deficit. I feel like there are just too many variables and subjective measures- how hard one works, for example, or if they have good form for whatever exercise they're doing (and thus being more efficient), if they're even used to exercising, etc.
Can someone assuage my fears or point me to some guidelines to more accurately count these calories out? Or am I right to just take whatever bonus it may be adding to my deficit, and focus on what calories I'm taking in?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Replies

  • pcpop7
    pcpop7 Posts: 161 Member
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    I also ignore my strength training and don't count any. But I do eat about half of my cardio calories back while cutting. I find if I don't eat some back I get really sluggish near the end of a cut to the extent that I am unable to do much useful exercise anyway.
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
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    It IS wildly inaccurate, so trial and error, logging your own results, doing some reserach, and searching the boards for "exercise calories" related discussions is a good way to get started.

    My advice is to start with the defaults that MFP gives you. If you're losing faster than expected over a two week period, that suggests that MFP is under-counting your exercise calories, and you can adjust it. And by the same token, if you're not losing as fast as you expect, it may mean that it's over-counting your exercise calories.

    For example, through careful logging of my swimming time and intensity, it took me abotu 2 months to determine that that when I swim what feels like a "moderate" pace for me for 72 minutes, I need to log it as "light/easy" for 60 minutes, the calorie count is closer to what I actually burn (based on more than 26 weeks of monitoring my weight loss and calories in.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    Calories out is always going to be a guesstimate, unless you live in a lab hooked up to machines :)

    MFP's formula assumes you are eating back your exercise calories, but MFP also tends to overestimate them, so most folks eat back half.

    Your best bet is to go by how much weight you are losing per week. If after 4-6 weeks, you are losing weight fast, start eating back half your exercise cals to get into a healthier pace. If you are losing at a good pace but are always hungry, eat back more of the calories and settle for a slower, more comfortable pace.

    It's really a trial and error process for everyone, so be patient and play with it until you find what works for you. Good luck!
  • itsbasschick
    itsbasschick Posts: 1,584 Member
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    i eat back half my exercise calories if - and only if - i get hungry or feel weak on workout days between my normal eating. otherwise i don't worry about it.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Your food is also much more of an estimate than you probably realise, even if you take a lot of care over it.
    The need for accuracy is really exaggerated. Especially for exercise which is a minor player in the equation. Strength training in particular is such a small calorie burn that even being 30% out would make a tiny difference.

    Consistency, "reasonable" estimates and the common sense to make adjustments based on actual results is all that's required.

    If you choose your goal based on the MFP method then it's bonkers not to at least try and estimate exercise calories, it's not that hard to do. By ignoring them you are 100% guaranteed to be wrong.

    If you don't want to estimate on the day then pick your goal calories using an average TDEE calculator and not MFP.

    By the way average TDEE estimates are likely to be even less accurate as you are also guessing the frequency and duration of exercise as well as intensity etc... But magically the TDEE method still works perfectly for hundreds of people.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p1
  • Dove0804
    Dove0804 Posts: 213 Member
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    Thank you so much for the info everyone- it's incredibly helpful. I have a much better idea as to how to proceed- I feel like I've always been so concerned about tracking what I was eating, and most everything I read is about calories IN, but calories burned by exercise was kind of a mystery to me. So glad I joined this board! :) Some great advice here.

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