HOW ACCURATE IS THE EXCERCISE CALORIES?

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EttaMaeMartin
EttaMaeMartin Posts: 303 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I AM JUST WONDERING HOW ACCURATE THIS IS WHEN IT COMES TO CALORIES BURNED IN EXERCISE? I DO HOT YOGA....I BELIEVE FROM RESEARCH THE NUMBER IS LOW. I ALSO GARDEN PROFESSIONALLY AND THINK THE COUNT IS HIGH. DOES ANYONE WHO WORKS OUT REGULARLY WONDER OR FIND THE INFORMATION YOU NEED SOMEWHERE ELSE? THANKS FOR THE HELP. JEN
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  • mightykaytor
    mightykaytor Posts: 5 Member
    edited June 2016
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    The popular opinion is, they are not very accurate at all and because of this, it is not a great idea to eat back very many of your exercise calories. (If I'm super hungry, I'll shoot for %50 or less).
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    http://www.shape.com/fitness/cardio/how-inaccurate-are-calorie-counters-gym
  • Treuthiness
    Treuthiness Posts: 22 Member
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    When I used my Fitbit to count my calories, they were across the board lower than MFP no matter what work out I did, but by the end of the day I was about equal in over all calorie burn. I assume this is because Fitbit counts your calories all day long (getting up to go to the bathroom, walking from the car to your door, etc) where as MFP does not. The calories you start off at the beginning of the day are enough to lose weight if you do not move. So, MFP's over estimation of calorie burn isn't harmful. If you use it as a rough guide line (as you really should take everything about fitness and losing weight with a grain of salt as every BODY is different) then you will be successful. Promise.
  • sarahkanzalone
    sarahkanzalone Posts: 192 Member
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    I got myself a chest heart rate monitor and per that MFP overestimates my calories burned from cardio but underestimates for strength training type stuff.. I don't know if there are more accurate online calculators if you really want more accurate numbers maybe grab a heart rate monitor
  • Annahbananas
    Annahbananas Posts: 284 Member
    edited June 2016
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    If you truly want to get the most accurate form of calories burnt from exercise you must have a heart monitor. A chest monitor is the absolute most accurate ...but I settled for a Fitbit hr
  • msalicia116
    msalicia116 Posts: 233 Member
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    OP person- when you type in all caps it means you are yelling. Also it is difficult to read, don't do it.
  • EttaMaeMartin
    EttaMaeMartin Posts: 303 Member
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    i have bad eye site and it is easier for me to see and read. not yelling, no reason to. thanks for the replies. more answers on the subject instead of yelling would be great. thanks. will check out site you suggested. j
  • muppetalert
    muppetalert Posts: 4 Member
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    If you want the most accurate readings I'd suggest you get a fitness band (Fitbit, Microsoft Band et al) which has Heart Rate tracking. It's not as accurate as a chest strap, of course, but it's more accurate than an "average" calorie count as entered directly into MFP.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    There is no one simple answer on the accuracy question for a whole database. Some accurate (reasonable as least) based on well established metrics, some high, some low.....
    The accuracy will also vary from person to person even if their weight is the same.

    You have picked two activities where it's impossible to have one estimate that will fit everyone.
    Gardening for me is akin to jungle clearance, for my wife it's a bit of gentle pruning.

    Be sceptical about hot yoga estimates whatever the source - some of the numbers I've seen are pure marketing and pretty comical.

    I use a variety of methods to estimate my different calorie burn (from HRM, to power meter, to machines, to phone apps to simple formula) but they wouldn't be suitable for your activities.

    Would suggest that professional gardening would be better (easier anyway) accounted for it in your activity setting rather than as exercise.
  • EttaMaeMartin
    EttaMaeMartin Posts: 303 Member
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    muppetalert wrote: »
    If you want the most accurate readings I'd suggest you get a fitness band (Fitbit, Microsoft Band et al) which has Heart Rate tracking. It's not as accurate as a chest strap, of course, but it's more accurate than an "average" calorie count as entered directly into MFP.

    does not track yoga. thanx though!
    eveandqsmom wrote: »
    I don't know about those particular numbers but typing in all caps generally comes across as yelling :)

    not yelling, bad eye site. even with glasses hard for me to see.
  • EttaMaeMartin
    EttaMaeMartin Posts: 303 Member
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    msalicia116 wrote: »
    OP person- when you type in all caps it means you are yelling. Also it is difficult to read, don't do it.

    as i told the above poster, i have bad eye site and am unable to see. sorry if it is so hard on your eyes?
  • EttaMaeMartin
    EttaMaeMartin Posts: 303 Member
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    sijomial wrote: »
    There is no one simple answer on the accuracy question for a whole database. Some accurate (reasonable as least) based on well established metrics, some high, some low.....
    The accuracy will also vary from person to person even if their weight is the same.

    You have picked two activities where it's impossible to have one estimate that will fit everyone.
    Gardening for me is akin to jungle clearance, for my wife it's a bit of gentle pruning.

    Be sceptical about hot yoga estimates whatever the source - some of the numbers I've seen are pure marketing and pretty comical.

    I use a variety of methods to estimate my different calorie burn (from HRM, to power meter, to machines, to phone apps to simple formula) but they wouldn't be suitable for your activities.

    Would suggest that professional gardening would be better (easier anyway) accounted for it in your activity setting rather than as exercise.

    i work at the jungle end most of the time and use the caloric expenditure of the program. same for painting.
  • EttaMaeMartin
    EttaMaeMartin Posts: 303 Member
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    Annahbananas wrote: »
    If you truly want to get the most accurate form of calories burnt from exercise you must have a heart monitor. A chest monitor is the absolute most accurate ...but I settled for a Fitbit hr

    all of these new toys/ gizmos do not track yoga.
  • EttaMaeMartin
    EttaMaeMartin Posts: 303 Member
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    Jtreuth wrote: »
    When I used my Fitbit to count my calories, they were across the board lower than MFP no matter what work out I did, but by the end of the day I was about equal in over all calorie burn. I assume this is because Fitbit counts your calories all day long (getting up to go to the bathroom, walking from the car to your door, etc) where as MFP does not. The calories you start off at the beginning of the day are enough to lose weight if you do not move. So, MFP's over estimation of calorie burn isn't harmful. If you use it as a rough guide line (as you really should take everything about fitness and losing weight with a grain of salt as every BODY is different) then you will be successful. Promise.

    makes sense! average per se of your whole day!
  • redbreva
    redbreva Posts: 8 Member
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    I cycle a fair amount, and use a Garmin trip computer with Chest HR monitor, Peddle cadence sensor etc. and it feeds via Strava into MFP... From some articles I have read on cycling site, Garmin itself Over estimates Calories by about 15%, but Strava is pretty accurate (It uses the 'Big Data' approach, so can use the data riders with Power Meters etc. to refine it's algorithms)... MFP on the other hand is just a random number generator if I tell it X minutes at y mph cycling! No reason to suspect other exercise estimates are any more accurate...
  • EttaMaeMartin
    EttaMaeMartin Posts: 303 Member
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    well for those of us that don't have high tech gizmos, i guess we just guesstimate.
    redbreva wrote: »
    I cycle a fair amount, and use a Garmin trip computer with Chest HR monitor, Peddle cadence sensor etc. and it feeds via Strava into MFP... From some articles I have read on cycling site, Garmin itself Over estimates Calories by about 15%, but Strava is pretty accurate (It uses the 'Big Data' approach, so can use the data riders with Power Meters etc. to refine it's algorithms)... MFP on the other hand is just a random number generator if I tell it X minutes at y mph cycling! No reason to suspect other exercise estimates are any more accurate...

  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 5,021 Member
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    EttaMaeMartin wrote: »
    i have bad eye site and it is easier for me to see and read. not yelling, no reason to. thanks for the replies. more answers on the subject instead of yelling would be great. thanks. will check out site you suggested. j

    Maybe you could change the font size on your computer. Just like there are acronyms that are known when typing on the computer, it is known that all caps = yelling. Or at least preface your comment with an explanation that you are not yelling because most people will assume that you are.
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 5,021 Member
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    I get a pretty accurate adjustment from my fitbit. I add my yoga (not hot yoga) to fitbit and it is quite a bit lower than what mfp shows for yoga.
  • almostanangel21
    almostanangel21 Posts: 143 Member
    edited July 2016
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    If you don't have the funds to invest in a heart rate monitor, try using MET to calculate your calorie burn. There are several different formulas to calculate it, but I've found they end up within a few calories of each other, so I use the simplest one. Go here and bookmark it: http://appliedresearch.cancer.gov/atus-met/met.php This chart gives you the MET value of almost anything you can think of. Then, plug it into this formula: Weight in pounds/2.2 = weight in kilos. Multiply weight in kilos by MET score of activity. That's how many calories you burn for an hour of that activity. If you did half an hour, multiply that number by .5; if you did 45 minutes, multiply it by .75, etc.

    Confused? http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/activity-based-calorie-burn-calculator.aspx#change-activity-category will do the calculation for you. Remember to be honest about how much effort you're expending. If you're on the elliptical, you're seriously sweating, and you can't hold more than a one-or-two sentence conversation with someone, the table's MET score is pretty accurate. If you're expending light effort, could probably chat on the phone, you might be able to wear your workout clothes again tomorrow, lighten up that score considerably.

    ETA: When in doubt, I always underestimate. MFP inflates the numbers considerably.

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