Calories from exercise

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How do you truck them ???? :o so you know what u r doing !

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  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,982 Member
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    I let my Fitbit One track my walking. When I do yoga, I log it here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/exercise/diary

    Many consider the burns given by MFP to be inflated and only eat a percentage, such as 50%, back
  • klewlis
    klewlis Posts: 79 Member
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    I agree that mfp seems to overestimate calorie burns. My steps are calculated by my iphone and it syncs to mfp automatically, but when I go for a run I go by the old "100 calories per mile" rule. I've actually measured this in the past with a heart-rate monitor, and 100 calories per mile was pretty accurate for me.
  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,108 Member
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    Mfp overestimate burns. I tested it with a few calculators I found. Yesterday I burned around 949 cals with a very steep 4 mile hike. Mfp gave me over 1190 cals when I logged it here. I have tested this with my stationary stepper too. I consistently burn between 120-160 cals doing 30 minutes on it according to fitbit but mfp gave me 323.
  • novamagma
    novamagma Posts: 37 Member
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    If you're just starting out, I'd say using MFP's calculator isn't a bad place to start, even if it overestimates. Just search any activity you do and log the amount of time you spent doing it. If you have a smartphone, it's probably not a bad idea to download Runkeeper or a similar exercise tracking app to help you along. Runkeeper always does a pretty good job of matching calories to my Fitbit Charge HR. Although I've never found MFP to be drastically different from any HRM I've ever used.
    Although it's not perfect, start getting into the habit of logging everything, and it'll help you be much more conscious of the amount of exercise you're getting.
  • H_Ock12
    H_Ock12 Posts: 1,152 Member
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    I use the calorie count from MFP or the machines at the gym, then I log the exercise with the lowest number of calories...id rather underestimate than overestimate. I don't usually eat back any exercise calories, so it's not a huge deal for me.
  • patricialove52
    patricialove52 Posts: 1 Member
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    I don't eat exercise calories either. Seems like something to do if you're trying to maintain weight loss.
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,627 Member
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    I don't eat exercise calories either. Seems like something to do if you're trying to maintain weight loss.

    When you tell mfp you want to lose however many pounds a week, it already calculates that deficit in for your calorie goal. Exercising expends calories beyond that deficit so you can actually (usually) safely eat at least a portion of your exercise calories bsck and still lose.
  • pebble4321
    pebble4321 Posts: 1,132 Member
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    I don't eat exercise calories either. Seems like something to do if you're trying to maintain weight loss.

    Seems like something you say when you don't understand the way MFP calculates your daily calorie goal...

    - If you use MFP, then you need to add more cals when you exercise. People say "MFP calculates high" but it's worked fine for me in the past, I think this is an individual thing.
    - If you use another way to calculate your calories - they usually ask how active you are and already include extra to account for your exercise.
    In both cases, you eat more to fuel your exercise and keep you healthy, the numbers will probably work out to be pretty similar.

    My best suggestion is to pick one method and stick to it for a month or so, then you are in a better position to understand how the numbers are working for you and you can tweak things if you need to.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    I don't eat exercise calories either. Seems like something to do if you're trying to maintain weight loss.

    What if someone's calorie goal is 1200 or even 1500. If that person burns 1000 calories through exercise and doesn't eat any back, then they will be netting 200-500 calories that day.
    Does that sound like a healthy and sustainable weight loss plan to you?