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Exercise and calories... Same question different software

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JimfromColumbia
JimfromColumbia Posts: 15 Member
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Hey Guys... As I crash around the "Myfitnesspal" I've been keeping duel Diaries between it and WW's points.

with respect to exercise:

I entered 60 minutes of "Casual speed" Racquetball and it returned that I burned 817 calories... I went to several other 'Calorie Counter" sites and they all came back as 800 +/- calories... so my question is this.... does that seem realistic to you guys? I do the same thing at the WW site and I get 11 points... which also seems a bit high...

so, what's the verdict?

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  • klmackey893
    klmackey893 Posts: 118 Member
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    IMHO the WW Fit points and previous AP's were always over estimated. pre smart points 30 min of cycling would be 6 AP but if you look at the accepted calories burned/80 I would get 4 AP's. The Fit Points make no sense to me.
  • countcurt
    countcurt Posts: 593 Member
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    I don't know what 'casual speed' means in the parlance of calorie calculations. Generally I find modifying caloric intake allowances for activity to be pretty dicey at best.

    11 points in WW is 'worth' about 400 calories, so definitely tracks differently.
  • Kramti386
    Kramti386 Posts: 127 Member
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    Maybe try using a Heart Rate monitor. Instead of just guessing whether you were causal moderate etc. Your HR level is a better barometer of how much work your body is doing.

    Does it really matter what the value is? Are you trying to compensate for what calories you took in above and beyond what is necessary to maintain your weight? I remember the expression that somebody would say on the board "You lose weight in the kitchen and gain fitness in the gym."
  • JimfromColumbia
    JimfromColumbia Posts: 15 Member
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    all valid points thanks... My interest is the calories in calories out... if I can get a good handle on calories out, I would think I could have a better handle on calories in or weight off.... right now I'm just trying to get my wind back from sitting on my butt all summer.... the heart rate monitor may be the way to go....
  • goldenfrisbee
    goldenfrisbee Posts: 1,640 Member
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    I don't count exercise as anything other than fitness. I think MFP overestimates the calories burned in an activity, so I'l go along with the idea that weight is lost in the kitchen and exercise is for fitness. Heck, my wife didn't lift a finger when it came to activity and she lost 30 pounds just by following WW guidelines for eating.
  • podkey
    podkey Posts: 5,097 Member
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    Short term activity and especially stop and start activity are the hardest to measure in my opinion. I worked my fanny off doing weight lifting (no I am not Lee the power lifter at all) but just counted it point wise as "light" and divided my time by half also.

    I too have been working on improving my "wind" or aerobic capacity a bit since my trip to New York. I walked a fair amount but not quite as much as we did on a
    "student tour" of Italy where we walked 10-12 or more hours daily. I do consume a bit more while riding for rides over an hour. I use to not consume additional calories on the bike until I exceeded about 90 minutes or more but have found I do better on the 75' hilly climb rides if consuming some calories along the way. I don't consume more for my workouts in the gym or spinning classes etc. My usual meals etc seem to be plenty for that. I am just an n=1 and we are all different.

    I know I have increased my fluids a bit the last year or two and my calories a titch too. Just do what works for you and you will be fine.

    It is much harder than one thinks to figure out precise caloric burn.

    Don't believe me?? Google Dr Levine's magic underwear for some studies. He basically could not figure out using normal pedometers etc why some folks did not gain weight when they ate as much as 1000 extra calories per day.

    He developed some finer sensors and placed them inside some bike short like underoos. What he found was that some folks when fed more apparently squirmed (my term) more too and burned extra calories. The small movements in fact added up to more calories burned.
  • JimfromColumbia
    JimfromColumbia Posts: 15 Member
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    so.... I think my best strategy is to under assume the caloric burn for activities ( I tended to anyway...), don't really consider them vs. total calories consumed in a day and replace my office chair with a big beach ball to increase the squirm factor (grin).
  • podkey
    podkey Posts: 5,097 Member
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    Yeah I always underestimate and don't pay that much attention to short term activity stuff in terms of consuming more.
  • 0ysterboy
    0ysterboy Posts: 192 Member
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    I too think the MFP exercise calculator is overly generous in its calorie burn rates. For me, I think that 600 cal/hour is about my max burn rate achievable (hard bike ride or run). Nevertheless, this is why I log my exercise on a completely different site from where I log my food intake (done here on MFP). That way I don't even think about trading food for exercise.
  • podkey
    podkey Posts: 5,097 Member
    edited September 2016
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    I agree plus it is the NET calories burned that matters. We easily burn more than 50/hour laying in bed. WW in its last couple of iterations has assumed that we are "lightly active" which could be upwards of around 10,000 steps per day or 8,000+ at least. Only activity per day beyond that should be counted when looking at "calorie burn" . We can quibble about where the base line should be but it is the excess that matters.

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