will calories burned take into account my size?
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shiragatama
Posts: 33 Member
Hi there! :-) Simply question; I'm a fairly small person; around 107 pounds and 5'2". I'm trying to lose a few more pounds to get a flat tummy hopefully! I log all of my cardio into MFP, but I was wondering; does it calculate the amount one burns based off of a flat number for everyone, or does it change depending on the user's weight? Because I know that someone twice my weight would burn much much more than I do, and I don't want to think I'm burning more than I actually am!
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Replies
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I think it accounts for your weight.1
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MFPs counts are general averages. They may or may not be accurate. A fitbit or something similar would be closer although not exact.1
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We only just eat back a portion of exercise calorie- like for me -if mfp says that I burned 250 calories- I only eat back 125 calories- this works well for me- each person is different0
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Yes, estimates will vary according to your current logged weight.
https://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/en/portal/articles/372426-why-have-my-exercise-calories-changed-8 -
Yes, estimates will vary according to your current logged weight.
https://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/en/portal/articles/372426-why-have-my-exercise-calories-changed-
Thank you so much! Thats just what I needed to hear :-)0 -
shiragatama wrote: »Hi there! :-) Simply question; I'm a fairly small person; around 107 pounds and 5'2". I'm trying to lose a few more pounds to get a flat tummy hopefully! I log all of my cardio into MFP, but I was wondering; does it calculate the amount one burns based off of a flat number for everyone, or does it change depending on the user's weight? Because I know that someone twice my weight would burn much much more than I do, and I don't want to think I'm burning more than I actually am!
Yes weight is taken into account. But there is a ton more variables that determine your burning rate. Metabolism, types of macros eaten, etc, etc.
For example, you could taken on a Spin Class for an hour and burn a ton of calories. Then over time you become more fit, and a lower heart rate due to that, and burn less.2 -
shiragatama wrote: »Hi there! :-) Simply question; I'm a fairly small person; around 107 pounds and 5'2". I'm trying to lose a few more pounds to get a flat tummy hopefully! I log all of my cardio into MFP, but I was wondering; does it calculate the amount one burns based off of a flat number for everyone, or does it change depending on the user's weight? Because I know that someone twice my weight would burn much much more than I do, and I don't want to think I'm burning more than I actually am!
Yes weight is taken into account. But there is a ton more variables that determine your burning rate. Metabolism, types of macros eaten, etc, etc.
For example, you could taken on a Spin Class for an hour and burn a ton of calories. Then over time you become more fit, and a lower heart rate due to that, and burn less.
Over time, you also lose weight, which MFP takes into account....2 -
It also depends on the exercise. For walking or running, your weight matters. For stationary biking, it doesn't.2
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spiriteagle99 wrote: »It also depends on the exercise. For walking or running, your weight matters. For stationary biking, it doesn't.
That is incorrect. All cardiovascular activities in the MFP Exercise Database are based on METs, which provide estimates that vary by a person's current weight.
MFP and other online activity calculators use METs (metabolic equivalent of tasks) to estimate Calories burned per minute. METs are a multiplication factor of a person's BMR (basal metabolic rate). A person's estimated BMR is a direct function of a person's current weight. As a person's weight decreases, a person's BMR decreases, and the multiplication of the METs x BMR decreases.
MFP has six stationary bicycle activities ranging from 3.5 METs to around 11 METs corresponding to the values as documented in the Compendium of Physical Activities. The different values correspond to various intensity levels largely based on energy output ranges.
Source: https://sites.google.com/site/compendiumofphysicalactivities/Activity-Categories/conditioning-exercise7 -
shiragatama wrote: »Hi there! :-) Simply question; I'm a fairly small person; around 107 pounds and 5'2". I'm trying to lose a few more pounds to get a flat tummy hopefully! I log all of my cardio into MFP, but I was wondering; does it calculate the amount one burns based off of a flat number for everyone, or does it change depending on the user's weight? Because I know that someone twice my weight would burn much much more than I do, and I don't want to think I'm burning more than I actually am!
Yes weight is taken into account. But there is a ton more variables that determine your burning rate. Metabolism, types of macros eaten, etc, etc.
For example, you could taken on a Spin Class for an hour and burn a ton of calories. Then over time you become more fit, and a lower heart rate due to that, and burn less.
that is not correct. there is not really a correlation between heart rate and calorie burn. That's why fitness trackers with HR sensor don't work properly, and will work even less if you don't know your actual maxHR. and if you happen to be one of the5 people out of 100 who have a very high maxHR then those trackers will not work at all as even custom settings work extremely poorly.0 -
shiragatama wrote: »Hi there! :-) Simply question; I'm a fairly small person; around 107 pounds and 5'2". I'm trying to lose a few more pounds to get a flat tummy hopefully! I log all of my cardio into MFP, but I was wondering; does it calculate the amount one burns based off of a flat number for everyone, or does it change depending on the user's weight? Because I know that someone twice my weight would burn much much more than I do, and I don't want to think I'm burning more than I actually am!
Yes weight is taken into account. But there is a ton more variables that determine your burning rate. Metabolism, types of macros eaten, etc, etc.
For example, you could taken on a Spin Class for an hour and burn a ton of calories. Then over time you become more fit, and a lower heart rate due to that, and burn less.
@jflongo
That's not how it works - the decreasing heart rate for the same exercise simply shows an increase in fitness levels including your heart pumping more efficiently.
It's one of the huge disadvantages of attempting to use heart rate for calorie estimates.
In reality as people get fitter they increase their workload (further, faster, more power, more resistance) rather than do exactly the same workout.4 -
spiriteagle99 wrote: »It also depends on the exercise. For walking or running, your weight matters. For stationary biking, it doesn't.
That is incorrect. All cardiovascular activities in the MFP Exercise Database are based on METs, which provide estimates that vary by a person's current weight.
MFP and other online activity calculators use METs (metabolic equivalent of tasks) to estimate Calories burned per minute. METs are a multiplication factor of a person's BMR (basal metabolic rate). A person's estimated BMR is a direct function of a person's current weight. As a person's weight decreases, a person's BMR decreases, and the multiplication of the METs x BMR decreases.
MFP has six stationary bicycle activities ranging from 3.5 METs to around 11 METs corresponding to the values as documented in the Compendium of Physical Activities. The different values correspond to various intensity levels largely based on energy output ranges.
Source: https://sites.google.com/site/compendiumofphysicalactivities/Activity-Categories/conditioning-exercise
Not disagreeing with your explanation of how myfitnesspal works but using BMR and body weight to estimate calories for non-weight bearing stationary cycling is simply an awful way to do it.
As my weight dropped my calorie burns increased by 30% as my sustained power output increased due to improved fitness and endurance.
Those tiny pro riders weighing far less than me with a lower BMR can burn at double the rate I can.4 -
spiriteagle99 wrote: »It also depends on the exercise. For walking or running, your weight matters. For stationary biking, it doesn't.
That is incorrect. All cardiovascular activities in the MFP Exercise Database are based on METs, which provide estimates that vary by a person's current weight.
MFP and other online activity calculators use METs (metabolic equivalent of tasks) to estimate Calories burned per minute. METs are a multiplication factor of a person's BMR (basal metabolic rate). A person's estimated BMR is a direct function of a person's current weight. As a person's weight decreases, a person's BMR decreases, and the multiplication of the METs x BMR decreases.
MFP has six stationary bicycle activities ranging from 3.5 METs to around 11 METs corresponding to the values as documented in the Compendium of Physical Activities. The different values correspond to various intensity levels largely based on energy output ranges.
Source: https://sites.google.com/site/compendiumofphysicalactivities/Activity-Categories/conditioning-exercise
Not disagreeing with your explanation of how myfitnesspal works but using BMR and body weight to estimate calories for non-weight bearing stationary cycling is simply an awful way to do it.
As my weight dropped my calorie burns increased by 30% as my sustained power output increased due to improved fitness and endurance.
Those tiny pro riders weighing far less than me with a lower BMR can burn at double the rate I can.
You are correct. Since the OP was asking about logging all activities using MFP, I was trying to explain that the estimates will vary by current weight and in the case of stationary cycling, there are a range of activity choices with varying estimates based on self-perceived intensity. When someone is using MFP as the only estimate of Calories burned, it is still possible to get a range of estimates based on weight for different intensity levels.2 -
spiriteagle99 wrote: »It also depends on the exercise. For walking or running, your weight matters. For stationary biking, it doesn't.
That is incorrect. All cardiovascular activities in the MFP Exercise Database are based on METs, which provide estimates that vary by a person's current weight.
MFP and other online activity calculators use METs (metabolic equivalent of tasks) to estimate Calories burned per minute. METs are a multiplication factor of a person's BMR (basal metabolic rate). A person's estimated BMR is a direct function of a person's current weight. As a person's weight decreases, a person's BMR decreases, and the multiplication of the METs x BMR decreases.
MFP has six stationary bicycle activities ranging from 3.5 METs to around 11 METs corresponding to the values as documented in the Compendium of Physical Activities. The different values correspond to various intensity levels largely based on energy output ranges.
Source: https://sites.google.com/site/compendiumofphysicalactivities/Activity-Categories/conditioning-exercise
Not disagreeing with your explanation of how myfitnesspal works but using BMR and body weight to estimate calories for non-weight bearing stationary cycling is simply an awful way to do it.
As my weight dropped my calorie burns increased by 30% as my sustained power output increased due to improved fitness and endurance.
Those tiny pro riders weighing far less than me with a lower BMR can burn at double the rate I can.
You are correct. Since the OP was asking about logging all activities using MFP, I was trying to explain that the estimates will vary by current weight and in the case of stationary cycling, there are a range of activity choices with varying estimates based on self-perceived intensity. When someone is using MFP as the only estimate of Calories burned, it is still possible to get a range of estimates based on weight for different intensity levels.
Agreed - as usual your explanation of how MFP works is spot on.1 -
Just note that, regardless, many people find that mfp overestimates the calories burned for many exercises. YMMV.2
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Off topic: OP how much more weight are you aiming to lose? You are nearing the lower end of the healthy weight range for your height (101lbs is the low I've seen). Have you thought about doing a recomp instead?2
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At your size, you may need to add some muscle before you see a flat belly.4
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Off topic: OP how much more weight are you aiming to lose? You are nearing the lower end of the healthy weight range for your height (101lbs is the low I've seen). Have you thought about doing a recomp instead?
I was thinking losing maybe 5 lbs, but I know that is a very low weight, even though I have a very small frame. actually, just yesterday I heard about "recomp" for the first time, and honestly that sounds more like what I need to do. I think I'm in the "skinny fat" category, although I do have some extra weight on my stomach.
Is recomping basically replacing fat with muscle?2 -
shiragatama wrote: »Off topic: OP how much more weight are you aiming to lose? You are nearing the lower end of the healthy weight range for your height (101lbs is the low I've seen). Have you thought about doing a recomp instead?
I was thinking losing maybe 5 lbs, but I know that is a very low weight, even though I have a very small frame. actually, just yesterday I heard about "recomp" for the first time, and honestly that sounds more like what I need to do. I think I'm in the "skinny fat" category, although I do have some extra weight on my stomach.
Is recomping basically replacing fat with muscle?
Great info about recomp here:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat2 -
thanks so much!! :-)0
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