How do you track calories burned and do you eat them back?

Hey all!

I’m curious to hear how other people track their cals burned - do you use a tracker like Fitbit and put them in based on that or just use the MFP estimates?

Also, do you eat back your calories burned and does that impact what you’ve chosen your daily calorie goal to be?

I’d love to hear your methods!

Replies

  • Hanibanani2020
    Hanibanani2020 Posts: 523 Member
    I don’t eat my calories back unless I have a huge workout day as that works for me but I am close to my goal weight now. Try what works for you. Start at 100% and adjust as needed.
  • moonangel12
    moonangel12 Posts: 971 Member
    I log using my Garmin or RunKeeper app. I have always eaten back all or nearly all of my exercise calories and lost at the expected rate. I did have the anomaly with swimming though that I wasn’t eating enough, I think because my form and style was so terrible I was burning way more than I should have been for the time and distance logged :D abo it the time I realized it things shut down so I haven’t had the opportunity to test my theory or experiment with refueling.

    I have heard multiple times on here that the MFP calorie estimates run high so to start with 50% or so and adjust as needed based on rate of loss.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    No I don't use an all day tracker - they hold no interest for me.

    Cycling - which is my predominant and high volume exercise I use a Garmin bike computer to capture the data from a power meter (very accurate estimates).
    Walking - I use a formula based on the physics of mass moved over distance.
    Strength training - I use the MyFitnessPal database entry, as good as anything and better than some other methods.

    My exercise makes a very significant difference to my calorie needs (4,000 - 6,000 exercise cals a week in the main summer months isn't unusual).

    Would point out that even when I used less accurate methods (Strava/Garmin for cycling, readouts from gym equipment, heart rate monitors, MFP database entries) eating back all my exercise calories didn't stop me losing weight on target. The totality of my consistent but not obsessively accurate food logging and not particularly accurate exercise estimates only seemed to be in error to the tune of 1,000 cals a week so I simply adjusted my base calorie goal based on my weight trend. Note that even if I didn't make that adjustment I would still have lost weight, just a little slower than expected.
  • ghudson92
    ghudson92 Posts: 2,061 Member
    I use a Garmin Vivosport which I wear 24/7 apart from when showering. I am also incredibly anal about weighing and logging, even now in maintenance. In answer to your question, I aim to eat back 50% of the exercise calories unless I am really hungry (e.g. if I've just done a big strength training session).
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,907 Member
    I lost 80 pounds 13 years ago.

    I always just used the MFP calories burned for exercise. They worked for me. I ate 100% of my Exercise calories throughout my weight loss. Never had a Fitbit - I did have a Polar HRM for a while but it was more a nuisance than a help so I stopped using it.

    100% it is up to you to pick your own numbers.


    MFP and every other calculator and fitness device all use algorithms that are suited to an average calculation.

    Many people are above or below those averages. For instance, I eat 400-500 more calories per day than the calculators think I should.

    I found out my personal numbers by logging food and exercise and making adjustments as I went along. You'll need to run that same experiment.

  • SnifterPug
    SnifterPug Posts: 746 Member
    I wear a Myzone heart rate monitor for workouts and the calorie estimates are pretty accurate - I've been logging them for years now. I add that to my other calorie expenditure (worked out in a very scientific way by calculating BMR and then adding 400 calories to work out non-exercise daily calories) and use the total when deciding how many calories to eat. The BMR + 400 has been a very lucky guesstimate for me and now that I have an Apple Watch it matches almost precisely what the watch thinks I expend.
  • bdelaney33
    bdelaney33 Posts: 150 Member
    I use the apple watch; don't need to give it much thought. Assume it calculates a little high as well; so take it with a grain of salt... More often than not i would eat the calories up to my daily goal
  • nanastaci2020
    nanastaci2020 Posts: 1,072 Member
    I use MFP for tracking my food, but personally use a TDEE method using my fitness tracker (which I've used for years, and can judge its accuracy based on results). And that determines my calorie intake goal.
  • steph6556
    steph6556 Posts: 575 Member
    I use the Pacer App when I do my daily walk. It tells me my pace, calories, mileage and then I log that number into MFP. My base calories are set to 1400 but the exercise gives me about 450 more. I will eat all the calories back if I’m super hungry but most of the time I leave 100 or more in the bank
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,724 Member
    I estimate exercise carefully/conservatively, and eat it all back - did so during weight loss, and have for 4+ years of maintaining a healthy weight since.

    When I first started, I did some research to figure out the most accurate way to estimate the exercise types I frequently do, since I understand that some methods work better for some activities, other methods for others.

    For most of my cardiovascular exercise (like spin class), I use my fitness tracker's exercise estimate based off heart rate. It's not perfect, but it's the best option I've got, and close enough to be workable. For machine rowing, I can use weight-adjusted estimates from the machine, instead, because Concept 2 has a good reputation for estimating calories based on watts. (If anything, given how it works, I think it would underestimate, for people who aren't very efficient rowers. :lol: ) It isn't that far off from my fitness tracker, usually, so I feel fine about using the tracker's estimate for on-water rowing. Knowing that heart rate is a poor correlate with strength training calorie expenditure (likely to overestimate), I use MFP's exercise database estimate when I strength train.

    I was logging on MFP long before I got my fitness tracker (though I had a Polar HRM I used for exercise estimates and training data, before that). As a consequence, I know that my tracker - a good brand/model that's accurate for others - is very inaccurate for me, for all-day calorie burn estimates. (It's fine, I'm just weird. ;) ) Therefore, I don't synch it to MFP, because doing so would make life harder rather than easier, for me. (MFP also estimates my all-day calories very incorrectly, so I set my goal manually.)

    Really, what's most important is to be consistent in how you estimate your exercise. (Absolute accuracy is a cr*pshoot, but close is good enough.) Then, after 4-6 weeks of experience with logging eating/exercise and monitoring scale weight, adjust your calorie goal based on actual weight loss experience. That should work fine.

    Best wishes!
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,668 Member
    edited June 2020
    I have a Garmin I use for running, but don't have it linked to MFP and don't enter the daily steps I take in MFP. I do log runs, walks, bike rides, etc. by time, using MFP's numbers for calories burned. That works well for me. Occasionally at the end of the day I'll look at my watch and see what it gave me for activity calories and maintenance calories and it is pretty close to those I get with MFP. i.e. today my watch said I've burned 772 calories in activity. MFP gave me 720.
  • Shortgirlrunning
    Shortgirlrunning Posts: 1,020 Member
    I only eat back my cardio calories. I use my Garmin watch to get the calories burned on my runs.
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    No I don't use an all day tracker - they hold no interest for me.

    Cycling - which is my predominant and high volume exercise I use a Garmin bike computer to capture the data from a power meter (very accurate estimates).
    Walking - I use a formula based on the physics of mass moved over distance.
    Strength training - I use the MyFitnessPal database entry, as good as anything and better than some other methods.

    My exercise makes a very significant difference to my calorie needs (4,000 - 6,000 exercise cals a week in the main summer months isn't unusual).

    Ditto mostly. About 4000 cycling calories many weeks that NEED to be eaten back. Garmin for the cycling, although I still need to get around to re- pricing out and buying a power meter. I let the Garmin step track, but adjustments will be negligible (it's just walking, and on cycling days they negate out). Hiking, trail running tracked by Garmin...I add up to 50% (based on a few estimates off another source comparing) for the terrain depending on difficulty. If I log the weight training for calories (pales in comparison to cycling, and is fairly regularly recurring in same time increment.. so not a problem to just group into NEAT and slightly up calorie goal), it's with the MFP entry. (I do 'track' it with my Garmin... useful for lap times and gathering total workout time.. the calorie estimate from there is 0 unless you were to wear a HR monitor which wouldn't give an accurate estimate anyway).
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    edited June 2020
    @ritzvin

    I went for the Favero Assimoma after reading reviews including DC Rainmaker and am very pleased with it.
    Good connectivity and battery life.
    As my power balance is very equal I went for the single sided option and it was pretty reasonable as regards cost. Calories were the icing on the cake but seeing my power output on outdoor rides was very revealing and helped me uplift my performance.
  • Anamaere
    Anamaere Posts: 60 Member
    I dont use any sort of all day tracker, but i will record workouts on mfp. The day-to day exercise i get from occasional/intermittent tasks I have to do around home (stacking hay, having to strip out and redo stables, reorganising workshop) i dont bother with, even though I am aware they burn calories, unless they are quite significant. The majority of my deliberate exercise is riding horses, or working them with me on the ground. I use an app specifically for horse riders/trainers (Equilab) to record the speed/distance/direction travelled and map it while I ride or do most of the on the ground work, so I just transfer it across to mfp once im done.

    I do generally eat back a portion or all of my calories as I can burn anywhere from 200-1500 calories depending on what I'm doing and how I'm feeling. I can 'go for a bit of a ride' casually at home, disappear for 2.5 hours (20km) and burn just over 1000cal. At a competition I've done that in the afternoon, then turned around the next morning and done 3h50mins (40km) at a faster pace. Generally, on a good week when i'm on plan, I'll burn 400-2400 per horse a week over 3 ridden sessions per horse. If I STUCK to plan and didnt have bingeing issues I'd be fit as! I probably should mention the numbers are particularly high because I am carrying a large amount of extra weight right now.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    @ritzvin

    I went for the Favero Assimoma after reading reviews including DC Rainmaker and am very pleased with it.
    Good connectivity and battery life.
    As my power balance is very equal I went for the single sided option and it was pretty reasonable as regards cost. Calories were the icing on the cake but seeing my power output on outdoor rides was very revealing and helped me uplift my performance.

    I use Vector 2s. Very similar choice in the ways that matter most.

    There are so many bottom bracket standards, if I ever have to replace this bike, there's a good chance I won't be able to take the crankset over. I have wheels I like, I don't want to have them rebuilt, and I like the hub I'm using. Pedals fit any bike, though, so if I get a TT rig or something, I have a power meter that will work for it. If I take a cycling vacation that involves flying, I can bring the pedals with me and have a power meter where I land if I want to. In my case, I bought them with the bike, I would have had to buy pedals anyway, so it made even more sense.

    Also, I'm more interested in what I'm doing than what makes it to the road, so measuring as far upstream as possible is the obvious right answer. This one isn't as important as long as you measure consistently, but I want to know what I can do for 120 minutes, and drive train losses don't factor into that question.