Calories Burned while Working Out?

hottottie11
hottottie11 Posts: 907 Member
edited October 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
I use a HRM (Polar) to calculate my calories burned. I have heard that you should subtract the number of calories you would have burned if you didn't workout in that time period. How much is that approximately? I am typically 400 net calories under my goal for the week as a cushion for error. Should I continue with this approach?

Replies

  • aqua_zumba_fan
    aqua_zumba_fan Posts: 383 Member
    I wouldn't have thought that was necessary tbh but if you do I'd say 400 is way too high. If you go to tools on here you can see your basal metabolic rate which is how much you burn without doing any exercise in a day. That should help.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    To answer the question on how much should you back out, this should be your maintenance calories for the amount of time you worked out. To get your maintenance cals go to goals and look at the top right "calories burned from normal daily activity". Take that number divide by 24 then by 60 to get cals burned/minute while not working out. then multiply that by the length of the workout to see the amount that should be backed out.

    So as an example say your maintenance is 2200 cals you would burn 1.53 (2200/24/60) cals/min, so if your HRM said you burned 330 cals in 30 minutes you would back out (30*1.53) 46 cals and enter 284 as cals burned into MFP, as the other 46 are already accounted for in your daily intake goal.
  • MikeInAZ
    MikeInAZ Posts: 483 Member
    Don't worry about it. Unless you are working out for hours on end, it's minimal, like less than 100. Just be happy you are working out and burning extra calories. That's a lot more than most people!

    - Mike
  • MissMaryMac33
    MissMaryMac33 Posts: 1,433 Member
    Oh boy....this is going to confuse people as I'm completely confused.

    I wear my HRM to the gym. I turn it on at the start of class, I turn it off at the end.
    I track that exact number burned right into MFP. I don't subtract a thing.

    I just know that I gained extra calories that day and I eat most of them back. (at least half)
  • AdrienneinTO
    AdrienneinTO Posts: 111 Member
    I use a Polar FT40 HRM, and I don't subtract from what it tells me. I guess the calories you would have burned per hour had you not exercised would be your BMR divided by 24 hours. For example, 1350 / 24 = 56 calories. That's a small #, I wouldn't bother with it.

    As for your cushion, it depends on what your goal is set to. You seem to be close to your goal. If you have set your goal to be losing 1 lb or more per week, and are net 400 calories under for the week, that's probably over-doing it. If you're at half a lb per week and are still 400 under for the week, my guess is that you are OK.

    I keep track of my daily deficit (calories in minus calories out, subtracted from my estimated normal daily activity). I total it up for the week and divide by 3500 calories. I am usually at a deficit of between 0.5 and 1 lb in a week. That is still working for me, and I am close to my goal. I hope that helps.
  • hottottie11
    hottottie11 Posts: 907 Member
    To answer the question on how much should you back out, this should be your maintenance calories for the amount of time you worked out. To get your maintenance cals go to goals and look at the top right "calories burned from normal daily activity". Take that number divide by 24 then by 60 to get cals burned/minute while not working out. then multiply that by the length of the workout to see the amount that should be backed out.

    So as an example say your maintenance is 2200 cals you would burn 1.53 (2200/24/60) cals/min, so if your HRM said you burned 330 cals in 30 minutes you would back out (30*1.53) 46 cals and enter 284 as cals burned into MFP, as the other 46 are already accounted for in your daily intake goal.


    I wish my maintenance was 2200 :-/...So I calculated it to be about 1.22 calories per min, I work out for about 1.5 hours...so that 's 110 calories..so over a course of a week, I was off about ~550 cals...I'm glad I kept my cushion

    Thanks Erick! I was hoping you would answer. Your responses always makes sense.
  • goodness0531
    goodness0531 Posts: 2 Member
    Ok, I have never posted, but I am a lurker. I am totally confused. Am I supposed to be eating my calories that I burned in excercise? I need more guidance on this because I have about 38lb to go to get to my goal, but it seems I have hit a plateau or have my understanding incorrect. I sometimes work out twice a day and burn more than 1k calories per my MIO HRM.
  • hottottie11
    hottottie11 Posts: 907 Member
    Ok, I have never posted, but I am a lurker. I am totally confused. Am I supposed to be eating my calories that I burned in excercise? I need more guidance on this because I have about 38lb to go to get to my goal, but it seems I have hit a plateau or have my understanding incorrect. I sometimes work out twice a day and burn more than 1k calories per my MIO HRM.

    Yes you should.


    I eat my exercise calories and I still lose. I eat anywhere between 1800 to 2000 cal total and I net an average of 1490 calories a week. Here is what helped me understand "eating my exercise cals":

    My activity level (excluding exercise; this is important) is sedentary because I work a desk job. MFP calculated my Total Daily Energy Expenditure to be 1760 calories. This means to maintain my current weight I must stay at 1760 calories.

    Now I have set myself to lose 0.5lb per week because I'm getting pretty lean and I want to focus on reduce body fat while maintaining muscle. MFP assigned me 1490 calories per day. A deficit of 250 calories per day. Now I work out ALOT. 5-6 days a week for 1 to 2 hours. I can burn an additional 500 to 1000 calories on those days.

    I use a Polar FT4 HRM and it has been a godsend because I can know for sure what I burn.

    For example, I went to zumba yesterday and burned 554 calories. My total calorie burn is no longer 1760...it is now 2311 (1760+551). It is very important to me to maintain my deficit. I don't want to lose more than 0.5 lb per week. So my calorie goal for a 0.5 lb loss per week is now 2061 (2311-250). So in essence, I must eat back my "exercise calories". I really don't like how it sounds because it seems like you are eating away all your hard work but if you don't fuel your body properly you run the risk of stalling your weight loss. Now I always leave a little room for error. So I always leave about 100 to 150 calories for cushion.

    I've been losing about 0.5 to 0.75 lbs per week. The key to making this work is making sure your activity level reflects your normal life not including exercise. Then you can add in exercise.

    You can, as an alternative, set your activity level to include exercise. For example, active or very active with exercise. MFP will give more calories to eat. In this case you don't log your exercise and you wouldnt have to eat them back.

    My settings are sedentary and I add in my exercise cals. I eat a average of 1800 to 1900 cals per day and burn an average of 400 calories per day through exercise (2800 cal per week). I net between 1400 to 1500.

    BUT If I change my activity level settings to very active to include my exercise....MFP will give me 2152 as my TDEE and a calorie goal of 1902 to lose 1/2 per week. IN this case I wont "eat back my exercise cals". The math turns out to be the same.
  • AdrienneinTO
    AdrienneinTO Posts: 111 Member
    Ok, I have never posted, but I am a lurker. I am totally confused. Am I supposed to be eating my calories that I burned in excercise? I need more guidance on this because I have about 38lb to go to get to my goal, but it seems I have hit a plateau or have my understanding incorrect. I sometimes work out twice a day and burn more than 1k calories per my MIO HRM.

    Congrats on your first post! :)

    Many people on MFP will tell you to eat your exercise calories, because your MFP goal already takes into account a calorie deficit. This is generally true, but I think it is a little more complicated than that. I tend to zig-zag, so I go both over and under a fair bit. A lot of people have used zig-zagging to break out of plateaus.

    Feel free to add me if you'd like more advice on how to do this.
  • hottottie11
    hottottie11 Posts: 907 Member
    Ok, I have never posted, but I am a lurker. I am totally confused. Am I supposed to be eating my calories that I burned in excercise? I need more guidance on this because I have about 38lb to go to get to my goal, but it seems I have hit a plateau or have my understanding incorrect. I sometimes work out twice a day and burn more than 1k calories per my MIO HRM.

    Congrats on your first post! :)

    Many people on MFP will tell you to eat your exercise calories, because your MFP goal already takes into account a calorie deficit. This is generally true, but I think it is a little more complicated than that. I tend to zig-zag, so I go both over and under a fair bit. A lot of people have used zig-zagging to break out of plateaus.

    Feel free to add me if you'd like more advice on how to do this.

    I zip-zag as well, but mostly by accident lol. I eat 1700-1800 on non-workout days and 1900-2200 on workout days (1200-1500 net)
  • MissMaryMac33
    MissMaryMac33 Posts: 1,433 Member
    Ok, I have never posted, but I am a lurker. I am totally confused. Am I supposed to be eating my calories that I burned in excercise? I need more guidance on this because I have about 38lb to go to get to my goal, but it seems I have hit a plateau or have my understanding incorrect. I sometimes work out twice a day and burn more than 1k calories per my MIO HRM.

    Yes -- but does MIO have a chest strap? Or is that just the wrist one?
    If it doesn't have a chest strap its not very accurate so I would try and eat at least half back to account for errors in numbers.

    I have a polar FT7 with a chest strap -- I try to eat most of my exercise calories back. I had to stop going to the gym twice a day because it was just too much. I was a little obsessed and going about 10x a week. I have cut it down to 5x a week to give my body a few rest days and started losing again.
  • LilLolo22
    LilLolo22 Posts: 229 Member
    I just learned something today!! I really need to pay closer attention to things like this. Probably explains why I haven't lost in MONTHS! Bleh.
  • AdrienneinTO
    AdrienneinTO Posts: 111 Member
    Ok, I have never posted, but I am a lurker. I am totally confused. Am I supposed to be eating my calories that I burned in excercise? I need more guidance on this because I have about 38lb to go to get to my goal, but it seems I have hit a plateau or have my understanding incorrect. I sometimes work out twice a day and burn more than 1k calories per my MIO HRM.

    Congrats on your first post! :)

    Many people on MFP will tell you to eat your exercise calories, because your MFP goal already takes into account a calorie deficit. This is generally true, but I think it is a little more complicated than that. I tend to zig-zag, so I go both over and under a fair bit. A lot of people have used zig-zagging to break out of plateaus.

    Feel free to add me if you'd like more advice on how to do this.

    I zip-zag as well, but mostly by accident lol. I eat 1700-1800 on non-workout days and 1900-2200 on workout days (1200-1500 net)

    Yup, me too. By accident. Lol. Seems to work, though. On exercise days I usually eat 1600-2100, and my net is 1150-1300. On rest days, I've been trying to eat ~1350 calories, but often go over a bit. I never eat less than 1350 regardless (that's a touch over my estimated BMR). I think I will start eating more calories soon, since I am close to goal. But this has definitely been working for me, no plateaus at all, and I feel great.
  • Jillk1023
    Jillk1023 Posts: 121 Member
    ok need to bump this and re-read 100 times before i understand what you all are saying. haha.. wow
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