Do you over-estimate exercise and under estimate food?

Gulfislander
Gulfislander Posts: 5
edited October 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
I recently starting using this website and have been at it for less than a week. I think its a pretty cool way to stay in touch with your body over the course of the day. I've noticed, or at least think I've noticed, that my food intake has been higher than normal, probably because I see these calorie credits and feel its okay to eat more at then of the day. i also noticed than when i tallied my exercise time I was tending to round up, where as with food, i was rounding down. i've decided to do the opposite.

Replies

  • rita27ny
    rita27ny Posts: 820 Member
    i have my hrt rate monitor so its accurate coming to excercise.
  • melizerd
    melizerd Posts: 870 Member
    I always round down for exercise and up for food if I'm in between an option. I measure and/or weigh almost all my food so I can be as accurate as possible.

    I only eat back about half my exercise calories because I do not have a HRM (heart rate monitor) so I do not want to over eat. There are 23523624646 threads about whether to eat back your exercise calories or not but it's worked for me for 76lbs so far so I'm sticking with eating about half of them.
  • Dexy_
    Dexy_ Posts: 593 Member
    Most people over estimate food and under estimate exercise as that way you are unlikely yo eat too much.
  • Shannonk507
    Shannonk507 Posts: 252 Member
    Good call. Calorie counts on here take that into consideration, in that, you can "eat your exercise calories" back. Good luck on the rest of your journey and reaching the goals you have set for yourself. :)
  • daydream58
    daydream58 Posts: 572 Member
    I definitely do the opposite (overestimate food and under estimate exercise) that gives me the wiggle room I feel I need for unintentional inaccuracies.
  • Eleanorjanethinner
    Eleanorjanethinner Posts: 563 Member
    Yep, I think the tendency is to try and do that. I'm trying to be accurate as I can, but I don't really weigh food and I often have to substitute as lots of New Zealand food or restaurant food isn't listed.
  • justmary4cm
    justmary4cm Posts: 29
    I try to over-estimate on portion sizes but sometimes forget the little add-ons like a tsp of lite butter or 5 jelly beans. Nothing big but if you do it consistently it can add up. The exercise thing is a bit trickier. I don't have a heart rate monitor so I use the machine totals or I find someone in my Zumba class who wears one and exercises like I do and find out what their totals were. It would probably be a good investment to make ( a heart rate monitor, that is)

    M
  • rita27ny
    rita27ny Posts: 820 Member
    do any of you use food scales? What is that exactly? can you give examples?

    Thanks
  • teephil
    teephil Posts: 135 Member
    I always over estimate food and under estimate exercise, that way there's no doubt as to whether I'm actually within my goals or not.
  • Hayesgang
    Hayesgang Posts: 624
    I think that is standard with most people - that is why logging your food, looking at serving sizes and weighing food is so eye opening. I now realize a handful of chips is usually 2 servings and you do that a few times a day with different food - there is a weight gain.

    As far as exercise I think we like to believe we are working harder then we are (human nature maybe) - There are posts all the time about calories burned on machines and on MPF - most of the time they want to log the larger number.

    For me I underestimate my food - I'll have 12 chips instead of 16 and put 1 serving or have 5.5 oz of steak and put 6 (did that tonight) then I'll take the lower number on my exercise. I just got a food scale so that has made it easier to weigh the proper amound and until I get a HRM/Bodybugg - that is what works for me.

    Keep doing what makes you comfortable - just make sure you EAT and don't deprive yourself.
  • cloveraz
    cloveraz Posts: 332 Member
    All my food is weighed or measured. The thing I worry about, is I'm putting in the time and maximum effort while exercising, but until I am able to purchase a HRM, I think that the burned calories MFP states that I burned is high...
  • Elzecat
    Elzecat Posts: 2,916 Member
    do any of you use food scales? What is that exactly? can you give examples?

    Thanks

    it's a little scale that you can use to weigh your food (in ounces). I recently got one...it's helpful to measure items that don't fit in measuring cups :)
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    Everything we log is an estimate (yes, even your HRM is only estimating calories burned!) so I don't get too worried about it.
    I try for reasonable accuracy and work on the theory that the foods I underestimate balance out the ones that are an overestimation.
  • Alexdur85
    Alexdur85 Posts: 255 Member
    I just got a HRM and it seems almost the same as MFP so far however I've only used it once. I have noticed I underestimate my food. I got a food scale and I have been eating 2oz of chicken thinking it was 4oz!
  • cofakid
    cofakid Posts: 213 Member
    Everything we log is an estimate (yes, even your HRM is only estimating calories burned!) so I don't get too worried about it.
    I try for reasonable accuracy and work on the theory that the foods I underestimate balance out the ones that are an overestimation.

    i agree with this. I weight everything, use a heart rate monitor etc but at the end of the day ur just getting as close to accurate as possible. If i eat a meat and im not sure if its 122 cal or 144cal i'll go for the higher one. With exercises i just use what my hrm says.
  • rita27ny
    rita27ny Posts: 820 Member
    Can you guys recommend a good food scale>I will use it for my food like chips,trail mixes etc and meat. I mght be going over my servings or under not sure... to good I'm estimating using cups/teaspoon spoons etc and eyeballing it.
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