Overestimate of calories burned???

xoxo99
xoxo99 Posts: 36
edited December 20 in Fitness and Exercise
Hey guys. Does anyone else think the program over estimate the calories burned for exercise or do I maybe just underestimate my calories burned on my own?? Haha! I just want to make sure I'm being as close to accurate as possible!! Any thoughts?!

Thanks :)
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Replies

  • Lisseth03
    Lisseth03 Posts: 518 Member
    I think the only way you can be certain is with a HRM.
    I often wonder the same thing though.
  • xoxo99
    xoxo99 Posts: 36
    Yeah, that's a good point. I'm a newbie. I searched and the polar seems to be popular. Think I'm going to invest in one! I find it motivating to know how many calories I'm burning!
  • Lisseth03
    Lisseth03 Posts: 518 Member
    I need to invest as well!
  • Brandicaloriecountess
    Brandicaloriecountess Posts: 2,126 Member
    For me, yes it way over estimated.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    I guess its an individual thing, because I'm relatively sure it waaaaay underestimates my calories burned, especially on rope jumping, cycling and sprinting.
  • palmerig88
    palmerig88 Posts: 623 Member
    For what types of activities?
  • Gt3ch
    Gt3ch Posts: 212 Member
    It's simply not possible to get precise exercise calorie numbers. They're ALL rough estimates. I feel like the figures for lighter activities like walking are way over-estimated. I never log that stuff because I feel like if walking, even for several miles, is so strenuous for me that I need to eat more to fuel it, something is very wrong.

    HRM's aren't that accurate for counting calories. They SEEM really accurate and authoritative because they have a digital display- but they're not. They can be in the right ballpark, though IF you calibrate it with a good VO2 MAX figure or you happen to fit perfectly into one of their fitness/age profiles. But all that can go out the window if you didn't get enough sleep, had some coffee, are in a bad mood, are getting sick, etc.
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  • jsapninz
    jsapninz Posts: 909 Member
    ...the only way you can be certain is with a HRM.

    ^THIS.

    Average estimators are WAY off.

    Good HRMs aren't that expensive. I got my Polar FT4 at bodytronics.com for $62. Best $62 I ever spent.:love:
  • annahiven
    annahiven Posts: 177 Member
    Absolutely get an HRM. Do not trust the MFP calculations, and do not trust the machines at the gym. My burn was overestimated by 30-40% before I got an HRM!
  • Savyna
    Savyna Posts: 789 Member
    before I had an HRM I wasn't too sure of the numbers but when I began using one it turned out that MFP was usually lower than what my hrm would say I burned.
  • DaveC29
    DaveC29 Posts: 232 Member
    I track my Calories taken in and my exercise from MFP in a separate spreadsheet.

    If I eat all my calories back from MFP, I tend to plateau, but if I only eat around 75% of the exercise back, I lose pretty much as expected for my deficiet.

    So I would agree that the numbers are about 25% inflated from what I have experienced.
  • tnqnt
    tnqnt Posts: 397 Member
    Hey guys. Does anyone else think the program over estimate the calories burned for exercise or do I maybe just underestimate my calories burned on my own?? Haha! I just want to make sure I'm being as close to accurate as possible!! Any thoughts?!

    Thanks :)

    I have a Polar FT60 which uses VO2 and heart rate to read my calorie burn - I find that MFP hugely overestimates burn.... as do most cardio machines...
  • waldo56
    waldo56 Posts: 1,861 Member
    Depends on what you are doing.

    After all a HRM only measures aerobic calorie burn. When it comes to strength training, which is primarily anaerobic with a significant recovery calorie cost, a HRM really isn't even in the ballpark of correct, it misses very, very, very low.

    Nobody really knows how many calories weight training burns. It is nearly impossible to measure, even for scientists in labs. By reconciling results with inputs, I estimate that in totality (exercise+couple days of recovery) an hour of full body strength training burns about 1500-2000 calories for me. I use MFP's numbers for calisthenics and circuit training (depending on how hard I've worked), but I've also figured out that if I haven't recently strength trained, my maintenance calorie intake is 2450 cal/day, if I have recently strength trained and have some degree of DOMS, my maintenance calorie intake is 3050 cal/day.

    Edit - And if you don't believe those numbers, strength train hard full body 3x a week and try to gain weight at the same time. You will be shocked at how hard this is to do, the absurd amount of food you have to eat to sustain gains.
  • tnqnt
    tnqnt Posts: 397 Member
    It's simply not possible to get precise exercise calorie numbers. They're ALL rough estimates. I feel like the figures for lighter activities like walking are way over-estimated. I never log that stuff because I feel like if walking, even for several miles, is so strenuous for me that I need to eat more to fuel it, something is very wrong.

    HRM's aren't that accurate for counting calories. They SEEM really accurate and authoritative because they have a digital display- but they're not. They can be in the right ballpark, though IF you calibrate it with a good VO2 MAX figure or you happen to fit perfectly into one of their fitness/age profiles. But all that can go out the window if you didn't get enough sleep, had some coffee, are in a bad mood, are getting sick, etc.

    True ... I was told that another problem with using the HRM with the VO2 Max is that it does not take into account your body type - muscular or fat... that it uses your age/weight etc for the calculation. Would be great if you could input body fat percentage, as well.
  • OSC_ESD
    OSC_ESD Posts: 752 Member
    ~ Some forms of exercise are over estimated and some are dead on ... I use an HRM, but if you don't have one you can always use three different websites to get a " middle " number ... I sometimes check with " LIVESTRONG " which is pretty compatible with my HRM.

    Also remember any site including this one just uses a generic number based on your weight and minutes ... your endurance is never a considered fact ... and that plays a heavy factor in actual burn. How hard I workout to a cardio video ~ vs ~ how hard you do is a determining factor in reality of calories burned.

    I would suggest investing in an HRM if you really want true numbers ... I have the Polar F4, basic and I love it ! My boyfriend has the Polar F7, more advanced and he loves it ! There are a lot of options out there ... just research it first and find what best works for you !

    :flowerforyou:
  • Shannota
    Shannota Posts: 308 Member
    I was using the estimates on MFP and eating back exercise calories and having NO sucess in weight loss...and at my weight, the pounds should have been dropping off easily. I had the thought that maybe I really did have a slow metabolism, so I finally broke down and bought a Body Media Armband. You wear it all day (except for showering) and it has sensors that read 5,000 datapoints a minute (or something like that). It is supposed to be over 90% accurate on your daily calorie burns. I found that MFP was sometimes estimating that I was burning twice what I really was...and my TDEE was also WAY low compared to what the estimates on the net show that it should be...shockingly enough, the fat girl really does have a slow metabolism! Let me know if you want more info on the Body Media. I think it is the most wonderful weight loss purchase I have ever made!
  • steelersfamily6
    steelersfamily6 Posts: 138 Member
    Hey guys. Does anyone else think the program over estimate the calories burned for exercise or do I maybe just underestimate my calories burned on my own?? Haha! I just want to make sure I'm being as close to accurate as possible!! Any thoughts?!

    Thanks :)

    According to my HRM it has overestimated the calories at times but I really feel it has to do with each individual person. This is why I went out and bought an HRM so that I could be precise. There is a website where you can look at what the calorie burn is according to your weight but then again I think it all comes down to each individual person.

    http://www.acaloriecalculator.com/calories-burned-calculator/


    If you do buy an HRM, I recommend getting one with a chest strap bc my first one I bought had to little buttons I had to simultaneously push on the top of the watch in order to get my reading and that meant I would have to stop working out to get a reading, it was so lame.
  • AlmostVintage66
    AlmostVintage66 Posts: 1 Member
    Yes...the figures are high for some of the activities. Sounds like a lot of people are using devices to be more accurate. I adjust for it by not eating all the extra calories MFP says I've earned. I lost 18 pounds, so it does work!
  • xoxo99
    xoxo99 Posts: 36
    Thanks for all the input! Seems like HRM's are the way to go!! Polar FT4 pink please....here I come! :)
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
    It's simply not possible to get precise exercise calorie numbers. They're ALL rough estimates. I feel like the figures for lighter activities like walking are way over-estimated. I never log that stuff because I feel like if walking, even for several miles, is so strenuous for me that I need to eat more to fuel it, something is very wrong.

    It's not about how strenuous something is. It's about whether or not you're burning calories. Walking for several miles burns a fair amount of calories.
  • Cyndieann
    Cyndieann Posts: 152 Member
    I enter my food a little higher than what is true & my exercise a little lower, so that I don't get a false result of me doing better than I actually am. Seems to work for me...1lb/wk for 11 wks straight. I do mostly walking and weights.
  • kokaneesailor
    kokaneesailor Posts: 337 Member
    I use a F4 Polar watch and for me it's deadly accurate. I use the OwnZone feature which I love. Whenever I compare my Polar calorie count with the cal counter of most machines, the machine will over-estimate. I have a cal counter on my treadmill and it overcounts by about 100 to 200 cal per hour depending on the intensity (light, moderate, hard).

    True, I just bought the same Polar and I'm shocked at the variance. I was eating my exercise calories( based on what is in the MFP database) back but not losing weight. It doesn't help when your over estimating your exercise calories. Get a good quality HRM, it will help you reach your goal weight.
  • xoxo99
    xoxo99 Posts: 36
    Bodytronics.com doesn't ship to Canada :( Does anyone know any sites with good prices that ship to Canada?

    Thanks :)
  • badgranola
    badgranola Posts: 67 Member
    Thanks for all the input! Seems like HRM's are the way to go!! Polar FT4 pink please....here I come! :)

    I JUST bought that exact HRM and I LOVE it. I was totally underestimating my calories burned with exercise. You're gonna love it!
  • boggsmeister
    boggsmeister Posts: 292 Member
    It over estimates almost everything. I almost never ate back my full exercise calories. I have a heart rate monitor (HRM) now and I feel like I can trust it a lot more closely.
  • cramernh
    cramernh Posts: 3,335 Member
    I use a F4 Polar watch and for me it's deadly accurate. I use the OwnZone feature which I love. Whenever I compare my Polar calorie count with the cal counter of most machines, the machine will over-estimate. I have a cal counter on my treadmill and it overcounts by about 100 to 200 cal per hour depending on the intensity (light, moderate, hard).

    ^^^^^AGREED!

    Some of the machines at PF definitely go hog-wild on the caloric burn while others are not nearly even close. About the only thing that Ive noticed does have a match is the heart-rate.

    I just acquired the Polar FT4 set... I LOVE this...
  • SweetSammie
    SweetSammie Posts: 391 Member
    I've decided if I plateau I will get a HRM.
    However, I track only purposeful exercise, or very strenuous work. So, when my day involves grocery shopping for several hours, cooking, taking the dog out and a workout, only the workout gets logged. Walks get logged if they are for the purpose of weight exercise, not shopping.
    The exception is gardening, if I do heavy gardening (digging holes, hauling things, tearing out large amounts of brush and shrubs, etc., I log it. If i pull a couple of weeds for 20 minutes, I don't. If I go berry picking for 3 hours, I'll probably log 2.
    It's working right now, mainly because I am set to sedentary and I am not, and I don't log each of those normal-life activities. I TRY to eat all exercise cals, but yesterday I wasn't hungry, so I didn't. I took a 4 mile hike (up hill for 1/2), and logged it as a cross country hike (which would not be uphill), at 800 calories.
    I also feel like using an app or something to keep track of your actual mph when walking helps, too.
  • boggsmeister
    boggsmeister Posts: 292 Member
    Bodytronics.com doesn't ship to Canada :( Does anyone know any sites with good prices that ship to Canada?

    Thanks :)

    Amazon is an excellent source for Polar HRM
  • BigRich822
    BigRich822 Posts: 681
    I think they are a little overestimated but I really dont rely on them a whole lot.
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