How many calories per day do you burn?

[PiperBill]

Does anyone keep track of this? With a fitness tracker or by calculating manually? I am around 3500 - 4000 on work days and with a session at the gym and as low as 2000 on a lazy Sunday.

[ironwill2008]

Does anyone keep track of this? With a fitness tracker or by calculating manually? I am around 3500 - 4000 on work days and with a session at the gym and as low as 2000 on a lazy Sunday.

Don't attempt to add up how many calories you think you 'burn' from activities in a day's time; outside of a lab or clinic setting, you'll only be guessing. None of those heart-rate gizmos you can buy and strap on yourself are any more accurate either.

Instead, simply track what is relatively easily weighed/measured/tracked accurately--your food intake. Every 3-4 weeks, evaluate where your weight/body composition is at as compared to where you want it to be, and make adjustments to what/how much you're eating.




ETA:
FWIW, I eat 2800 calories per day, and it maintains my body weight. So, that's how many calories I burn in a day's time.

[kimm4]

I honestly don't know. It's not something I've ever tracked.

[drudixon]

This month I lose on less than 3k

[gbnpc]

I've never tracked my calories burned. If my current goal is to lose weight and get cut, I'll simply use the mirror as my guide and tweak my diet and training as I need based off what I see.

[mtpockets]

Does anyone keep track of this? With a fitness tracker or by calculating manually? I am around 3500 - 4000 on work days and with a session at the gym and as low as 2000 on a lazy Sunday.

Nope, pretty much a waste of time.

That calorie counter crap is about as accurate as measuring body fat with a bathroom scale.


sooner put my money in things to help me grow, food and gear like versa grips, dip belts, fat gripz, etc......

[PiperBill]

I think the newer trackers, specially with the heart monitor, give at least a decent ball park number for calories burned. The one I'm using measures 360-400 calories for 1.5 hour workout at the gym with rests and warmups. It says 180-200 on my cardio workout which is a 30 minute hill climb on my bike. My BMR is 1650 so a reading of 2000 cals burned on a Sunday, when I sleep in and spend most of the day watching movies, can't be too far off.

Having said that I don't use any of the number to calculate calores in. I am on a strict 1850/day cut and losing 1-2 lbs a week. I have started aiming for 1700 cals on Sundays though, since I am such a lazy ass on that day.


Otherwise I agree.. It's all just toys for boys.


Bill

[trickyB]

I only care about things that matter. Others seem to enjoy making things needlessly complicated.

[drudixon]

I think the newer trackers, specially with the heart monitor, give at least a decent ball park number for calories burned. The one I'm using measures 360-400 calories for 1.5 hour workout at the gym with rests and warmups. It says 180-200 on my cardio workout which is a 30 minute hill climb on my bike. My BMR is 1650 so a reading of 2000 cals burned on a Sunday, when I sleep in and spend most of the day watching movies, can't be too far off.

Having said that I don't use any of the number to calculate calores in. I am on a strict 1850/day cut and losing 1-2 lbs a week. I have started aiming for 1700 cals on Sundays though, since I am such a lazy ass on that day.


Otherwise I agree.. It's all just toys for boys.


Bill

Heart rate is a wildly inaccurate means of extrapolating calories burned. While it is an indicator, it varies because of vo2. Oxigen exchange ratio is how calories burned is actually measured, more specifically, how much co2 is exhaled. Because one individual heart beat can move a huge range of co2, it's not a great indicator. See, with training, vo2 max min values can increase drastically through time. Because of volumes per deciliter increasing, the beat in of itself becomes meaningless.

[DuracellBunny]

You can look at all of the factors and analyse things until you are blue in the face, but it always results in 1 of 3 outcomes.

1) you are gaining weight and therefore in a surfeit
2) you are losing weight and therefore in a defecit
3) your weight is stable and you are therefore at maintenance

You then adjust intake if the desired outcome isn't being achieved. A calculation or a gadget is never going to tell you things as accurately as just standing on the scales and looking in the mirror.

[brit-iron]

ATM I'm tracking them and slowly gaining weight on an average for the week of 3000 per day.

[cmoore]

how many calories per day do you burn?

All of them.

Does anyone keep track of this?.

I use a mirror.

[birdiefu]

I have worn a BodyMedia for about 4 years now, it used to be called a GoWear Fit when I started with it. It is the only "wearable" that is approved by the FDA, and has quite a few studies to back it up, accuracy is within +/-10% unless you have a true metabolic disorder. My activity level can change for months at a time (depending on school/work schedule, etc), and it definitely comes in handy to see where my average burn rate is as to I can adjust cals up/down without having to do so reactively after a few weeks.

I got it before my first bulk, which was such an eye opener as I was sure my maintenance was about 2100, when at that time it was closer to 2400. Over numerous bulks/cuts, I have been able to dial in very tight or large deficits/surpluses accurately - it has been spot on for me and I have not had to adjust +/- any % at all based on my long-term scale changes compared to my intake vs burn rate. It is also *quite* helpful in that I hold water like a camel and looking at scale weight changes can blur things a lot unless I'm comparing at 4+ weeks apart.

My maintenance has changed since I used to weigh less (~2400 @126-130 lb), at higher weight in "slow" phases maintenance is about 2750, but last few months at 3k+. This is without any cardio, I am on my feet a lot so my NEAT is large. Last year when I had the flu and literally only got out of bed to pee/drink, I think that was the only day I was a hair under 2k.

I also love that it does reports and stuff, I am a numbers person

This past week average, and details (cals/min) of my low (sleep in, no workout + mostly grading and not tromping around campus) and a higher day (workout + lugging backpack around campus and teaching two classes)

[21infantry]

I have worn a BodyMedia for about 4 years now, it used to be called a GoWear Fit when I started with it. It is the only "wearable" that is approved by the FDA, and has quite a few studies to back it up, accuracy is within +/-10% unless you have a true metabolic disorder. My activity level can change for months at a time (depending on school/work schedule, etc), and it definitely comes in handy to see where my average burn rate is as to I can adjust cals up/down without having to do so reactively after a few weeks.

I got it before my first bulk, which was such an eye opener as I was sure my maintenance was about 2100, when at that time it was closer to 2400. Over numerous bulks/cuts, I have been able to dial in very tight or large deficits/surpluses accurately - it has been spot on for me and I have not had to adjust +/- any % at all based on my long-term scale changes compared to my intake vs burn rate. It is also *quite* helpful in that I hold water like a camel and looking at scale weight changes can blur things a lot unless I'm comparing at 4+ weeks apart.

My maintenance has changed since I used to weigh less (~2400 @126-130 lb), at higher weight in "slow" phases maintenance is about 2750, but last few months at 3k+. This is without any cardio, I am on my feet a lot so my NEAT is large. Last year when I had the flu and literally only got out of bed to pee/drink, I think that was the only day I was a hair under 2k.

I also love that it does reports and stuff, I am a numbers person

This past week average, and details (cals/min) of my low (sleep in, no workout + mostly grading and not tromping around campus) and a higher day (workout + lugging backpack around campus and teaching two classes)

I really researched these modern calorie counter and step devices. In clinical studies they are accurate at a plus minus of 8% for most people, thats pretty decent IMO, gives you a good ball park figure where you are at. I wouldn't completely dismiss these gadgets as they do give you a perspective of what you burn in a day.

[ironwill2008]

I have worn a BodyMedia for about 4 years now, it used to be called a GoWear Fit when I started with it. It is the only "wearable" that is approved by the FDA, and has quite a few studies to back it up, accuracy is within +/-10% unless you have a true metabolic disorder.

Can you link to those studies, please?

I'd be very interested to see how any device can accurately measure calorie burn without measuring VO2Max.

[21infantry]

Can you link to those studies, please?

I'd be very interested to see how any device can accurately measure calorie burn without measuring VO2Max.

Ironwill, Ive read the same thing. I have consistently read that you can get within a tolerance of plus and minus without measuring VO2 max. Of course its not going to be spot on, but is a valuable tool to know where that line is generally at.

[birdiefu]

Can you link to those studies, please?

I'd be very interested to see how any device can accurately measure calorie burn without measuring VO2Max.

There are a bunch listed here:
http://www.bodymedia.com/studies.html

One known downfall is that at high intensity exercise (over 10 METs), it is prone to underestimating EE:

http://www.researchgate.net/profile/...5526000000.pdf

It does not rely on heart rate at all, mostly accelerometer, galvanic skin response, skin and near-body temp, and heat flux.

[PiperBill]

As I said I think they (at least mine) give a ballpark estimate and show trends. Like a hard day a work at 4000+ cals, an easier day at around 3000 and a quite day at home 2000. Even if I don't wear the tracker for a day it still shows 1650 calories burned as that would be my BMR.

I am on a 750/day cal deficit but if I followed the trackers reading of 4000 calories burned and ate 3250 (750 under actual burn) then I'd be like he side of a house by now. So I stick to 1850 always.

Bill

[ironwill2008]

There are a bunch listed here:
http://www.bodymedia.com/studies.html

One known downfall is that at high intensity exercise (over 10 METs), it is prone to underestimating EE:

http://www.researchgate.net/profile/...5526000000.pdf

It does not rely on heart rate at all, mostly accelerometer, galvanic skin response, skin and near-body temp, and heat flux.

I'll take a look.


Thanks.

[trickyB]

Ironwill, Ive read the same thing. I have consistently read that you can get within a tolerance of plus and minus without measuring VO2 max. Of course its not going to be spot on, but is a valuable tool to know where that line is generally at.

Can you elaborate on how this is a valuable tool?

[JerryB]

Does anyone keep track of this? With a fitness tracker or by calculating manually? I am around 3500 - 4000 on work days and with a session at the gym and as low as 2000 on a lazy Sunday.

Since I don't have a built in calories odometer, No.

I will estimate my Total Daily Energy Expenditures from time to time for example when changing my training routine, then keep my daily caloric consumption within range.

[drudixon]

Can you elaborate on how this is a valuable tool?

I can only see it being valuable for people running a very tight surplus / deficit. Other than that...

[yakabebe]

FWIW...I vacillate between two totally different mindsets - often within milliseconds of one another

On the one hand, the experienced and logical bodybuilder within tells me that the only thing that really matters is keep control of the broad macros and use body fat calipers and then the mirror to be my guage

But then alas...my OCD tendencies kick in and I look at the cals of this and that and the likely utilisation of calories from this or that and then try to work out if Im in a + or - situation....and for this cycle all to be repeated in the next hour so...

Endlessly.....{sigh}

At the end of the day the #'s keep changing. To lose weight for me the books say be in maintenance from a sum total daily calories based on weight etc to be x.

If I stick to x...I gain weight. Pure and simple. Their calculation for me - my body and metabolism - aint right

They then say goin 500 c/day deficit and lose Y...if I did that...Id still gain.

Now on 1100-1200 c/d and losing body fat at the rate needed to conform to the contest schedule. And given the contests start in May, I started the cut in Jan...had to drop about 8-10kg and have dropped ~6kg.

The message for me is we are all different . Trial and error will show you what you your metabolism and your goals dictate

However you get there...fine. If a scale helps...fine as well. If computers help...also fine If none of that works that too is fine

In the end if you wanna lose weight and counting calories works - do it...and if something like a new age measurement device or even a scale isnt dead set accurate but at least CONSISTENT - then use it at it will give you a stable basis to compare