Is the calories burned through exercise at MyFitnessPal accurate?

[Ace Corona]

I weigh around 261, I'm 5'-11.5" and I was on a stationary cycle for 20 minutes and MyFitnessPal said I burned 280 calories. I have my current weight stored at the site, but I'm wondering if the estimate of calories burned through exercise is accurate, 280 for 20 minutes seems like a high estimate.

[BRIAN10197]

Its not accurate at all unfortunately. I went on a 3 mile bike ride which took 11 minutes and it said I burned 260 calories lol. Its way off I don't even consider it I just delete it so it doesn't mess with my calories

[sjmdesigns]

I weigh around 261, I'm 5'-11.5" and I was on a stationary cycle for 20 minutes and MyFitnessPal said I burned 280 calories. I have my current weight stored at the site, but I'm wondering if the estimate of calories burned through exercise is accurate, 280 for 20 minutes seems like a high estimate.

I use other apps that calculate my burned calories. For me, I always cut it in half. For example, I use a FitBit Charge 2 tracker, and when I do my workouts (1.5 hours) with weights and LISS fast walking, it says I burn anywhere from 1000 to 1200 calories (depending on what muscles I'm working that day). I really don't think it's 1000-1200, so I cut it in half, and that does seem more accurate.

I reviewed this with my weight loss doc and she said that based on workouts, she would agree that I'm more like burning 400-600 calories, but also that I am working intensely (HR 112-135).

[Ace Corona]

Its not accurate at all unfortunately. I went on a 3 mile bike ride which took 11 minutes and it said I burned 260 calories lol. Its way off I don't even consider it I just delete it so it doesn't mess with my calories

Thank you

[Ace Corona]

I use other apps that calculate my burned calories. For me, I always cut it in half. For example, I use a FitBit Charge 2 tracker, and when I do my workouts (1.5 hours) with weights and LISS fast walking, it says I burn anywhere from 1000 to 1200 calories (depending on what muscles I'm working that day). I really don't think it's 1000-1200, so I cut it in half, and that does seem more accurate.

I reviewed this with my weight loss doc and she said that based on workouts, she would agree that I'm more like burning 400-600 calories, but also that I am working intensely (HR 112-135).

Thanks

[Paulie_G]

Please, please do not do not eat to make up for any calories that myfitnesspal calculates you as burning. It is a recipe for failure. Use it only for calories and macros. Just consider any exercise you do as an "unseen bonus" for fat loss. In other wards, if you have a 1800 calorie goal, eat 1800 calories, period.

[Ace Corona]

Please, please do not do not eat to make up for any calories that myfitnesspal calculates you as burning. It is a recipe for failure. Use it only for calories and macros. Just consider any exercise you do as an "unseen bonus" for fat loss. In other wards, if you have a 1800 calorie goal, eat 1800 calories, period.

Thank you, I felt like the estimate was way over the amount of actual calories I burned on the days I did cardio, and I did eat more when it said I could, and my weight has stayed about the same for several days, so you guys must be right. It says my goal is 2200 calories, I won't go over that.

[skyjumper]

Please, please do not do not eat to make up for any calories that myfitnesspal calculates you as burning. It is a recipe for failure. Use it only for calories and macros. Just consider any exercise you do as an "unseen bonus" for fat loss. In other wards, if you have a 1800 calorie goal, eat 1800 calories, period.

This is good advice, and what I tell people as well.

That said, I'm curious if you use an activity tracker like a FitBit or a Garmin that measures your heart rate. If so, it can actually make a fairly reasonable estimation of the calories burned during a cardio workout, although I think less so during strength training. Also, if you go to CaloriesBurnedHq.com and put in your weight and 20 minutes of low intensity spinning, it will say 290 calories. I tend to think that's close, you're a big guy and big people use many more calories than smaller people for the same task. Estimates provided by this site track well with what my high end Garmin tells me, and I use a dedicated heart rate monitor.

Still, I don't recommend eating back your exercise calories. I point this out because if you're faithfully tracking your exercise in MFP and eating back the calories and not losing weight, it could be that you miscalculated your TDEE. Did you calculate it at "sedentary?" If your plan is to add back in exercise calories, then it's important to make sure your TDEE estimation is based on no exercise.

If you did estimate the TDEE at sedentary, then perhaps you're not tracking your calorie consumption as carefully as you think, or your TDEE is simply lower than the calculator predicted. Those things are just an estimate and are not exact for any given person.

[Ace Corona]

This is good advice, and what I tell people as well.

That said, I'm curious if you use an activity tracker like a FitBit or a Garmin that measures your heart rate. If so, it can actually make a fairly reasonable estimation of the calories burned during a cardio workout, although I think less so during strength training. Also, if you go to CaloriesBurnedHq.com and put in your weight and 20 minutes of low intensity spinning, it will say 290 calories. I tend to think that's close, you're a big guy and big people use many more calories than smaller people for the same task. Estimates provided by this site track well with what my high end Garmin tells me, and I use a dedicated heart rate monitor.

Still, I don't recommend eating back your exercise calories. I point this out because if you're faithfully tracking your exercise in MFP and eating back the calories and not losing weight, it could be that you miscalculated your TDEE. Did you calculate it at "sedentary?" If your plan is to add back in exercise calories, then it's important to make sure your TDEE estimation is based on no exercise.

If you did estimate the TDEE at sedentary, then perhaps you're not tracking your calorie consumption as carefully as you think, or your TDEE is simply lower than the calculator predicted. Those things are just an estimate and are not exact for any given person.

I'm going to stay under 2,200 a day from now on, I won't even chart my exercise on MyFitnessPal any more. Thank you for your help, repped you