My Fitness Pal

[beccaB]

I know there was a thread on this recently but I can't find it. I just put this app on my phone and I like everything about it except that it lets you have too many calories if you log in cardiovascular exercise. A ride of avg. speed of 12-14 mph for almost 2 hours adds up to be 1000 calories and my husband's Garmin says 500. I can modify the calories burned if I want to , but where would I find a more reliable source?

[Irulan]

I know there was a thread on this recently but I can't find it. I just put this app on my phone and I like everything about it except that it lets you have too many calories if you log in cardiovascular exercise. A ride of avg. speed of 12-14 mph for almost 2 hours adds up to be 1000 calories and my husband's Garmin says 500. I can modify the calories burned if I want to , but where would I find a more reliable source?

Search keyword: myfitnesspal brings up all these threads
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/searc...archid=3990782

My understanding of the app, and I use it almost daily, is that not everyone earns the same amount of calorie burn from exercise. It's based on a calculation from your set up: age, level of activity, current weight, target weight, and planned weight loss (lbs per week) Now, I can't speak to the true accuracy of it, but when comparing notes with friends who do the same workout class as I do, we are all given different numbers for the same entry.

I don't know that there's a truly, 100% way to get your actual calories burned without going very scientific. What I do know is that for me, I followed the apps guidelines exactly and lost 9% body fat in 12 weeks.

(for 120 min of 12-14 mph I do not get 1000, I get 850)

[zoom-zoom]

I suspect that the #s MFP gives are based upon really heavy bikes...hybrids or even mountain bikes. All of the cyclists who frequent MFP claim that the # MFP gives them is WAY higher than what they get if they wear a HRM. MFP also considers 16-20mph cycling to be "very fast" and that's their highest effort/speed designation. 16mph would be very fast on my CX bike with knobby tires, but on my carbon road bike (which weighs 3-4# less) that would be a relatively moderate pace for me.

[Eden]

.... All of the cyclists who frequent MFP claim that the # MFP gives them is WAY higher than what they get if they wear a HRM......

Now I find that if I wear a HR monitor with my Garmin it cuts the calories so severely I'd starve.... (by about 1/3 compared to without) while it pretty well agrees with MFP without the HRM. As I've lost about 10 lbs over the last few months using either the MFP#'s or my Garmin's -no hr monitor, I'm willing to say if you input your data correctly in the first place that it's pretty accurate.

I also don't follow any particular diet. As with Irulan I avoid junk food, choose healthy foods, but in the end a calorie is a calorie.... some foods certainly carry more of a calorie punch for their volume/make you feel more or less full etc, but they all burn the same in the end and if you eat less than you burn, you'll lose weight.

[beccaB]

Search keyword: myfitnesspal brings up all these threads
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/searc...archid=3990782

My understanding of the app, and I use it almost daily, is that not everyone earns the same amount of calorie burn from exercise. It's based on a calculation from your set up: age, level of activity, current weight, target weight, and planned weight loss (lbs per week) Now, I can't speak to the true accuracy of it, but when comparing notes with friends who do the same workout class as I do, we are all given different numbers for the same entry.

I don't know that there's a truly, 100% way to get your actual calories burned without going very scientific. What I do know is that for me, I followed the apps guidelines exactly and lost 9% body fat in 12 weeks.

(for 120 min of 12-14 mph I do not get 1000, I get 850)

What kind of diet did you follow, was there a ration of carbs to protein that was different than the default setting in the app?

[Irulan]

What kind of diet did you follow, was there a ration of carbs to protein that was different than the default setting in the app?

All I did was enter age,weight, weight goal, followed the settings. I did have some additional guidelines through a trainer at my gym for eating for recovery/exercise, portion size, exercise, high value foods and so on. I didn't and don't follow a "diet". I watch portion size, stay away from processed foods & junk, cook from scratch, make healthy choices and eat 4-5 small meals a day. The app allows you to see where you are at for balance, various nutritional components and I would just adjust accordingly.

[chatnoire]

All I did was enter age,weight, weight goal, followed the settings. I did have some additional guidelines through a trainer at my gym for eating for recovery/exercise, portion size, exercise, high value foods and so on. I didn't and don't follow a "diet". I watch portion size, stay away from processed foods & junk, cook from scratch, make healthy choices and eat 4-5 small meals a day. The app allows you to see where you are at for balance, various nutritional components and I would just adjust accordingly.

This is what the boyfriend and I have been doing, and we've been at it for 2 months now. I'm down 13 pounds, he's down 19, and I wouldn't say we've been super diligent (there have been friday night fish fry dinners, happy hour afternoons, etc.)

What I love about MFP is that it keeps you aware, more than anything. If I have a glass of wine, I know what I've just put into my body, and that makes it less likely I'll have an entire pint of Ben and Jerrys ice cream. Even if the app over-calculates, I try to at least log the work I'm doing.

Also, as a vegetarian, I've been focusing on sodium and protein - pre-packaged foods often have way more sodium than necessary, and protein is hard to come by in veggies. So it's forced me to be more creative about my nutrition. I've learned to like kale, eggs, and beans a lot more than I thought I would.

[Irulan]

This is what the boyfriend and I have been doing, and we've been at it for 2 months now. I'm down 13 pounds, he's down 19, and I wouldn't say we've been super diligent (there have been friday night fish fry dinners, happy hour afternoons, etc.)

What I love about MFP is that it keeps you aware, more than anything. If I have a glass of wine, I know what I've just put into my body, and that makes it less likely I'll have an entire pint of Ben and Jerrys ice cream. Even if the app over-calculates, I try to at least log the work I'm doing.

Also, as a vegetarian, I've been focusing on sodium and protein - pre-packaged foods often have way more sodium than necessary, and protein is hard to come by in veggies. So it's forced me to be more creative about my nutrition. I've learned to like kale, eggs, and beans a lot more than I thought I would.

no kidding on the sodium in pre packaged foods! Even so called "healthy" ones. If anyone can ever find a low sodium Siracha type product, let me know.