Calculating Calories

[Cherrypop]

I watched the last 20 minutes and she basically just saying that fatty foods are better than sugary foods and that carbs not fat is responsible for the obesity crisis.

Correct. Had you watched the whole thing you'd know why this is the case. But, I'll leave it there, my blimming internet keeps dropping out and buggering up my posts and I've got a job to go to tomorrow!
If this has stimulated a bit of debate, all the better. I'll think of you all tucking into your granola/ cornflakes/toast in the morning while I eat my several-egg omelette cooked in butter.....

 

[Crackle]

Correct. Had you watched the whole thing you'd know why this is the case. But, I'll leave it there, my blimming internet keeps dropping out and buggering up my posts and I've got a job to go to tomorrow!
If this has stimulated a bit of debate, all the better. I'll think of you all tucking into your granola/ cornflakes/toast in the morning while I eat my several-egg omelette cooked in butter.....

I'll make one last contribution on this. I watched the video and got a bit agitated by it. Why, because the point of Zoe Harcombe is Zoe Harcombe, she's in it to sell books. She may claim to be an obesity researcher but she has no real qualifications in the field and definitely not anything at phd level. She's saying things we know but she's saying it in a confused way, a way in which people may take the wrong messages and her conclusions, when she reaches her own and doesn't use other people's, are at best and politely put, confusing. The stuff on exercise, carbohydrates and fruit is muddled and confused and ultimately wrong. I wanted to say that last night but my anger at her, one of a long line of sham experts on diet, muddled my mind.

You can pick up the same advice about trans fats, saturated fats, complex and simple carbohydrates, how carbohydrates are needed, when they are needed, how much, when and how to take exercise, not to boom and bust with your diet, manage your cholesterol, avoid type 2 diabetes and all the other messages from NICE guidance and the BHF etc... And it's clear and unconfused, not muddled by pseudo science and advice which might easily be misinterpreted and lead to mistakes. There's also more to life than eating to stay slim, Zoe seems to have missed that bit out.

Enjoy your eggs and butter, nothing wrong with either.

 

[Ian Watts]

Question: Why get seemingly obsessed with calories?

Because ultimately weight loss comes down to calories in vs calories out, and I am morbidly obese. If I don't count calories I could easily consume 4-5000 calories a day of unhealthy crap. Tracking calories works for me - It keep me in the right ball park. But therefore I want to know what I am expending too. The conclusion I have from this forum is that endomondo hasn't got a clue and everyone else just estimates. I was hoping for a scientific answer that gave an accurate figure, but maybe I was hoping for too much. That is no offense to anyone who has answered. I appreciate all your comments.

 

[Ian Watts]

Worth perservering with the whole lecture if you want to look at the calorie and what you eat in a different way:

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysoScJ2Q5RQ

I'll watch it and make up my own mind

 

[Rob3rt]

Because ultimately weight loss comes down to calories in vs calories out, and I am morbidly obese. If I don't count calories I could easily consume 4-5000 calories a day of unhealthy crap. Tracking calories works for me - It keep me in the right ball park. But therefore I want to know what I am expending too. The conclusion I have from this forum is that endomondo hasn't got a clue and everyone else just estimates. I was hoping for a scientific answer that gave an accurate figure, but maybe I was hoping for too much. That is no offense to anyone who has answered. I appreciate all your comments.

All you will get is estimates, some are better than others. However all of these algorithms etc I have found to be inferior to a basic assumption of ~40kCal per mile (I compared this basic rule of thumb to work done measured using my power meter data and it held up very well for me, a lot closer than various other algorithms).

 

[Ian Watts]

Well have now got a HRM and it has reduced my estimate by about a third.

 

[uclown2002]

Well have now got a HRM and it has reduced my estimate by about a third.

How does it compare with Rob3rt's rule of thumb, ~40kcal per mile?

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

How does it compare with Rob3rt's rule of thumb, ~40kcal per mile?

40cal per mile of what? The HRM doesn't know what you're doing

 

[Ian Watts]

How does it compare with Rob3rt's rule of thumb, ~40kcal per mile?

Rob3rt's rule of thumb - 760
Without HRM Endomondo - 1725 calories
With HRM Endomondo - 1298

Anyway - as I was using My Fitness Pal before, you were meant to eat calories burnt in a day (on top of daily calories), and I don't bother with that now. I just thought it was interesting that at least with the HRM it had more data to go on. With no way to measure, including Rob3rt's rule of thumb, it all seems fairly arbitrary anyway - no offense intended. Actually as I'm now constantly losing 1kg a week, all I care is that now it is working.

 

[uclown2002]

Rob3rt's rule of thumb - 760
Without HRM Endomondo - 1725 calories
With HRM Endomondo - 1298

Anyway - as I was using My Fitness Pal before, you were meant to eat calories burnt in a day (on top of daily calories), and I don't bother with that now. I just thought it was interesting that at least with the HRM it had more data to go on. With no way to measure, including Rob3rt's rule of thumb, it all seems fairly arbitrary anyway - no offense intended. Actually as I'm now constantly losing 1kg a week, all I care is that now it is working.

Indeed, it's all guesswork but keep up your progress

 

[Ian Watts]

40cal per mile of what? The HRM doesn't know what you're doing

Which makes it even more arbitrary, i'll just keep enjoying exercise and eating healthy and losing weight. It's why I am doing this.

 

[Albert]

My Garmin 800 reckons that I average 400 calories an hour when riding in hilly Mid-Wales - 1,000ft of climbing per 10 miles @ 10-12mph average speed. This seems to be reasonably accurate.
I eat normal food, avoiding nothing. Decent sized bowl of porridge for breakfast, light lunch - portion of chicken + salad (lots of raw spinach) and a big, cooked, meat and 3 veg supper, followed by a large selection of fruit. I nibble the odd bar and always have a cake/sticky bun with my black (no sugar) Costa/Starbucks coffee when I am out. I ride 5 - 10 hours a week + one 1.5 hour gym session - cardio rowing (10mins) and treadmill intervals (30 mins) and weights.
I have gradually lost 7 kilos since February.

 

[Rob3rt]

Taking the last 12 months worth of data accumulated using my power meter, dividing total work done (kJ) by miles I get a figure 43.8 kJ per mile.

Working on the assumption that kJ = kCal then that is 43.8 kCal per mile.

Note: This assumption of kJ = kCal will of course have limitations, however it is a FAIR assumption to make since the conversion between kJ and kCal is ~0.24 IIRC and the efficiency of the human body is somewhere around 25% (give or take a few % between individuals, this is where error is being introduced, as everyone will vary a little) in converting energy into physical action (the rest goes into heat etc) so you can see that the conversion factors pretty much cancel out leaving a 1:1 relationship between kJ and kCal burnt! Of course the calibration on my power meter will also be a source of error, however it is specified to be within +-1.5%.

 

[gam001]

40cal per mile of what? The HRM doesn't know what you're doing

Rob3rt's rule of thumb works out pretty well for my rides too...

I usually do flattish rides at around 18-19mph at around 225watts. I have read that 285watts per hour burns around 1,000 kcals. [Where's Carol Vorderman when you need her...] So, over an hour, I would burn around (225/285*1000)=789watts (call it 790 ). Over say 18.5 miles in an hour, that would be 790/18.5=42.7 kcals per mile ridden - pretty close to Rob3rt's "40-ish"

Obviously, if ridden over hilly terrain, this number would increase. There are other factors too (e.g. weather, aerodynamics, type of bike, etc), but overall this sounds like a sensible guide to me for a road-bike user.

I'm going to remember this when I'm thinking of heading home early..."just another 15 miles = around 600 calories"

EDIT - HR has always grossly over-estimated my kcals (usually saying around double what the power meter says, and PM supposed to be fairly accurate according to sports scientists).

 

[400bhp]

Rob3rt's rule of thumb works out pretty well for my rides too...

I usually do flattish rides at around 18-19mph at around 225watts. I have read that 285watts per hour burns around 1,000 kcals. [Where's Carol Vorderman when you need her...] So, over an hour, I would burn around (225/285*1000)=789watts (call it 790 ). Over say 18.5 miles in an hour, that would be 790/18.5=42.7 kcals per mile ridden - pretty close to Rob3rt's "40-ish"

Obviously, if ridden over hilly terrain, this number would increase. There are other factors too (e.g. weather, aerodynamics, type of bike, etc), but overall this sounds like a sensible guide to me for a road-bike user.

I'm going to remember this when I'm thinking of heading home early..."just another 15 miles = around 600 calories"

EDIT - HR has always grossly over-estimated my kcals (usually saying around double what the power meter says, and PM supposed to be fairly accurate according to sports scientists).

Next time you're out with me I will shout this at you