Calorie counting

[WobblyBob]

Hi
I'm pretty new (well 1 week anyway ha) to cycling but i'm loving it so far, i've been out & done 26 miles this morning with my more experienced cycling mate (4 years), we did a mixture of road/tracks & the pace for me felt quite tough at times & we had a pull up for about a constant 4 miles at one point....anyway i've just uploaded my Garmin 405 watch which i had from running a few years ago & it worked out my calorie output to be about 950cals over about 18 miles (until my watch battery died...doh!) so it roughly works out at about 50cals per mile, i'm 44 years old & about 12st 8lbs if that makes any difference.
Does that sound about right ?

Cheers

 

[Nigelnaturist]

I use about 50-55 per mile, though as my speed has increased a little it's getting toward the high 50's.

 

[WobblyBob]

I use about 50-55 per mile, though as my speed has increased a little it's getting toward the high 50's.

Thanks for the reply, but how did you come to this conclusion.....was it through Garmin or something similar like me ?
But anyway that sounds very similar to my readings.

 

[Sandra6]

I use runkeeper occasionally and it usually gives me a calorie "burn" of around 50 per mile with my speed being an average between 10 and 13mph. It doesn't allow for an individual's weight though, but as a rough guide it's ok.

 

[WobblyBob]

I use runkeeper occasionally and it usually gives me a calorie "burn" of around 50 per mile with my speed being an average between 10 and 13mph. It doesn't allow for an individual's weight though, but as a rough guide it's ok.

Thanks Sandra....yeah thats very similar to the numbers i'm getting, just need to work out the calories going in now !!

 

[Nebulous]

Most of those counters are well out in their calculations, usually quite a bit high. There are all sorts of factors to be taken into account such as weight, speed, height climbed etc but as a very rough estimate try 30-35 per mile.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

You could try this one, it includes weight and speed and distance, but as Nebulous says they are only guides.
www.caloriesperhour.com
But as you pointed out you used 950 calories in the record 18 miles which seems to confirm approx 50 calories per mile.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

I like Sandra manage about 13mph (it is going up slowly) but I also carry panniers that must be about 1/4 of the weight of the bike (must try a run without them), and also act a little like a fighter jet parachute, especially in a head wind like this evening.

 

[MrJamie]

I find its best not to add those *estimated* calories to your allowance, but sensibly add a small portion of them if youre hungry. So if it says youve burnt off 1000 calories and youre really feeling hungry eating say 300-400 extra calories that day works out fine.

 

[Rob3rt]

Hi
I'm pretty new (well 1 week anyway ha) to cycling but i'm loving it so far, i've been out & done 26 miles this morning with my more experienced cycling mate (4 years), we did a mixture of road/tracks & the pace for me felt quite tough at times & we had a pull up for about a constant 4 miles at one point....anyway i've just uploaded my Garmin 405 watch which i had from running a few years ago & it worked out my calorie output to be about 950cals over about 18 miles (until my watch battery died...doh!) so it roughly works out at about 50cals per mile, i'm 44 years old & about 12st 8lbs if that makes any difference.
Does that sound about right ?

Cheers

If the watch is designed for running, it will assume that you were running and thus will have calculated calorie burn rate based on that. Per mile, you would burn more running than cycling (quite simply because you are using a larger group of muscles, you have to hold your own body weight up and you can not freewheel when running) therefore, the device which typically over estimates anyway, will have over estimated even more so.

Take it with a massive pinch of salt.

 

[Sandra6]

Thanks Sandra....yeah thats very similar to the numbers i'm getting, just need to work out the calories going in now !!

Try www.myfitnesspal.co.uk or it may be .com
It will help you track calories in/out and is quite good if you're trying to lose weight.

 

[WobblyBob]

If the watch is designed for running, it will assume that you were running and thus will have calculated calorie burn rate based on that. Per mile, you would burn more running than cycling (quite simply because you are using a larger group of muscles, you have to hold your own body weight up and you can not freewheel when running) therefore, the device which typically over estimates anyway, will have over estimated even more so.

Take it with a massive pinch of salt.

Yeah sorry i should have said, its primarily for running but has a cycling function aswell after i'd changed the appropriate settings over....but i think i'm getting the gist of it anyway 'eat less & train more = weight loss'......Simples ha ha

 

[WobblyBob]

You could try this one, it includes weight and speed and distance, but as Nebulous says they are only guides.
www.caloriesperhour.com
But as you pointed out you used 950 calories in the record 18 miles which seems to confirm approx 50 calories per mile.

Thanks for that, a nice little site.
Has me down as 1800cals a day to lose 2lbs a week with moderate exersize, ive lost just over 2 stone in 4 months so far without any exersize at all so hopefully my 60 miles this week will start to help....so glad i've discovered the world of bike's