[swtbttrfly23]

So I've been a calorie counter for a while now. Aiming for a deficit of 1000 calories per day. I typically just use the default 'calories burned' on my fitday, but I wanted to get more exact, so I checked out some other calculators online. WHOA!! I've gotten a ton of different numbers, some as low as 2600 and some as high as 3400!! How do I actually figure out a more exact range of what I actually burn? Or is there a way to figure out exactly what I burn, i.e. see a nutritionist/have a metabolic assessment? Or are there some calculators out there that others have found to be pretty spot on?

[swtbttrfly23]

According the the Mayo Clinic's website/calculator, my daily caloric needs are only 2150!! What the heck??

[JessLess]

You can estimate based on sites like MyPlate or buy a Heart Rate monitor. I've been very tempted to buy the latter. Just to give you an idea, my caloric needs to lose 1 lb. a week are only 1,450/day.

[lin43]

Some folks swear by the GoWear fit. It's the device that you wear on your arm that tells you how many calories you're burning during all activities all day. Apparently, it's supposed to be 90% accurate. I think there's even a "group" on 3 fat chicks devoted to this.

[JenMusic]

As another point of view, many calorie counters (including me) don't bother with calories burned, precisely for this reason - figuring out an accurate number is just too doggone hard!

I decided way back at the beginning of my weight loss journey that I would track calories in and get my deficit there (I wasn't aiming for a particular deficit for quite some time, just any deficit), and that all my exercise was going to be for fitness and overall health. Any boost it gave my weight loss was like a bonus.

That might not work for everyone, I know, but if you're going nuts trying to figure it out, it might be an option for you.

[carrie77]

I use a BodyBugg - you wear it and it tracks the calories burned throughout the day. It's supposed to be very accurate and the scale is always right on track with my deficit. It uses a bunch of scientifc stuff to monitor - like body temperature etc.

[ovwgirl]

Hi! I love my Nike heart rate monitor. You input your age, height, weight, and sex and it calculates your calorie burn while you're exercising. It really motivates me to keep working out and is more accurate than the calorie count on any machines. Good luck!
Oriana

[bargoo]

I don't bother with calories burned, either. I know calories will be burned just by the fact that I am alive.

[swtbttrfly23]

Thanks for all the responses! I also don't tend to factor in calories for exercise, I go for more of a baseline. I think I'm going to go for one of the above devices- think my body is fairly unique, and I like that some of the devices take into consideration body temp, etc. After years of dieting and crazy bouts of exercise, I think it might be too hard for me to exact just from some online calculator. I also have quite a large frame, and I find it interesting that none of those online calculators even bother with frame size.

Thanks everyone!