Understanding Exercise in Your MyFitnessPal Diary
MyFitnessPal's approach to exercise tracking is designed to create a net calorie balance. The app begins by calculating your daily calorie goal based on your profile details and activity level, separate from any logged exercise. The calories you burn through logged exercise or synced activity are then added back to your budget, effectively giving you permission to 'eat back' those calories. This model is based on the simple formula: Calories Consumed - Calories Burned = Net Calories.
How Exercise is Calculated
The calories associated with your exercise entries aren't just a random number; they are an estimate based on a number of factors. For manual cardio entries, MyFitnessPal uses an established set of Metabolic Equivalent of Task (MET) values. The calculation considers your weight, the exercise type, duration, and intensity to estimate the calories burned. For synced trackers, the app compares its own projected daily burn with the tracker's more detailed, minute-by-minute data. If the tracker's projection is higher, a calorie adjustment is applied.
Logging Exercise: Manual vs. Automatic
There are two primary ways to track your workouts in MyFitnessPal: manually entering them or syncing a compatible fitness tracker. Both methods have their pros and cons, which are crucial to understand for accurate tracking.
Manually Logging Exercise
To add an exercise, users can tap the 'plus' icon and select 'Exercise'. Here, you'll find options for 'Cardio', 'Strength', and 'Workout Routines'.
- Cardiovascular: For exercises like running, walking, or cycling, you search the database, select your activity, and input the duration and intensity. The app will then calculate the calories burned for you. For better accuracy, use a single word search like 'run' or 'swim'.
- Strength: While you can log your sets, reps, and weight, MyFitnessPal does not automatically calculate calorie burn for strength exercises due to the high variability of factors like rest time. This section is mainly for tracking progress. However, some users manually enter a calorie estimate from another device here.
- Workout Routines: This feature allows users to build and log entire gym routines from a database of exercises, with the app calculating the total calories burned for the entire session.
Syncing a Fitness Tracker
Integrating a fitness tracker, such as a Fitbit or Apple Watch, can automate the process and provide a more personalized calorie estimate. The tracker continually measures your activity throughout the day. MyFitnessPal then provides a calorie adjustment based on the difference between the calories your tracker estimates you've burned and the calories MyFitnessPal initially budgeted for your day's activity level.
Cardio vs. Strength Training in MyFitnessPal
| Feature | Cardiovascular Exercise | Strength Training |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Goal | Log estimated calories burned | Track sets, reps, and weights for progress |
| Calorie Calculation | Automatically estimated by MFP based on MET values, duration, and intensity | No automatic calorie calculation within the app |
| User Input | Duration and intensity (e.g., minutes of running) | Sets, repetitions, and weight lifted |
| Best for Weight Loss | Initially higher calorie burn per session, which can be 'eaten back' | Builds muscle mass, which increases resting metabolic rate over time |
| Integration Benefit | Can be automatically synced with a connected fitness tracker for daily activity adjustment | Syncing with a tracker can still estimate calories for the total workout, but logging specifics is manual |
Potential Issues and Best Practices
Many users find that exercise calorie estimates, especially from trackers, can be generous and may overcount the actual calories burned. This can hinder weight loss efforts if you 'eat back' the full amount. For more accurate tracking:
- Use a conservative activity setting: Set your base activity level in MyFitnessPal to 'sedentary' or 'lightly active' and let logged exercise or synced data account for any additional activity. This prevents double-counting calories. For example, if you set your activity level to 'very active' but then log a run, MFP may already assume you're burning more calories than you are.
- Adjust exercise calories down: If you have a synced tracker that seems to be overestimating, consider applying a 'haircut' to the calories, manually adjusting them down by 25% or more until you see consistent progress.
- Don't 'eat back' all exercise calories: A common strategy is to only eat back a portion of your burned calories, or none at all, to ensure you maintain a caloric deficit. This provides a buffer against overestimation.
Conclusion
Exercise in MyFitnessPal is a dynamic system for managing your net calorie intake by crediting you with calories burned during physical activity. Whether you manually log cardio and strength sessions or sync an external tracker, understanding how the app calculates and adjusts your daily goals is key to successful tracking. By being aware of potential overestimations and applying best practices like using conservative activity settings, you can leverage MyFitnessPal to achieve your fitness and nutrition goals with greater accuracy and control.
What does exercise mean on MyFitnessPal?
Exercise on MyFitnessPal means that calories burned from physical activity are added to your daily calorie budget, allowing you to eat more while still hitting your net calorie goal.
Can I log both cardio and strength training?
Yes, you can log both types of exercise. MyFitnessPal automatically calculates calories for cardio based on intensity and duration, while strength training is primarily for tracking progress and does not have an automated calorie calculation.
Does MyFitnessPal automatically calculate exercise calories?
For cardio, yes. For strength training, no. The app can also receive calorie burn estimates automatically from synced fitness trackers, which it then uses to create a calorie adjustment.
Should I eat back all my exercise calories?
Many users and experts advise against eating back all exercise calories, as estimates from apps and trackers can be inaccurate and often overestimate the calories burned. Only eating back a portion helps maintain a deficit.
How do I sync a fitness tracker with MyFitnessPal?
You can sync a fitness tracker by going to the 'Apps & Devices' section within the MyFitnessPal app or website. After connecting, your daily activity and exercise data will automatically sync.
What is a calorie adjustment in MyFitnessPal?
A calorie adjustment is a feature that modifies your daily calorie goal based on the data from a synced fitness tracker. It is the difference between what MyFitnessPal initially estimated for your day's activity and what your tracker actually measured.
Why is my activity level setting important?
Your activity level setting determines your base daily calorie goal. If you set it too high and also log exercise, you risk double-counting calories. It is recommended to use a lower base setting like 'sedentary' or 'lightly active' and let logged workouts contribute the rest.
