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calculating calories in/out?

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I know nothing about training, nutrition and that. Is there a formula of some sort for energy in/out - a way of roughly calculating likely calorific expenditure per unit of effort (can you even quantify 'effort'?), per km, per hour on the go, whatever?
 Bob 07 Jul 2014
In reply to Dan Bailey - UKHillwalking.com:

For off-road running I've seen 1 KCal per Kilogramme bodyweight per Kilometre.
In reply to Bob:

sounds plausible, thanks Bob
 rif 07 Jul 2014
In reply to Dan Bailey - UKHillwalking.com:

Philip Tranter (as in Tranter's round) proposed a formula on the lines of Naismith's rule (so many kcal per mile, so many per 1000 feet of ascent). This would have been back in the 1960s. Unfortunately I can't recall either the coefficients or where the formula was published. But maybe some other old-timer can? Or it may even be revealed by googling?
 Bob 07 Jul 2014
In reply to Dan Bailey - UKHillwalking.com:

I can't remember where I saw it but I've used it as the basis for the calorie estimator at http://bobwightman.co.uk/run/bgr_nutrition.php

Like all these things, it's best to use them as a starting point
 ClimberEd 07 Jul 2014
In reply to Dan Bailey - UKHillwalking.com:

It sounds very simplistic but apparently 100 calories an hour is pretty accurate
In reply to ClimberEd:
> It sounds very simplistic but apparently 100 calories an hour is pretty accurate

Bob:
> For off-road running I've seen 1 KCal per Kilogramme bodyweight per Kilometre.

There is a big gap between those estimates. e.g. if I run 10K in an hour and weigh 75kg then one estimate is 750kCal and the other is 100 kCal.
Post edited at 14:05
 Bob 07 Jul 2014
In reply to ClimberEd:

That sounds like base energy usage since it equates to 2400KCal per day which is remarkably close to the 2500KCal per day recommended for normal sedentary adult men
 petestack 07 Jul 2014
In reply to Dan Bailey - UKHillwalking.com:

100 calories (kcal) per mile is a good starting point. While running burns more than walking, fast running more than slow running, body weight also plays its part (the heavier you are, the more you burn) and you'd need to factor in terrain when most auto-calculated estimates I've seen from running watches etc. appear to ignore proper steep hills, it's still good enough for ready reckoning. Also note that 3,500 calories burned/consumed equates to a pound of fat. So run 35 miles with no extra fuel and you'd theoretically lose a pound, whereas scoffing a couple of cheesecakes with no exercise will have the opposite effect...

All hugely simplified from 'real life', but easy to remember and (as suggested above) quite good enough for me!
 petestack 07 Jul 2014
In reply to ClimberEd:

> It sounds very simplistic but apparently 100 calories an hour is pretty accurate

Depends what you do in that hour! Run at 10mph, run at 6mph, walk at 3mph, stand still? Whereas the 100 kcal per mile rule (equally simplistic though it is) takes account of that, so you're burning roughly 1000, 600 or 300 respectively in these scenarios. See http://www.runningforfitness.org/faq/dailycalorie for a nice wee explanation and calculator.

In reply to Dan Bailey - UKHillwalking.com:

Nice one all, thanks.
 PPP 07 Jul 2014
In reply to Dan Bailey - UKHillwalking.com:

According to the Mountaincraft and Leadership book by Eric Langmuir (excellent book, by the way), once you have DER (Daily Energy Requirement), add 10% for each of the following:
* for every 500m ascent;
* in winter or adverse conditions, either overhead or underfoot;
* if a full rucksack is carried.

DER (obviously, these are estimates which depend on many other factories):
15-18 y.o. - 2755 for males and 2110 for females
19-50 y.o. - 2550 for males and 1940 for females

Also, it is said that hillwalking requires 600 kcal per hour.

It seems quite impossible as I tend to do over 12 hours walks with little rests and can consume less than 2000kcal a day (100-150g of protein). I've done 42km long walk with 3192m ascent in 16 hours 50 minutes (including rest time) in rather good weather. I had 12-13kg rucksack and I'm sure I didn't consume 4200 kcal. But again, I've got some body fat and my body is quite adapted to be able to cut intake for a week or two. It was 9th day of my trek, hence I was used to the pace, rucksack, etc..
 petestack 07 Jul 2014
In reply to PPP:

> and I'm sure I didn't consume 4200 kcal.

While the following maybe has more impact on even bigger/more strenuous days, see my note at http://www.petestack.com/running/tranters.html on 'Food and Drink'...

'from further reading, experience of ultra-running and big hill rounds, I now know that you simply can't put back the calories you burn (let alone more!) over the course of a big day like this and will end up in deficit, so was clearly carrying too much food and probably took on about as much as I could reasonably expect.'
 The New NickB 07 Jul 2014
In reply to ClimberEd:

> It sounds very simplistic but apparently 100 calories an hour is pretty accurate

Accurate for what?
 petestack 07 Jul 2014
In reply to The New NickB:

> Accurate for what?

Running at 1mph (!)? Just existing? (Think I must have read the 100 as 1,000 or I'd have queried it more obviously than I did!)

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