To be fair my times / cals were a bit of a finger in the air job. But the point was the same.Agree with the first bit, I take 20-30% off any calorie expenditure estimates if they seem high, same as I allow +20% calories on processed foods, they're both easy ways to go very wrong.
A 20m 5k is quick, can't see many overweight people doing that, can't even see many doing a 25m 5k. A fit/ lightweight runner might do that in 20-25m for 300 calories, but an overweight person is probably going to be more like ~400 burned in 25 mins, and will still have ~1k to go!
Once you know the value of calories, it makes you want that 250 calorie pint less, as you know you'll have to run for 15-20 mins to get it back
I’d throw fitness watches into the problem of calorie over estimate too. I use mine when I’m out with the dog on a lunchtime, mainly as a timer to see how long we’ve been out.
I stand in a field and chuck a ball about for a bit and it’s telling me I’ve burnt off about 150-200cal, which would be nice!
Best advice I got from a nutrition coach was:
Unless you’ve had a hugely active day don’t try and deduct / add your exercise from / to your daily calorie target or try and compensate by eating more.
I think another problem stems from the guidance. The average calorie intake target for an active adult bloke is supposedly 2500cal. I think a lot of people consider themselves more active than they actually are, then consume more than they need by still aiming for that target.
I exercise a lot, and eat only 100cal more than that figure to maintain my weight.