MFP VS MapMyWalk calories???? Please help

tabby92011

So I've been using MapMyWalk to track my walking, and let's just say for instance, and this is just an example, I walk for 30 minutes, it'll log it on my MFP as 30 minutes 2.5 mph 600 calories burned, but if I go I log that same thing using MFP, like I choose walking 2.5mph for 30 minutes, it'll say like 300 calories burned. So what I'm saying is that MapMyWalk says I burn way more calories, so idk, I just wanna know if it's accurate. I wanna know exactly what I'm burning. Can someone please help. Is MapMyWalk more accurate and customized when it comes to how many calories burnt than MFP??

FrankWhite27330

map my walk takes into consideration your Size and speed MFP you have to input data.

I would use Map My Walk

AppetiteControlFreak

Map My anything is silly high

Map My Ride for cycling is horribly high

Look up your weight on a few charts you google and use a genetic number

MMF is 70 some calories per mile of the bike for me. Actual is more like 45.

20yearsyounger

Agreed. May my "anything" was way inflated for me.

Valm90

You'd be better off getting a Fitbit or something of that nature for more accurate info and you could link it to MFP

Lasmartchika

It's better to underestimate your burn, so I'd go with what mfp says (since it's the lower of the two) and still eat back 50-75% of them back. Most times I'll leave what Map My Fitness says, but I won't eat ALL the exercise calories back either. :flowerforyou:

Ready2Rock206

Always go with the lower number. 600 calories for only 30 minutes seems extremely high. Even 300 sounds very high to me.

sharonpryke

I've just started using MapMyWalk and was shocked at how many calories it said I was burning - way more than MFP would give me for the same exercise. Given that most people on the forums agree that MFP calories are high for exercise, MapMyWalk just seems silly amounts. Which makes me wonder why MFP works with it.

Anyway, looking into this a bit I found an article about Gross Calorie Burn vs Net Calorie Burn. Basically it suggested that some gym equipment like treadmills etc - and I guess some apps - calculate Gross Calorie Burn for your exercise - that is to say they include the base calories that you would have used during that time just sitting around and breathing as well as the extra calories for doing the exercise. This might explain some of the discrepancies. It also means that you can't "eat back" all of the calories it says you've used because the base calorie consumption has already been calculated in your calories for the day.

All this aside, everything is a bit of a guess and in the end you either lose weight or you don't. If you don't, then adjust accordingly until you do.

robertw486

For anyone interested, I recently found a simple way to see if your app/program/whatever reports gross calorie burn or net calorie burn. Simply select an activity, start the app, and let it run while your phone is stationary.

If the calories keep adding up with zero movement, it's reporting gross calories. You can either do the math of calories added per minute, or let it run for an hour, and you will find what it calculates for your BMR. In my case I tested Endomondo, and for a guy my size (I think the app is set at 190 lbs) it is calculating.... 139 calories per hour if I'm doing nothing other than existing! WAY too high.

And for anyone interested, my solution for now is to use the Strava app. It only does running and biking, but reports net calorie burn based on my testing. I've looked at some of the in depth formulas accepted by those that seem to know, and it's very accurate for biking. I've seen claims by members here that seem well informed that it's close on running calories burned as well.



And for the original poster, calorie burn is highly dependent on your weight as well as pace. If you do some searching you can probably find a few calculators for walking that are accepted as fairly accurate.

Susan1

This looks like an older site, but in 2021 MapMyWalk is always higher than MyFitnessPal. I will have to check the my stats are accurate in MFP.

sijomial

@Susan1

Very old thread you have resurrected but personally I wouldn't use either MapMyWalk or MyFitnessPal as they are likely to be both very inflated.

You really want a net calorie estimate, not gross which both the above are - they will double count the calories you would have burned in that time slot anyway.

Try the net calorie option here and you can overwrite the MyFitnessPal estimate - https://exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs

knitski2002

How can I save this link so I can come back to it?

robertw486

knitski2002 wrote: »

How can I save this link so I can come back to it?

Scroll to the top and click the star on the right. That will place it in bookmarks so you can find it again.

knitski2002

Thanks!