Machines VS Phones

Acacia_Evers

So we know we can't fully trust technology to give us all the dirty details about calorie loss. But which ones are more accurate? With apps, you can put in your weight, height, gender, which helps to better determine what movement you can do to burn up those pesky kcals. Machines don't have that information. How is it possible that I burned 116 calories in 15 minutes on the elliptical? When walking, by my phones standard, takes maybe.... 20-25 minutes, on hills, to burn calories? Which one do I listen to and how well do I listen to them?

juggernaut1974

Neither are particularly accurate.

Most people suggest taking the numbers given by the machines and divide them in half.

Start there, and then over the long term, adjust if your weight trend isn't matching calculated expectations.

M30834134

In the bigger picture, consistency is more important - pick a source or a method and use those numbers consistently. Then, adjust your budget according with your actual progress

tacticalhippie

I tend to put more effort into using the elliptical than walking.
So I would burn the calories quicker with the elliptical.

I use a heart rate monitor and use that to figure out the calories burned.
I feel like it's more accurate.
But then again, it's the consistency of using it.

Psychgrrl

Ditto on the hrm. I lost a lot of weight once I started using a fitness tracker with chest strap hrm. The numbers clicked for me.

robertw486

Depends on the app, the machine, or the HRM. All use estimates, and are only as good as the formulas in those estimates. Apps and machines can often use GPS or other means of power measures (speed, wattage, acceleration, etc) and at times have the distinct advantage of knowing absolute energy expenditure.

For many exercise types, it's easily converted to METs, and easy to check against lab tested standards that fall within the averages for most people.

Both HRMs and MET minute calcualtors are designed for steady state type activity and can be skewed easily by other than steady state and other influences (caffeine or meal timing affect HR). Apps that calculate power and machines that actually measure it can't be influenced as readily by HR fluctuations, but measure in more absolute terms.



116 calories in 15 minutes on an elliptical should be fairly easy for all but a really small person. That's less than 8 calories per minute. At 180 pounds I can output 15 calories a minute (gross) for a couple hours.

MasterVal wrote: »

In the bigger picture, consistency is more important - pick a source or a method and use those numbers consistently. Then, adjust your budget according with your actual progress

Second this. You can make yourself crazy trying to find exacts, or you can use the best data you have available and go from there.