What's the best way to measure calories burned?

breesu

Now that I know not to go off the gym equipment's calories burned... Which monitors are most accurate? Are there any basic, affordable ones that are accurate?

jemhh

When I used an MFP-generated calorie goal I just used MFP and RunDouble's calories. They worked fine for me. No calculator will be perfect for everybody. Just pick one, use it for 4 weeks, and adjust based on results.

BasicGreatGuy

While nothing is 100% all of the time, a heart rate monitor is your best bet, in my opinion.

MyFreakingNameIsScott

Just mentioned this on another thread but Polar's H7 is one of, if not the most accurate HRM out there. I use mine in conjunction with the A300 watch. Polar also has a couple of nice apps to use. Polar Beat and Polar Flow. I almost exclusively use Beat but will plug into Flow to check my sleep pattern from time to time.

GauchoMark

Anything Polar is pretty well respected, but you need to understand HRM limitations in general. Activity monitors also do a decent job for walking/running exercises.

Really, the best way to estimate calorie burn is to stick to a routine for a month or so, log your food religiously, and compare results to expected at the end of the time period and adjust accordingly.

RoxieDawn

Not really anything is going to be the "best".. You can get "better" with a tracker/device and HRM. Its not totally necessary and an app should work fine.. Just know eating back a portion of those calorie burns are what is needed so that you can help with your calorie deficit and to adhere to proper energy balance.

So even if you use an app, device, cardio machine computer output, heart monitor or even the MFP exercise calculations they are all still approximates or estimates.

Devices can range from 20 all the way up into the 100's. If want a device that comes with HR you can get a wrist (optical) or one with separate chest strap. I personally do not like optical devices and wear a HRM soft strap.

Decide on how much you want to spend, what you actually need the device to track for you.

Chieflrg

The most accurate measure of calorie burns is your weight change.