Calorie Amount Accuracy on Machine v. MFP

jaxsmama123

Hi everyone,

when I do cardio on machines, should I be entering the amount of calories burned that the machine provides or should I enter it based on the time that MFP says.

Usually they give me quite a different caloric amount, I just want to be sure that when I eat back my exercise calories, that I am not over or under doing it too much .

Thanks,

sijomial

Not all machines are the same so would be helpful to be specific.

Some are accurate, some measure accurately but deliberately exaggerate, some measure badly, some under estimate, some take their calorie counts from Hans Christian Anderson....

estherdragonbat

I don't have a source for this, but I think I read somewhere that most machines (particularly those that don't have you input your weight before beginning your workout) base the calorie burn on the stats of a 150-lb individual. (And here's a source for that: https://www.livestrong.com/article/403218-how-accurate-are-calorie-counters-on-exercise-machines/) There are other variables in play, like BF%.

Plus these (copy-pasta from the link):

Exercise machines do not take into account certain variables that can affect how many calories you are burning. For instance, if you are holding onto handrails, you are working at a reduced intensity level and burning fewer calories than indicated. Also, if you are not using the machine properly, it can affect the accuracy of the calorie counters. Also, if you have a higher fitness level, you are not working as hard as someone new to exercise and your calorie burn may be lower than indicated.

erickirb

When in doubt, take the lowest number.

sijomial

estherdragonbat wrote: »

I don't have a source for this, but I think I read somewhere that most machines (particularly those that don't have you input your weight before beginning your workout) base the calorie burn on the stats of a 150-lb individual. (And here's a source for that: https://www.livestrong.com/article/403218-how-accurate-are-calorie-counters-on-exercise-machines/) There are other variables in play, like BF%.

Plus these (copy-pasta from the link):

Exercise machines do not take into account certain variables that can affect how many calories you are burning. For instance, if you are holding onto handrails, you are working at a reduced intensity level and burning fewer calories than indicated. Also, if you are not using the machine properly, it can affect the accuracy of the calorie counters. Also, if you have a higher fitness level, you are not working as hard as someone new to exercise and your calorie burn may be lower than indicated.

The Concept2 rower uses 175lbs as the default weight but also provides an online calculator so that people can correct that.

This is a very odd statement "Also, if you have a higher fitness level, you are not working as hard as someone new to exercise and your calorie burn may be lower than indicated."

A fit person has a higher capability to burn calories so the opposite is more likely to be true.
An exceptionally fit cyclist who can produce 400 watts would be cycling easily (for them) at 200 watts. That same 200 watts might be maximal effort and feeling really hard for an ordinary cyclist but they would be burning the same calories despite it feeling easy for one and hard for the other.
How hard it feels is irrelevant, it's the work (in the physics sense) that matters.

jaxsmama123

erickirb wrote: »

When in doubt, take the lowest number.

Dang, I was hoping the opposite! lol thanks!

spiriteagle99

My treadmill seems to assume I weigh 200 pounds. I don't. I wish I could believe the numbers it gives me.