treadmill underestimates cals burned&MFP overestimates HELP

jo12344

So I tested out my new treadmill and I used it for 21 minutes since I am very busy and I did 15% incline at 3.5mph
The treadmill said I burned 29 calories (how feeble lol) but I wasn't using a heart rate monitor etc I was just using it with the safety thing clipped onto my trousers
So I went on MFP and typed in "treadmill" and it comes up with ONE option -.- so I typed in the amount of minutes I did and it overestimated

So then I typed into google and found on sparkpeople a calories burned thingy and I calculated the median of two calculations I used on there (one was 15% incline and 4mph the second was 15% and 3mph) since I did it at 3.5mph (lol)
I typed in my weight and the minutes I did it and it said I burned 247 at 4mph and 193 at 3mph and the median of that is 220 calories so do you think that's okay??? IDK if I should trust this but damn I don't think I burned 29 calories at 15% INCLINE at 3.5mph that just doesn't seem right y'know?

Anyone suggest anything for me to find out how many calories I burn? I hear something about "polar" thing? does that count cals burned?

lannabelle

Very good question. At the end of the day, any count you get for calories burned is a best estimate. That reading from the treadmill is really strange. Most of the time, you'll see people saying that the gym machines overestimate, not underestimate. In any event, the device you are asking about is a brand of Heart Rate Monitor. I have a Polar FT7 and it's great. I've also heard lots of great things about other Polar products as well. It is a sports watch type device that communicates with a chest strap that you wear during your workouts. Based upon the information you input about yourself (height, weight, age, etc.) it will measure your heart rate while you exercise and (in addition to other useful info.) it will tell you how many calories you've burned. I love mine and do not regret purchasing it. I ordered it off Amazon, but I'm sure you can find great deals on Ebay.

jo12344

Very good question. At the end of the day, any count you get for calories burned is a best estimate. That reading from the treadmill is really strange. Most of the time, you'll see people saying that the gym machines overestimate, not underestimate. In any event, the device you are asking about is a brand of Heart Rate Monitor. I have a Polar FT7 and it's great. I've also heard lots of great things about other Polar products as well. It is a sports watch type device that communicates with a chest strap that you wear during your workouts. Based upon the information you input about yourself (height, weight, age, etc.) it will measure your heart rate while you exercise and (in addition to other useful info.) it will tell you how many calories you've burned. I love mine and do not regret purchasing it. I ordered it off Amazon, but I'm sure you can find great deals on Ebay.

Thank you so much for your input and yess!! These polar products are always mentioned here and now I know what it is it sounds like a great help!

CorlissaEats

My treadmill vastly underestimates the burn BUT my daily calcs are done to include the number I need just to sleep, sit, breathe and digest food for a 24 hr period. If I count my exercise for the full amount like MFP then I end up counting TWICE for the same period. So I take my treadmills estimation because the difference of 80-100 cals for that hour are already accounted for if I did nothing.

You can also figure out your TDEE over time by adding up the cals consumed in your diary plus the pounds lost (X3500 cals) in that same period. Divide that by the number of days in the period. That becomes the number you need to just maintain your weight. Your deficit should be 500-1000 below that depending on your goals. Its more for information. Knowing your TDEE is somewhat important if your goal is to lose weight in a healthy way.

CorlissaEats

PS My treadmill is not off by that much. I get more than 29 cals for 20 min of walking at 3.5mph. You should call the manufacturer to see if there is a faulty monitor...

WalkingAlong

Yeah, 29 calories in 21 minutes is about what you'd burn sitting on the couch. 220 calories in 21 mins. might be realistic, if you are either fairly overweight or were really going all out that 21 minutes. 15% incline is STEEP, though. 220 is probably a good guess. If you're not terribly overweight, 10 calories per minute is probably about the most you'll burn at a tough workout.

jo12344

PS My treadmill is not off by that much. I get more than 29 cals for 20 min of walking at 3.5mph. You should call the manufacturer to see if there is a faulty monitor...

Yeah I think I might tbh it doesn't seem right thanks for the reply!!

jo12344

Yeah, 29 calories in 21 minutes is about what you'd burn sitting on the couch. 220 calories in 21 mins. might be realistic, if you are either fairly overweight or were really going all out that 21 minutes. 15% incline is STEEP, though. 220 is probably a good guess. If you're not terribly overweight, 10 calories per minute is probably about the most you'll burn at a tough workout.

I'm not overweight just gained a little so hoping to get back to how I was thanks for the input

cwolfman13

It's all an estimate...your treadmill sounds terribly low though...do you have an option to put your stats in your treadmill? Data bases are also unreliable due to the sheer number of variables involved. A HRM is probably the most accurate for an aerobic event, but it's still an estimate; you'd still need to deduct your BMR calories for the time and keep in mind that the further you are from a steady state aerobic event, the less accurate the HRM will be.

All in all, it's an estimate though.

257_Lag

Right or wrong I have been using this calculator for 10 months now and I think I have done ok

http://42.195km.net/e/treadsim/