Calories burned don't match

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garysgirl719
garysgirl719 Posts: 235 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Does anyone else have a problem with the calories burned as reported by MFP not matching the number that the machine at the gym says? Today, the machine said 350. MFP said 640. That is a huge difference. I don't want to overestimate on exercises that are not on machines.

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  • summerlopresti
    summerlopresti Posts: 21
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    It never matches, I guess it depends on how fast you pedal/walk (or whatever you are doing) and the difficulty on the machine (on an elliptical there are levels 0-easy, 25- can barely move) and on the treadmill I walk at a 15.0 incline which is practically uphill. I dont think MFP calculates all that. After you put your time in you can manually change the number in the calories burned box. I have to do it every time I exercise. Hope this helps!!
  • quara
    quara Posts: 255 Member
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    I would probably go by what the machine says, because you have likely entered your weight, and it knows what resistance level you're doing and how fast/slow. I know when I do the elliptical it tells me a different number than when I just click on "elliptical" on MFP, but there is a huge difference between doing it on an easy level, extremely slowly while reading a book, and really going at it with all your might! MFP won't know what you did, but the machine will....
  • Adsnwfld
    Adsnwfld Posts: 262 Member
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    I always go with the lower number, I'd sooner error on the side of eating less and needing to workout more.
  • emott84
    emott84 Posts: 108
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    That happens all the time. If the machine asks you your weight and age before you start and keeps track of your heart rate, it's probably closer to the actual amount of calories burned. The machine knows the intensity, etc that you were working out at, MFP doesn't.

    The only way to really know though is to use a Heart Rate monitor that measures calories burned during exercise.
  • Gstitts
    Gstitts Posts: 1
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    Yes I had a problem with it not matching today. I showed I burned 330 calories on the treadmill but when I posted it on MFP it showed 387. I just changed the amount to what I know it said on the treadmill. I'm not sure why the difference.
  • runningneo122
    runningneo122 Posts: 6,962 Member
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    That happens all the time. If the machine asks you your weight and age before you start and keeps track of your heart rate, it's probably closer to the actual amount of calories burned. The machine knows the intensity, etc that you were working out at, MFP doesn't.

    The only way to really know though is to use a Heart Rate monitor that measures calories burned during exercise.
    I adjust my running time to match what my treadmill shows and adjust down on other exercises.
  • karenmi
    karenmi Posts: 242 Member
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    I agree with the previous post, the only way to be very accurate is to use a heart rate monitor. I wear one every time I work out and I find that I burn about 100 calories less than what the treadmill says. I good HRM might cost around $100 but it's worth every penny!
  • IrishHarpy1
    IrishHarpy1 Posts: 399 Member
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    I just got a Polar F6 monitor, and the calories burned is relatively close to the readout on my elliptical (about 25 calories higher)-- but I go with the monitor's calculation, because my elliptical doesn't have the ability to enter the height/weight/age measurements to accurately calculate.

    I'd highly recommend investing in a monitor of some sort :)
  • miss42069
    miss42069 Posts: 1
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    Even the machine (or heart-rate wrist watch) can be way off. The most accurate thing is a heart rate monitor with chest strap that reads your heat rate continuously.
  • butterfly1210
    butterfly1210 Posts: 11 Member
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    I used to use the Body Bug and it measures the amount of calories you burn by wearing a sensor on your upper arm. It NEVER matched what the machines said, especially the elliptical machine. It was a real eye opener for me as to what the machines said and what the BB said, such as the EM would say something like I burned 600 cal in 45 mins and my body bug would say 250cal, so then I would run on the treadmill for 45 mins and the machine would say I burned 325 and my BB would say I burned 480cal, and I believed the body bug because it was actually attached to me. I think the best way to make sure you are getting an accurate calorie burn number is to get a device that you can wear, like the body bug, but there are plenty of options out there.
  • osram34
    osram34 Posts: 54
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    I always go with the lower number, I'd sooner error on the side of eating less and needing to workout more.

    yup :D

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