HRM, Gym Machine, MFP?

Shell521

So I know nothing will ever be able to tell you an exact amount of calories burned during workout, but everything seems to be different! Between the heart rate monitor I wear, the machine at the gym & what MFP has, all the calories are always different. So which one is probably closest to accurate? I know none will be exact, but I'm getting different numbers of calories from all 3!

ErrataCorrige

I was just complaining to myself about this! My elliptical (which you can't enter in age or weight) says I just burned 878 cal in one hour. MPF say 611. But my HRM say 459 I go with my HRM just to be sure, but it is depressing as hell!

hpsnickers1

Go with the HRM if it has a chest strap. That's measuring your calories burned by reading your heart rate. That is probably the most accurate.

Don't forget to subtract the calories you would've burned while doing nothing for that timeframe.

Take the BMR MFP gave you (calories burned with normal activity - mine was 1520 - not the goal calories). Say I walked for 45 minutes and burned 365 calories.

1520 (cal)/24 (hrs) = 63.3 (cal)
63.3 (cal)/60 (min) = 1.055 (1.06)(cal)
45 (min) x1.06 = 47.7 (48) - this is what I would've burned if I was doing nothing for 45 minutes.
365 (cal) - 48 (cal) = 317 burned.

Shell521

Thanks! I figured the HRM would be most accurate, but a lot of stuff I am reading says their not accurate either lol, ugh this is making me so mad haha! I really hope the HRM is accurate because its giving me the higher number of calories burned haha!

I know nothing will be exact, but just trying to figure which one is way off. Ok I did 35 minutes on elliptical this morning, my HRM (entering age) said I burned 590 calories, the elliptical machine (without entering age\weight) said 250 calories and MFP says 35 minutes on elliptical is 356 calories! I just don't know which one is closest!

joleciamichelle

I've always been wondering this. I don't have a HRM, I always enter my weight on the machine and at the end my workout, the numbers that the machine and MFP give me are always different. I always go with the one on the machine, just because that knows how hard I was actually working (it's always a little lower though lol). Perhaps I should invest in an HRM.