How accurate are the calories burned counter on treadmill's?

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Margy68
Margy68 Posts: 21
in Health and Weight Loss
Does anyone have an idea how accurate the digital readout of the calorie counter on a treadmill is? If they are not really that accurate do they tend to overstate or understate the amount of calories burned?

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  • JennsLosing
    JennsLosing Posts: 1,026
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    im pretty sure all machines are different. the most accurate ones would be the ones that have you put your wieght and age in it. im pretty sure the most accurate way to get your calories burned would be to buy a heart rate monitor. i havent invested in one yet, but its something thats been on my mind lately
  • FrenchMob
    FrenchMob Posts: 1,167 Member
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    They usually over estimate cals burnt anywhere from 10-25% depending on models.
  • polo571
    polo571 Posts: 708 Member
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    Personally I use a HRM and the machines for me overestimate by 30%. I hope this helps
  • misssuperstitious
    misssuperstitious Posts: 178
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    They overestimate for me too, usually 30-60 cals off from my HRM.
  • MisdemeanorM
    MisdemeanorM Posts: 3,493 Member
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    depends on the machine. TrueStride are the worst. They tell you up to 200% or more!
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
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    The Precor machines at my gym always over estimate by about 20-25%. The FreeMotion machine in the fitness center in my apartment building is under when I run at higher inclines (6+) by about 5-10%. And it's over by 5-10% when I run at low inclines. But that machine also notes that it uses Polar technology for the heart rate monitoring and it seems to actually link up directly to my HRM because the HR on the readout always matches what my display says.
  • sunshine79
    sunshine79 Posts: 758 Member
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    The Life fitness machines in my gym over estimate 30% more than my HRM. :yawn:
  • ugogirl1234
    ugogirl1234 Posts: 43
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    Most treadmills assume you are 150lbs. I weight 132lbs and hold 16lb weights on my legs while running. This way I can effectively rely on what my treadmill reads.
  • MisdemeanorM
    MisdemeanorM Posts: 3,493 Member
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    depends on the machine. TrueStride are the worst. They tell you up to 200% or more!

    PS - this is AFTER it lets you enter your weight and age and gender! They're awful. There's always a line for them, but if people knew they were not really burning 850+ calories an hour...
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    it's all over the map, it depends on how many factors the tread mill uses, and what formulas they use with those numbers. Some are very good, some suck. There's no way to know what does what unless you have the make, model, and service record for the machine, otherwise assume the calories from a machine are pretty useless.
  • bhb301
    bhb301 Posts: 338 Member
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    My treadmill is an older basic kind. I have nike+ which has my age,weight etc programmed. The treadmill was off on mileage, cals burned, everything. I go with the nike+ bc the sensor is on my shoe, so I think its more accurate.
  • lilmissy2
    lilmissy2 Posts: 595 Member
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    Whenever I go to put treadmill stuff into MFP, I have noticed that MFP seems to think I've burned about 3 times the amount that the treadmill said! But yeah, it really depends on the type of treadmill. I tend to lean toward the conservative side when it comes to estimating exercise cals.
  • emlov81
    emlov81 Posts: 128
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    Didn't realise that before now!!

    I never eat fully into my exercise cals .... which is obviously a good thing knowing this!!!

    Why do they do that????:angry:
  • lkkyer
    lkkyer Posts: 38 Member
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    Didn't realise that before now!!

    I never eat fully into my exercise cals .... which is obviously a good thing knowing this!!!

    Why do they do that????:angry:
    This is exactly why I NEVER eat all my exercise calories! I eat some, but not all....
  • curleesam
    curleesam Posts: 462 Member
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    I always key in my weight on the machines which helps. I also only eat half of my exercise cals to allow for discrepancies in my food portions and calories burnt.
  • karimiller
    karimiller Posts: 22
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    I don't believe they're very accurate unless you put in your weight as others have mentioned. Otherwise it's just a generalization.
  • MattAxtell
    MattAxtell Posts: 73 Member
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    It depends how heavy you are and how in shape you are.

    I'm 211 lbs 5"9 male and im in pretty good shape.

    For the first 15 minutes the treadmill says i burn more calories than my heart rate monitor.

    After that my Heart rate monitor calculates a higher calorie burn.

    The more intense your workout, the more accurate the treadmill will be.

    Also

    If you are extremely overweight, the treadmill will underestimate

    If you are at an extremely healthy weight and in good shape, the treadmill will overestimate
  • outersoul
    outersoul Posts: 711
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    They overestimate for me too, usually 30-60 cals off from my HRM.

    This is my experience too...

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