which is accurate?

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octbaby00
octbaby00 Posts: 15
in Fitness and Exercise
fitnesspal is giving me a big difference in calories burned for walking compared to what my treadmill says I'm burning, So which should I assume is right?

Replies

  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,239 Member
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    Really there is no way to really answer that. It could be either one, or something else completely. I would suggest either take the lower of the two or split the difference between them.
  • aa1440
    aa1440 Posts: 956 Member
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    What type of treadmill do you have?
  • aa1440
    aa1440 Posts: 956 Member
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    What type of treadmill do you have?
  • micha447
    micha447 Posts: 2
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    I got the same thing today when I did elliptical, on the machine it said only 110 calories, but on MFP said 475. I asked my personal trainer and she said both sounded wrong. My machine doesn't ask for age, weight, etc so the 110 from the machine is wrong from the start. Not too sure why MFP is so off. My personal trainer said I burned around 300 calories. Hopefully someone can answer this for us :-)
  • aa1440
    aa1440 Posts: 956 Member
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    I agree with Riley. This is not an exact science.
  • aa1440
    aa1440 Posts: 956 Member
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    I agree with Riley. This is not an exact science.
  • davidrt
    davidrt Posts: 162
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    you cant really go wrong with the lower of the 2
  • misscfe
    misscfe Posts: 295 Member
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    Neither is really accurate. My trainer told me that machines are typically off around 15%. MFP is not accurate as it is just averages and heart rate isn't even taken into consideration. Like the other person suggested you may just take the lower. I would invest in a heart rate monitor if you want to get more accuracy.
  • RoanneRed
    RoanneRed Posts: 429 Member
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    Machines will give more accurate feedback where they allow you to enter your weight but proportion of muscle vs fat is yet another variable.
  • jbucci1186
    jbucci1186 Posts: 440 Member
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    i always went with MFP over the machine mostly because the machine, if it would ask, would only want my weight (no height or gender).

    but yes. heart rate monitors are best. and i need one!
  • kellyyjean
    kellyyjean Posts: 499 Member
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    My equipment is always higher too.
    Here is a cool site. Not sure how accurate it is.

    http://www.primusweb.com/cgi-bin/fpc/actcalc.pl
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    Neither is accurate. They are both estimates, so just pick one and go with it. I usually stick with MFP estimates and although people say they aren't accurate, I eat back most of my exercise cals using MFP estimates and I've lost nearly 17kg (37 pounds) in 5 months.
  • halfmarathon52
    halfmarathon52 Posts: 14 Member
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    Mostly the variance is MFP does not accurately know your resistance levels. Because on cardio equipment you can push harder or slower it's an estimate.

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