Calories burned calculations

buccynde

When entering exercise, should I go off the website's information for calories burned or go by my eliptical information? Which is more accurate? Thanks!

arewethereyet

it varies so much it is hard to say. I use a heart rate monitor which straps around my chest. Love it! keeps me moving to put a higher number on there and I knwo for sure what I burned or close

I would average it out. If the ellip says 300 and MFP says 350........use 325. It is all about accountability in my book. I eat most of my earned calories...........mostly because to lose 1/2 pound at my age and weight is 1200 calories so I NEED my exercise cals :laugh:

Good luck!

Ianultrarunner

I think it depends what has more of your information.
I go by MFP because machines are usually too generic and most you can't enter any information.
Some machines at our gym you can enter weight and age but nothing else.
Usually the more information a machine or site has the better the calculations can be but a heart monitor that you can enter most information into is best is your heart is the best indicator of how much effort you're putting into your routine.

lovejoydavid

If the machine did not ask for age, gender, weight, etc, assume that it is dead wrong. HRM's do help, I think, but only because they generally ask all those questions. However, this site has no way of knowing how hard you actually worked on the elliptical, while the machine does, at least, know that. Though I was not initially, I have become more impressed with some of the algorithms used to determine cals burned for some things on this site. The only doubts I would have are about the hugely variable activities, that is, ones that are more determined by intensity rather than the activity itself (for those the HRM is very much needed, or to use the machine, as the case may be).