How accurate is MFP's calorie burning guide, really?

Options
CVALGAL
CVALGAL Posts: 108 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Just curious to see if anyone else thinks it gives too many calories back for certain tasks? For example, I burn about 280 doing my c25k run, but then supposedly I am burning about that same amount for an hour of light household cleaning. Really? Maybe the cleaning really does burn that many cals, but it sure doesn't feel like it. Should I trust it? What is your opinion?
«1

Replies

  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
    Options
    Not very accurate at all. I would not log light cleaning. If you clean ofter just change your activity level to light active instead of sedentary to account for extra cals burned.
  • BeLightYear
    BeLightYear Posts: 1,450 Member
    Options
    It is really waaaaaaaaaaay off from reality :)
  • Mollydolly10
    Mollydolly10 Posts: 431 Member
    Options
    I consider MFP accurate for actual EXERCISE. But for things like cleaning, no, that's not accurate at all and shouldn't even be logged to be honest. I agree with erickirb to change your activity level if you REALLY want to "log" it. Otherwise, just don't worry about it, you're healthier for it anyways, that's what matters :)
  • jessica_mom343
    jessica_mom343 Posts: 61 Member
    Options
    I had a feeling it was way off to so that's why I bought a HRM. I'm actually burning more according to my HRM.
  • AddA2UDE
    AddA2UDE Posts: 382
    Options
    Perhaps it is off, perhaps it isn't. That being said, I guess the reality is that I am still losing weight so I guess the bottom line is that it isn't too far off. :)
  • engineman312
    engineman312 Posts: 3,450 Member
    Options
    It is really waaaaaaaaaaay off from reality :)

    agreed. i just did 20 miles on my bike, average speed 14.4 mph. my HRM says 1,823, my cardio trainer app says 994, and MFP said 1263. idk what to believe!!
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    Options
    The only cleaning I log is the heavy duty scrubbing, hands and knees, furniture moving type.
  • SuzanneRogers
    SuzanneRogers Posts: 250 Member
    Options
    I cleaned with my HRM on to get correct burn for myself... then your numbers will be accurate for you.. if you use the default numbers they will be much higher. Trust me I burn a ton scrubbing bathrooms and floors in my house.
  • reese1206
    reese1206 Posts: 229
    Options
    WAYYYYY OFF!!!!!!
  • AddA2UDE
    AddA2UDE Posts: 382
    Options
    I disagree. My job usually consists of a fairly sedentary enviroment where I am usually sitting behind a desk. However, there are times when it requires me to get out and walk/jog/ kneel repeatedly. That raises my heart rate considerably and should be accounted for.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
    Options
    It is really waaaaaaaaaaay off from reality :)

    agreed. i just did 20 miles on my bike, average speed 14.4 mph. my HRM says 1,823, my cardio trainer app says 994, and MFP said 1263. idk what to believe!!

    What type of HRM do you have. (Timex tends to estimate burns quite high, while Polar and Garmin seem to be much more accurate) Most users find that HRM's give a much lower number than MFP. Not to mention HRM's do not back out the cals you would have burned had you not exercised (maintenance cals) So if you biked for 2 hours you probably would have burned 1.5 cals/min sitting on the couch so you would have to back out 180 (1.5*120) from the HRM total.
  • jr1985
    jr1985 Posts: 1,033 Member
    Options
    At least for me, MFP WAY overestimates calories burned for pretty much everything, including strenuous exercise. I bought a heart rate monitor to find out for sure... My actual calories burned, sadly is generally just a little over half what MFP would calculate me at
  • heathersmilez
    heathersmilez Posts: 2,579 Member
    Options
    It is really waaaaaaaaaaay off from reality :)

    agreed. i just did 20 miles on my bike, average speed 14.4 mph. my HRM says 1,823, my cardio trainer app says 994, and MFP said 1263. idk what to believe!!

    But it's right in the middle of your 3 quotes and the most important part is that it's not MORE than your HRM which is the important factor when it comes to eating back your cals.

    I found it to be very accurate for spinning and the elliptical being within 30 cals of my HRM and the machine. As for cleaning that one does seem to be quite high.
  • FlyFishinX2
    FlyFishinX2 Posts: 127
    Options
    I'm heading out to go flyfishing in a couple minutes and will fish till dark or slightly past. According to MFP's calorie burn calculator I will burn 3021 , seems un-realistic to me
  • LilMissFoodie
    LilMissFoodie Posts: 612 Member
    Options
    It is all just an estimate. I certainly wouldn't be logging activities of daily living like cleaning if I were serious about losing weight. Generally, the more exercise you do, the bigger issue it is going to be. If you log an hour a day at say 250-500cals and eat those it's not going to make that much different if it's a bit off but if you are logging more than 1000cals a day and eating all of those then you would be more at risk. All in all, I think it's safest to log 'proper' exercise only (if you get what I mean by that) and monitor your weight. If you aren't losing then it's likely that you are overestimating.

    Heart rate monitors are unfortunately very poor at predicting the amount of calories burnt. That's because calories burnt does not directly relate to your heart rate - just because you are unfit does not mean you burn more calories working less hard than a fit person that weighs the same as you!
  • engineman312
    engineman312 Posts: 3,450 Member
    Options
    i actually have a timex, and i just realized that both my cardio app and HRM were set to my original weight. i generally use the MFP calories, because i don't want to over estimate my calories burned.
  • kennethmgreen
    kennethmgreen Posts: 1,759 Member
    Options
    Just curious to see if anyone else thinks it gives too many calories back for certain tasks? For example, I burn about 280 doing my c25k run, but then supposedly I am burning about that same amount for an hour of light household cleaning. Really? Maybe the cleaning really does burn that many cals, but it sure doesn't feel like it. Should I trust it? What is your opinion?
    It's all guesswork. The key is to do your best to minimize the margin of error. Some relatively inexpensive tools for doing this are a good kitchen scale and a heart rate monitor (HRM). The HRMs will still be a guess with regard to calories burned, but it should give you a better idea.
  • ADTeachTX
    ADTeachTX Posts: 204 Member
    Options
    I think that it is important of us all to realize that everything is just an estimate. While we want to get as close as possible it is important to not get too hung up on numbers...number of calories in, number of calories burned...number on the scale, etc. What really counts is not a number but how you feel and whether you are being successful in your weightloss or gain efforts!
  • katkins3
    katkins3 Posts: 1,360 Member
    Options
    One day MFP gave me over 400 calories for my time on the elliptical, while the elliptical machine read around 200 calories and finally, my HRM said a sad just over 100 calories. I almost gave up.
    My solution: I use the number from elliptical, (the type which takes into account weight and age).
    As long as I am losing weight at a reasonable rate I'll use the machine numbers and reconsider the question if I plateau.
  • theginnyray
    theginnyray Posts: 208 Member
    Options
    Perhaps it is off, perhaps it isn't. That being said, I guess the reality is that I am still losing weight so I guess the bottom line is that it isn't too far off. :)
    Yup!

Categories