tredmill calories vs. fitness pal calories

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angelakayerickson
angelakayerickson Posts: 19
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello,
I use a tredmill for my cardio....I workout between 40 and 60 min a day depending on my busy kids lol....BUT the tredmill tells me i lost 300 cals vs. this site which tells me i have lost 600 cals....is it because this thing knows how much i weigh and how tall i am or is the tredmill right and i need to be on the thing 90 min a day or somthing? obviously my tredmill doesnt know my weight, but am just wondering who or what to believe when it comes to my calorie counting.
Thanks Angela
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Replies

  • jamiesadler
    jamiesadler Posts: 634 Member
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    Did you put your age and weight into the treadmill? If not then I would go by the site since it has all of your info
  • merrymary333
    merrymary333 Posts: 1
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    most treadmills have a weight input....and they count calories depending on your speed or incline, so I'd stick to the treadmill personally.
  • Sepa
    Sepa Posts: 243 Member
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    If you have not entered height, weight and age I would go with mfp
  • DanyelleKimberly
    DanyelleKimberly Posts: 45 Member
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    I would imagine it is because this knows are weight and height but I would like to know this as well
  • mhig011975
    mhig011975 Posts: 181
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    one way to solve this, go and purchase yourself a HRM. I have a Polar FT7 I absolutely love it.
  • papastu
    papastu Posts: 737 Member
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    I had this issue so I bought a HRM, the treadmill at the gym was way out !!!
  • Coltsman4ever
    Coltsman4ever Posts: 602 Member
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    one way to solve this, go and purchase yourself a HRM. I have a Polar FT7 I absolutely love it.

    This!

    In the meantime, I would go with MFP. Even if the treadmill has a weight setting you can enter, most won't ask for height and gender, which makes a big difference.
    I think most treadmills use a default weight of 150 lbs. From what I've seen anyways.
  • mhig011975
    mhig011975 Posts: 181
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    one way to solve this, go and purchase yourself a HRM. I have a Polar FT7 I absolutely love it.

    This!

    In the meantime, I would go with MFP. Even if the treadmill has a weight setting you can enter, most won't ask for height and gender, which makes a big difference.
    I think most treadmills use a default weight of 150 lbs. From what I've seen anyways.

    But a HRM is 99.9% accurate and I tried using MFP calories and they seem just a little off.
  • sophjakesmom
    sophjakesmom Posts: 904 Member
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    I use the lower of the two.
  • Coltsman4ever
    Coltsman4ever Posts: 602 Member
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    one way to solve this, go and purchase yourself a HRM. I have a Polar FT7 I absolutely love it.

    This!

    In the meantime, I would go with MFP. Even if the treadmill has a weight setting you can enter, most won't ask for height and gender, which makes a big difference.
    I think most treadmills use a default weight of 150 lbs. From what I've seen anyways.

    But a HRM is 99.9% accurate and I tried using MFP calories and they seem just a little off.

    Yes, I was agreeing with you about getting the HRM.
    I was suggesting that until then, I would go with the MFP estimate over the machine estimate.
    Sorry for the confusion.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    one way to solve this, go and purchase yourself a HRM. I have a Polar FT7 I absolutely love it.

    This!

    In the meantime, I would go with MFP. Even if the treadmill has a weight setting you can enter, most won't ask for height and gender, which makes a big difference.
    I think most treadmills use a default weight of 150 lbs. From what I've seen anyways.


    But a HRM is 99.9% accurate and I tried using MFP calories and they seem just a little off.

    HRM 99.9% accurate??? In what universe?

    If a treadmill has a weight input, and you do not hold on to the handrails, and you are walking, then the calorie numbers you get will be pretty accurate. The energy prediction equations are simple to program into a machine and they are at least as accurate as any HRM-- in many cases, more accurate. Same goes for MFP numbers--they use the same formulae.

    I can't speak as much for home treadmills, since there is more variation in quality, but for a commercial unit -- if you are seeing a wide disparity between HRM numbers and the treadmill numbers (for walking only, not running), then it is more likely that your HRM is inaccurate--either because it's not set up correctly or because they not are not more than 80% accurate to begin with.
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
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    I used treadmill calories for a while(like 4 months) before getting my HRM, and I lost roughly 15 pounds that way.

    Now that I have my HRM, the calorie difference between it and MFP are very minimal. like 15 calories in either direction. So you can use both... and you'll be ok :)
  • CatchMom11
    CatchMom11 Posts: 462 Member
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    You should be entering your age and weight into the treadmill to gain accurate calculations. If you're not doing so, then I would go by what MFP says. If you are, then go by the treadmill because it's calculations will be based on your actual HR whereas on here, it's an estimate.
  • CatchMom11
    CatchMom11 Posts: 462 Member
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    one way to solve this, go and purchase yourself a HRM. I have a Polar FT7 I absolutely love it.

    This!

    In the meantime, I would go with MFP. Even if the treadmill has a weight setting you can enter, most won't ask for height and gender, which makes a big difference.
    I think most treadmills use a default weight of 150 lbs. From what I've seen anyways.


    But a HRM is 99.9% accurate and I tried using MFP calories and they seem just a little off.

    HRM 99.9% accurate??? In what universe?

    If a treadmill has a weight input, and you do not hold on to the handrails, and you are walking, then the calorie numbers you get will be pretty accurate. The energy prediction equations are simple to program into a machine and they are at least as accurate as any HRM-- in many cases, more accurate. Same goes for MFP numbers--they use the same formulae.

    I can't speak as much for home treadmills, since there is more variation in quality, but for a commercial unit -- if you are seeing a wide disparity between HRM numbers and the treadmill numbers (for walking only, not running), then it is more likely that your HRM is inaccurate--either because it's not set up correctly or because they not are not more than 80% accurate to begin with.

    If you're not holding onto the rails which monitor your HR, then it's not getting an accurate reading. I've wondered that in the past and put it to the test; walked a certain distance and speed holding the rails, recorded the info and then walked the same distance and speed not holding the rails and there was a difference in what it said I burned. I don't know if it has a lower accuracy the faster you walk.... ?
  • Fatchickslim
    Fatchickslim Posts: 396 Member
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    My treadmill doesn't have a weight entry and I get a similar descrepancy, I use an app on my phone and MFP and they both tend to be very similar so I'd go with MFP or find a calc on the net.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    You should be entering your age and weight into the treadmill to gain accurate calculations. If you're not doing so, then I would go by what MFP says. If you are, then go by the treadmill because it's calculations will be based on your actual HR whereas on here, it's an estimate.

    Things like age, height, gender aren't necessary for a treadmill because the treadmill is measuring the actual work you are performing and there is a relatively fixed intensity to all aerobic workloads. HRMs require this data because they use algorithms to guess at calories burned and to try to make the algorithms more accurate requires the input of more data.
  • nolakris
    nolakris Posts: 98 Member
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    I use a HRM and find that the calories burned on it are usually closer to MFP's than the treadmill.
  • Coltsman4ever
    Coltsman4ever Posts: 602 Member
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    You should be entering your age and weight into the treadmill to gain accurate calculations. If you're not doing so, then I would go by what MFP says. If you are, then go by the treadmill because it's calculations will be based on your actual HR whereas on here, it's an estimate.

    Things like age, height, gender aren't necessary for a treadmill because the treadmill is measuring the actual work you are performing and there is a relatively fixed intensity to all aerobic workloads. HRMs require this data because they use algorithms to guess at calories burned and to try to make the algorithms more accurate requires the input of more data.

    So by your reasoning, you're saying a man who is 6'-2" tall and weighs 250 lbs can get on the treadmill and run for 30 minutes at 6 mph and a woman who is 5'-2" tall and weighs 150 lbs and runs on the treadmill for 30 minutes at a 6 mph pace will burn the same calories?
    Give me a BREAK!
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    You should be entering your age and weight into the treadmill to gain accurate calculations. If you're not doing so, then I would go by what MFP says. If you are, then go by the treadmill because it's calculations will be based on your actual HR whereas on here, it's an estimate.

    Things like age, height, gender aren't necessary for a treadmill because the treadmill is measuring the actual work you are performing and there is a relatively fixed intensity to all aerobic workloads. HRMs require this data because they use algorithms to guess at calories burned and to try to make the algorithms more accurate requires the input of more data.

    So by your reasoning, you're saying a man who is 6'-2" tall and weighs 250 lbs can get on the treadmill and run for 30 minutes at 6 mph and a woman who is 5'-2" tall and weighs 150 lbs and runs on the treadmill for 30 minutes at a 6 mph pace will burn the same calories?
    Give me a BREAK!

    No, I am not saying that at all. Reading is a skill. I said, height, age and gender. I did not say "weight".

    As Rick Perry would say:: "Ooops".

    And, it's not "reasoning". It's Exercise Physiology 101.
  • Jess5825
    Jess5825 Posts: 228
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    You should be entering your age and weight into the treadmill to gain accurate calculations. If you're not doing so, then I would go by what MFP says. If you are, then go by the treadmill because it's calculations will be based on your actual HR whereas on here, it's an estimate.

    Things like age, height, gender aren't necessary for a treadmill because the treadmill is measuring the actual work you are performing and there is a relatively fixed intensity to all aerobic workloads. HRMs require this data because they use algorithms to guess at calories burned and to try to make the algorithms more accurate requires the input of more data.

    Gender especially absolutely has everything to do with getting actual calories burned. A male and female both walk on a treadmill at the same speed and the same distance. The male will be burning more calories. Just by the way his body is made, more muscle and stuff.

    As for the HRM debate. I would get one, so you know the right amount of calories. I do the elliptical, MFP is actually pretty close to what my HRM and BMF says I burn. But that is not the case for all exercises. I haven't used a treadmill in a long time so not sure about that.

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