is my HRM counting my calories correctly?

00Angela00

I just recently bought a heart rate monitor, but I'm not sure it is counting my calories shed very accurately! I have been walking to work which is 2.9 miles with a few big hills. I usually walk between 3.5 and 3.8 speed, when I plug that in to MFP it calculates that I should have burned 297 calories. however on my HRM it says I burned 708 calories!!! That's a HUGE difference! What's going on?

SHBoss1673

Yeah, I tend to doubt you're burning 700 plus calories in the what? 40 minutes it takes you. not walking at least. What's your average heart rate during the walk?

naugustyniak

Does it have a chest strap or is it just a wrist watch?

HealthyIn09

I've had my HRM for about a year now and I have yet to see a website that calculates the calories burned correctly. My HRM always shows much more calories burned than the website. If you are hesitant, I would check to make sure that you have your profile set up correctly. Your Resting Heart Rate; weight; age; etc (depending on the brand of HRM)

Chiny

Does it have a chest strap or is it just a wrist watch?

I was going to ask the same thing.

00Angela00

Yeah, I tend to doubt you're burning 700 plus calories in the what? 40 minutes it takes you. not walking at least. What's your average heart rate during the walk?

the "watch" quates me at around 155-165 on average during the walk. I walk pretty fast, carrying a backpack with lots of hills

00Angela00

Does it have a chest strap or is it just a wrist watch?

just a wrist watch

SHBoss1673

Does it have a chest strap or is it just a wrist watch?

just a wrist watch

ahha! There's you're issue, it's a very rough estimate, without something actually counting your Beats per Minute, you won't have an accurate reading.

Chiny

Does it have a chest strap or is it just a wrist watch?

just a wrist watch

I had the same experience when I bought my first HRM. It had no strap. I returned it and got the Polar F4 that has a strap. It made a world of difference.

Did the HRM you have ask you to enter your weight and height or just gender and age?

fitzfour

I have a HRM without a strap too, but find it is pretty much right on with what MFP says the calories burned should be. On mine I have to push a button and it reads in about 5 seconds. Every once in a while, I'll manually check my heart rate to make sure my HRM is accurate, and so far it's been right on. I find it easier to check manually when I'm on my elliptical machine or if I do a DVD that has a few seconds of rest in-between reps/circuits. I previously had a HRM with a strap and returned it as it was giving me all kinds of weird heart rates...it would bounce from the 80's to the 150's in a matter of seconds, and then back to the 80's again. I had spent a lot of money on it too. I'll stick with my wrist HRM until that one no longer works and maybe try a chest strap one again.

00Angela00

Does it have a chest strap or is it just a wrist watch?

just a wrist watch

I had the same experience when I bought my first HRM. It had no strap. I returned it and got the Polar F4 that has a strap. It made a world of difference.

Did the HRM you have ask you to enter your weight and height or just gender and age?

no i didn't request that. I guess I'll return it and get a different one.

Chiny

Does it have a chest strap or is it just a wrist watch?

just a wrist watch

I had the same experience when I bought my first HRM. It had no strap. I returned it and got the Polar F4 that has a strap. It made a world of difference.

Did the HRM you have ask you to enter your weight and height or just gender and age?

And that was my main issue, how in the world can an HRM monitor calories properly if the device doesn't even know your weight and height? People my age and gender come in all different shapes and sizes, we're not all the same LOL

no i didn't request that. I guess I'll return it and get a different one.