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is this site realistic

2

Replies

  • tabulator32
    tabulator32 Posts: 701 Member
    Its an estimate based on averages for people in the same weight, age, height range as you. It is fairly accurate but not completely precise, however, for me and many others, it has proven to be very effective in helping us lose weight.
  • ZyheeMoongazer
    ZyheeMoongazer Posts: 343 Member
    As others have said, for best estimate of calories burned get a HRM. I have a Polar RS100 it was under $100 at Best Buy. The calories burned on this site and MANY other online calculators are very rough estimates. A HRM will provide a much better estimate since it knows your HR during the entire workout, but even then its an estimate. It is all scientific formulas, nothing will ever be exact as no ones bodies are the same.

    For food facts, it is only as accurate as the person who entered it into the database. Anything with a * is entered by a member. I always check the facts when adding to my log. If its not right, I fix it. Also be aware that this site is used by members in many countries. The same food by the same manufacturer can have different facts in different countries.
  • foraubs
    foraubs Posts: 263 Member
    Thanks for posting .. Im going to try that app!
  • Deltafliers
    Deltafliers Posts: 201 Member
    An HRM will give you a more accurate picture of calorie burn; they're under $100 on Amazon.

    Let's see, my weight loss/"slimming down" is very important to me while my husband is deployed. As a result, I have a food scale to weigh what I eat, and I have a fitbit (which uses MET's for caloric burn). I do go by my fitbit calorie burn, and when I do want to calculate how fast I have walked i use this formula: #miles/(min walked/60 min)= #mi/hour
  • bigpenguin570
    bigpenguin570 Posts: 52 Member
    :)
  • 388gigi
    388gigi Posts: 485 Member
    I need to use a heart rate monitor, because I just don't think MFP takes into consideration what kind of shape you're in. If a sedentary person gets out and walks a mile in 20 minutes, he's going to burn a lot more calories than someone who's in great shape doing the same 20 min. mile.

    I agree, however "sedentary" doesn't mean you aren't in great shape. I am sedentary as I am sitting at a desk all day at work. Although I work out 7 times a week on average.
  • Deltafliers
    Deltafliers Posts: 201 Member
    No kidding, YOU SHOULD ASK FOR YOUR MONEY BACK. Ohh thats right its free and has helped thousands of people.

    lol
  • AuddAlise
    AuddAlise Posts: 723 Member
    I have an app that tells me how fast, and how long I walked/ran. Also how far I walked. I go off of that.
    I also time how long I swim.
  • prairiedawg2014
    prairiedawg2014 Posts: 367
    i really don't think it matters how accurate it is.....its more like an estimation i guess.....but regardless.....it has worked for hundreds of us so far. i don't use a monitor, just go by what MFP says....i have had success so far.
    good luck with your weightloss! : )
  • bigpenguin570
    bigpenguin570 Posts: 52 Member
    I don't know about most people, but I don't have time to double check my calorie intake or exercise output on another website. Really? I think this site is great in the fact that is gets you to realize what you are putting into your mouth, and lets you take credit for "moving". Just the fact that a person is committed to being accountable everyday to intake & output is a start.
  • Theresafinallygetsitright
    Theresafinallygetsitright Posts: 157
    I had my VO2max analyzed recently and am using those results along with a HRM to get my calorie burn now (finding a happy medium between the two which are both lower than MFP). MFP seems to be about 20-30% higher than those numbers. Now, if I were eating all of my calories back and using MFP numbers, I would be increasing muscle mass and cardiovascular endurance but would likely not be losing any weight.
  • kstep88
    kstep88 Posts: 403 Member
    I do think the site is reliable to an extent. It can only do so much.

    I use a HRM and a food scale to keep track of my food more accurately.
  • enyo123
    enyo123 Posts: 172 Member
    It's an estimate. If you want to be truly accurate, then get a heart rate monitor.

    I used the site for the first couple of weeks. Just this weekend, I dug out my HRM and started using it. For Turbo Jam, it was over by about 60 calories. For the taking the dogs/kids out for walks through the woods, it was under by about 60 calories.

    The food, though, is accurate, which is awesome.
  • korinastern
    korinastern Posts: 55
    I use this site to keep myself accountable for my food intake but I rely on my pedometer for my calories burned from walking. Be careful of pedometers though make sure they filter out steps that arent real. I need a place to keep my food diary so I know what I am really eating. If i am in doubt about the calories I just cross check.
  • SabrinaG1986
    SabrinaG1986 Posts: 135 Member
    My experience is that the food calorie counts are pretty good. For instance, at the beginning, I always checked the count in MFP with the counts on the side of the package. The majority are spot on. The beauty of MFP is the huge database of foods so that there's no excuse not to know what is going in one's mouth. While I've had less experience on the varied exercise, I would imagine that if the counts were off, the Community would certainly say so.
    Best of luck with your journey

    this! I use a HRM to track my calories burned when I'm working out, sometimes if I forget it I use the numbers on my treadmill because they are usually pretty in-line with what my hrm says. Also as for speed, I track my walks and runs on walkrunjog.net and time myself and it gives me my average pace usually. Hope that helps!
  • sweet110
    sweet110 Posts: 332 Member
    There are two ways to approach the site and its calorie counting method:

    1. As a meticulous, rigorous accounting for calories in/calories out calculations. Folks with this mindset get HRM's and food scales. WHich helps them get closer to *knowing for sure* that everything is accurate. (It can also be a wonderful disciplining tool.)

    2. As a way of developing an eye towards appropriate portion sizes of various foods and to make better decisions. Deciding to have more vegetables and less rice in that stir fry once they realize what a reasonable caloric serving of rice actually is. Realizing that that "healthy" bran muffin has a zillion calories and having an omelette instead. Getting a general sense of what it takes to "burn off" that 1/2 a pizza, and deciding to have something different. 100% accuracy is less important than getting enough of the right feedback to change habits and make better decisions.

    Many of us are a mixture of the first and second perspectives, and it changes as we go. But I think the important thing to underscore is that both ways of looking at it seem to work, for most people, most of the time. Just look at all of the MFP success stories.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    All the numbers we are dealing with are estimates - and I've found that MFP numbers are a pretty good estimates.

    The food numbers do vary - but that's the flip side of the fact that it is a user-edited database and there are people all over the world adding new foods every day, so you need to pay a bit of attention to getting the right entry for your location and if it seems like the numbers are off, then you'll need to double check.

    The exercise cals are an estimate too - they are going to be as close as any generic database you'll find online. They take your weight and age into account, so are going to be better than a database that just gives a general number, but probably not as accurate as if you use a heart rate monitor that is using your heart rate as well as your age and weight to make an estimate (yes, HRM numbers are an estimate too!)

    Don't stress too much about it - if you like the idea of tracking your food and exercise then MFP is a great tool. If you don't want to track those things, then this proabaly isn't the right approach for you.
  • pkfrankel
    pkfrankel Posts: 171 Member
    Every food item gives members a chance to confirm or deny the nutritional values stated so you can check the accuracy. The calories reported for running 8 minute - 9 minute miles and for cycling 14-16 mph and 18-20 mph are within 10% of the calories reported on my Garmin HRM.

    100% accuracy is not necessary for me since I use this site as a way to track the quality of food I eat rather than the actual calories. But I feel confident the numbers are accurate as can be expected.
  • Bagman12002
    Bagman12002 Posts: 216 Member
    For me it has opened my eye to what I eat, at times I do ck what the calories are if they appear to hi or lo, but it's a tool I never had before.
  • dakitten2
    dakitten2 Posts: 888 Member
    I've been more successful in changing my lifestyle thru mfp than any other "diet" I've ever tried. I always do check the nutrition info and submit changes when I find one incorrect. As far as non-packaged foods, I usually check a couple of sites to see if the info is pretty close.

    Also, I recheck restaurant info as these too can change time to time and I update those in the database with the date the info was updated.

    I do think that mfp over estimate calorie burns, so I bought a HRM and plainly in my case mfp was over estimating. Also, I use my Wii calorie burns rather than the mfp numbers.

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