true Calories burned

danbradley1970

Good Morning,

When i go to the gym and use the elliptical for 45 min, the machine indicates like this morning 582 calories burned. Although the calculator here on MFP and others online indicate a significant amount more: 1075. How do i know which is right? I have been logging the lesser of the two, although I would like to accurate.

Thanks in advance to those who know.

mcrowe1016

Do you put your weight into the machine?

leslisa

Do you put your weight into the machine?

Mine asks for weight and age, counts average steps, knows my resistance and incline, etc. If yours does as well, then you should use the "smart" elliptical.

danbradley1970

yes,, and the online version too, the machine takes my weight and age

torygirl79

Buy a heart rate monitor.

Seriously I can go on the rowing machine and it, give a huger figure than my HRM and MFP a lower figure. Then I can go on an excercise bike and my HRM figure be higher than both.... There is no easy rule which is right without a HRM

beckylawrence70

582 sounds right to me, that's what I burn for that amt of time, over 1000? No way.........I used my HRM on all my cardio machines I have at home and the machines I have are almost to the calorie of what the HRM says, I was happy bout that......

JBott84

Buying a HRM was the best decision I have made during my weight loss journey. It is worth it, you should definitely buy one.
Edit: Get one with a chest strap

builtforlife

I workout with a good heart rate monitor strapped to my chest and the treadmill number is a lot more realistic than the MFP number. 600 in 45 minutes, yes. Although, get a good HRM like a Polar FT7, if u want to know for sure.

MoreBean13

1075 sounds *really* high for 45 mins of any activity- but I don't know your weight and stats so I don't really know.

redcat17

I love my HRM! Funny thing though, I've noticed that the Lifetime cardio equipment syncs with my Polar HRM. Which is kind of weird, but also useful.

leslisa

Here's some interesting info for you about net cals versus cals burned:
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-304-311-8402-0,00.html

That being said, according to Duke University (suma dem smartie pants ) the ellipticals are pretty accurate if you enter your weight.

oldultrarunner

I have found that the calculations on MFP are significantly off for all cardio exercises primarily because it's calculating on age, weight, and activity level without taking into account heart rate. For example I typically ride my road bike 300+ miles a week. If I ride 14-16 mph average, for say 4 hrs, it will say I've burned something like 3000+ calories whereas my Garmin Edge GPS with integrated heart rate monitor will show I've only burned around 1400. This is because the algorithm used in the Garmin heartrate monitor is taking into account my heartrate, age, activity level, speed, etc. The only way you're going to get a true indication of how many calories you're burning is by using a heartrate monitor in your cardio activity. Using the MFP exercise table will give you a false indication and you could end up eating more than what you've burned.

dvisser1

I have always logged the lowest of MFP, the gym machine (elliptical, treadmill, bike, stairs), and my HRM. MFP was always the highest on the elliptical. For the first several months the machine was the lowest, but now my HRM is a good bit below the machine. Fitness has definitely improved.

SirBeechBum

This is a no brainer…
Get a Heart Rate Monitor (HRM)! This is an absolute must and a real game changer when it comes to accurately measuring the calories you burn during ANY workout. I use the Polar FT7. The Polar FT4 (which is really all you need) is on Amazon now for less than 60 bucks...