Cals burned acording to MFP vs. the elliptical

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NikkiSchlitz
NikkiSchlitz Posts: 7
in Fitness and Exercise
When I do 30 min on the elliptical at my gym it usually tells me I burned 330 cals but when I enter 30 min on an elliptical on MFP it comes up w/ a much lower number. Which one is more accurate?

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  • MercuryBlue
    MercuryBlue Posts: 886 Member
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    When I do 30 min on the elliptical at my gym it usually tells me I burned 330 cals but when I enter 30 min on an elliptical on MFP it comes up w/ a much lower number. Which one is more accurate?

    The machine you're using is generally more accurate from what I understand. MFP is more of an average, I think. The MOST accurate way would be to measure your heart-rate.

    Whenever I work on my stair-machine, I just edit the calories burned to match up with what my machine tells me I burned.
  • NikkiSchlitz
    NikkiSchlitz Posts: 7
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    Ok. That's what I thought. Thanks!
  • ambercole
    ambercole Posts: 426
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    The only way to really know is to wear a good heart rate monitor. The polar F6 is a good one and I believe they are one sale right now. I find that I actually burn far fewer calories than the machines at the gym and mfp says,:noway: which sucks but atleast I can calculate my calories correctly now.
  • lessertess
    lessertess Posts: 855 Member
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    My rule is thumb is to use the machine number minus 20%. Most machines can be off anywhere from 10% to 30%, especially if it does not require you to enter age and weight.

    But the online calculators can be off because they don't allow for intensity of effort.

    There's a big difference of working out on an elliptical for 30 minutes and doing 3 miles or working out on the elliptical and doing 2 miles. The online calculators don't ask for that information.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    The MOST accurate way is to do a metabolic test at a lab, next would be heart rate monitor, then comes the machine, then MFP. Why? Because the more numbers taken into account, the more accurate. MFP doesn't actually monitor any of your numbers, it just gives you what other people have burned while doing the same activity. The machine at the gym measures your heart rate indirectly (unless you are on one using your own heart rate monitor), and sometimes your weight, your heart rate monitor does heart rate, age, sex, weight, and sometimes other numbers like VO2 max and max heart rate, and of course the metabolic test at the lab directly measures oxygen depletion, which is a direct correlation to energy consumed since for every calorie burned a specific amount of oxygen is needed to burn it.

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