How many calories did I really burn?

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weaverc
weaverc Posts: 158
in Fitness and Exercise
I use my treadmill every morning and I try to get in 2-3 miles before work. I wasn't sure how accurate the calories burned were so I decided to buy a pedometer with a calorie counter (I wanted a HRM, but couldn't afford it right now) so I could see if the treadmill was off. I did 2 miles this morning, which took 32 minutes. My treadmill says I burned 265 calories, but the pedometer said I only burned 120. Which one is more accurate? I was thinking the treadmill is probably a little more accurate, but I just want to make sure I am not overeating on the exercise calories.

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  • mrsgiffin
    mrsgiffin Posts: 122
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    how much was your pedometer?
  • melbhall
    melbhall Posts: 519
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    I wonder the same thing. I have an elliptical that says I always burn less than what the MFP exercise calculator says. I usually go with MFP because it actually takes into account my weight. My elliptical doesn't allow me to input my weight, height, age, etc. When I worked out at Gold's Gym and used their machines where I could input my info the numbers were higher. I'm also going to start using a pedometer soon so I would love to know what others think!
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    Your treadmill might be more accurate if you had to enter age and weight. the lower amount one might be the one you should enter in MFP as most people over estimate the extra calories burned via exercise.

    As an example you burned 265 in 32 minutes, how many of those 265 would you have burned sitting on the couch? probably 50-75 so the calories earned from exercise should be what you HRM or other divice says minus the amount you would have burned anyway as it is part of your BMR calculated on MFP. So either enter the 120 or enter the 200 (265 minus the amount you burn at rest). Hope this helps somewhat.
  • epj78
    epj78 Posts: 643 Member
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    For me, walking at that pace on the treadmill would be about 200 calories. 120 seems really, really low to me at a 4 MPH pace for 30 minutes.
  • BiloxiBelle
    BiloxiBelle Posts: 680 Member
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    Whichever one lets you enter your own personal stats such as height, weight, etc. If the treadmill lets you enter that info, then I say treadmill only because if you walked on an incline, which would burn more calories, the pedometer wouldn't register that (unless it has a HRM). However, I say neither is very accurate w/o a HRM. I think even when you can enter info into a treadmill, it still gives you a # that's not very accurate...i think it always estimates too high.
  • meg0112
    meg0112 Posts: 344
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    like everyone has said, go with the one that takes age and weight into account. To me, 120 sounds closer to the right amount than 265 unless you were on an incline. Running for about 30 minutes for me (159) burns 300 calories, and thats doing 2 miles in 20 minutes. When I walk not on an incline I burn about half what I do when I run. I know age and weight go into, but I am not sure how. What did MFP say you should burn?

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