figuring out exercise calories burned

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paulaswrld
paulaswrld Posts: 49
in Fitness and Exercise
Should I go with what the machine says or what MFP calculates for me? MFP doesn't factor in my resistance or speed for the eliptical. When I get on the machine, I enter my weight and age, so I feel like what the machine says is pretty accurate. When I enter exercise on MFP for 30 minutes on the eliptical, I get 317 calories. The machine only said 265. Naturally, I want to believe that I burned over 300 calories. But, I don't want to cheat myself either.
How do you all figure this?

Replies

  • mictur
    mictur Posts: 175 Member
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    healthstatus.com has calcultors for everything including exercises.
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
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    I do what the machine says because like you said, it factors in resistance and speed. When you put in your minutes on MFP and it's wrong, just adjust the minute to the closest calorie burn. That's what I do. I'd rather be under and end up losing weight than go over, eat more from my exercise calories than I should have and not losing.
  • jillybeanruns
    jillybeanruns Posts: 1,420 Member
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    Before I bought my heart-rate monitor, I always took the lower of the two numbers. Both the MFP and machine numbers are incorrect, but I always erred on the side of caution.
  • mrsbeck
    mrsbeck Posts: 234 Member
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    You really should get a heart rate monitor...it's the most accurate way (short of exercising at a lab!) to calculate calories burned. But, if that's not in the budget, here's what I did before I had my HRM:

    Go to two or three exercise calculater sites and take the lowest number. Then take off ten percent. After I got my HRM, I checked it against those numbers and found that I was usually within 40-50 calories of being correct...sometimes 40 below, sometimes 50 over. Close enough that it evens out over time...but I feel a lot more confident eating my exercise calories now that I have an HRM!:smile:

    Keep in mind, most gym machines are calibrated for a person weighing about 180 pounds...if you're above or below that, the reading is going to be really inaccurate.
  • MercuryBlue
    MercuryBlue Posts: 886 Member
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    I agree, get an HRM!

    But if you MUST choose between machine and MFP, go with machine.
  • paulaswrld
    paulaswrld Posts: 49
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    Tell me more about the heat rate monitor. Does it only monitor your heart rate? Will it tell me how many calories I burned?
  • MercuryBlue
    MercuryBlue Posts: 886 Member
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    Tell me more about the heat rate monitor. Does it only monitor your heart rate? Will it tell me how many calories I burned?

    I have a Polar f6 HRM. It comes with a chest strap (which I wear around my chest, just under my breasts, under my clothing). The chest strap has a transmitter that is wetted first, then placed next to the skin. The transmitter picks up the electric signal from the heart, then sends it to the watch. The watch then can tell you what your heart rate is and how many calories you're burning. It's able to calculate the calories burned based on your own personal information (which is entered into the watch). For example, I'm 5'7" and weigh 148 pounds. My birthday is Jan 1/83. Knowing my age, height and weight combined with my heart rate, the HRM can calculate calories burned. It's the easiest, most accurate way to track calories burned while working out at home.
  • robyn81475
    robyn81475 Posts: 2
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    Interesting, I have never heard of the HRM that also counts calories before. Where can you buy and how much is it?
  • MercuryBlue
    MercuryBlue Posts: 886 Member
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    Interesting, I have never heard of the HRM that also counts calories before. Where can you buy and how much is it?

    I ordered mine online, but you can by them at sporting goods stores. If you run a search for "HRM' or "Heart Rate Monitors" on MFP, you'll find lots of discussions about them. Most people on MFP seem to really like the Polar models.
  • robyn81475
    robyn81475 Posts: 2
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    Okay, thanks! :)
  • hawkeye01
    hawkeye01 Posts: 162
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    I was in the same boat as you two weeks ago. I use the elliptical trainer 5 nights a week for 33 mins. The machine was indicating I burned about 380-400 calories per session. I used my heart rate monitor watch which also calculates calories burned and the amounts were almost double. The thing for me was that the machine does not know your resting heart rate which is very important. It uses an average based on age & weight. The HRM uses all the data provided to give you a more accurate calories burned. The watch was the best $100 I have spent in a while I strongly advise getting one. Good luck..
  • rgordon60
    rgordon60 Posts: 9 Member
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    Hi Paula,
    I would go with what the machine says. Although, it might behoove you to look on line as to what the standard amount of calories burned are for this machine and length of time on the machine. You should be able to "google" something. Good luck!
  • paulaswrld
    paulaswrld Posts: 49
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    WOW. LOTS of great information. Thank you everyone for such great information and seriously QUICK replies. - Just another reason I love this site. :-)

    Planning a trip to Sears this weekend and I think I'll add a heart rate monitor to my list.

    Thanks again!
  • jillybeanruns
    jillybeanruns Posts: 1,420 Member
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    I would highly recommend thinking about your long-term needs in terms of the HRM. Cheaper isn't necessarily better. Some are made for running, some are made for cycling and others are made for overall fitness.

    For example, if you decide in a year that you want to start training for a half-marathon, but your HRM isn't compatible with a foot pod or GPS to help you track your mileage and speed. I got a Polar FT60 and I love it...down the road I'm going to start logging more miles and I want to attach a foot pod to help with my training. If I had gotten the Polar F6, I would have to buy another HRM in order to get my speed and distance calculated.

    Just something to think about...there have been lots said and asked about HRMs on the boards, so if you search for a particular model I'm sure you'll find people analyzing the pros and cons of them.

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