Calories burnt on MFP....are they accurate?

suz2411
suz2411 Posts: 33
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi
Just wondering if anyone has any idea if the calories burnt when you log your exercise are correct? I started at the Gym for the first time today and did just over an hour.....Treadmill, Rowing Machine and Bike....it said I burnt over 800 cals!!!!! That's a lot....I worked hard but I don't think I did that much.....thats nearly a whole days eating burnt in one go!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!:happy: :happy: :happy:

Replies

  • Lisa_Rhodes
    Lisa_Rhodes Posts: 263 Member
    I have a Heart Rate Monitor that I wear when I exercise and its more accurate than MFP. Sometimes I burn more than what it says I should, most of the time, though, it shows I burn a lot more than I actually do. If you want accuracy, I would invest in a HRM :)
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    They are only a very general estimate. Because after all, how do they know how intense of a workout you put in? For myself they're usually right-on or a little low compared to the readings I get on my heart rate monitor. But I'm sure a million people will chime in and say they are high (or low). A HRM can be a useful tool but it too is an estimate (probably more accurate than MFP though). I would just enter in the calories and use trial-and-error to adjust from there. Not losing the expected amount of weight? Then cut down on the projected MFP calories until you find where you want to be. Simple.
  • ell1087
    ell1087 Posts: 8
    The cals I burn on the exercise equipment is always less than what MFP tells me... But I just go off MFP as it makes me feel better, haha!
  • suz2411
    suz2411 Posts: 33
    Thanks for the advice! I love that it said I burnt 800 cals but think that Im just kidding myself! lol.....Think I will invest in a HRM!
  • jr1985
    jr1985 Posts: 1,033 Member
    Sadly no, at least for me anyways... they way OVERESTIMATE actual calories burned... If you can afford it, I recommend getting a Heart Rate Monitor, best $150 I've ever spent.
  • kinkyslinky16
    kinkyslinky16 Posts: 1,469 Member
    I agree, it WAY overestimates mine. I had the bodybugg a while ago and found that my at-home elliptical machine was very accurate (surprisingly!). My bodybugg would show I burned only 50 calories less on a 45 minute workout than the elliptical machine guesstimated (and this was pretty consistent. it was almost always 40-60 calories different! I was shocked!). I no longer use the bodybugg, so now I just take whatever the elliptical says. My elliptical will report I've burned about 400 calories, and MFP will show I burned 778. That's a pretty big difference!
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    My 30 minute run burns about 300 calories per my Polar FT4 but MFP would give me 528. Huge difference!
  • TAsunder
    TAsunder Posts: 423 Member
    I find them somewhat accurate for some activities but wildly inaccurate for others.

    I generally assume that I am burning about 10 calories per minute for most forms of intense exercise. I find that mFP has some wildly inaccurate numbers if we use that as a baseline. It seems spot-on for jogging and cycling and calisthenics, but I can't understand why it thinks shoveling snow for 45 minutes would have the same caloric expenditure as running for 45 minutes. I keep picturing some sort of snow shoveling superhuman who is a lot faster than I am at 6am when I've just awakened.

    It also does not have enough fine-grained exercise options at times. I take Brazilian Jiujitsu and mfp seems to assume that every minute I take is sparring because there's only one BJJ activity and it is ridiculously high calories per minute. Sparring is certainly extremely intense (likely > 10 cal/min) but that's like 1/3 of the class. There's also technique drills which are barely more exertion than a casual walk.

    I try to fudge the numbers to make up for mfp's inaccuracies as best I can. For a 1.5 hour class of BJJ I record 45 minutes and that seems to have roughly the correct calorie expenditure.
  • ashleighlive
    ashleighlive Posts: 43 Member
    Hi
    Just wondering if anyone has any idea if the calories burnt when you log your exercise are correct? I started at the Gym for the first time today and did just over an hour.....Treadmill, Rowing Machine and Bike....it said I burnt over 800 cals!!!!! That's a lot....I worked hard but I don't think I did that much.....thats nearly a whole days eating burnt in one go!

    Any advice would be greatly appreciated!:happy: :happy: :happy:

    It all depends on your effort as mentioned by other posters.
    I too wear a HRM, anytime I assume I will have an elevated HRM basically :tongue:

    The machines all tell you your cals burnt, but even that is not accurate.
    Though many say HRM is inaccurate, but it's probably the closest thing to accurate given it's working on your personalised settings.

    I use a Polar FT60 which even allows you to set your own base levels using a 'fitness test' which has you lie down for a period of time until it analyses your resting heart rate. This allows the watch to set a VO2 (maximal oxygen uptake) and as such can set your HR zones to ensure you are working to toward whatever you set (in the program) i.e. burning fat, increasing fitness.

    Highly recommend this as a great (just above) entry level HRM!
  • KettleTO
    KettleTO Posts: 144 Member
    MFP tends to overestimate...it assumes you are work at a very high heart rate. they only time it's close to my HRM is for spinning. can't get close on the elliptical trainer.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,237 Member
    I aksed the same question recently, because I can't believe that 80 mins brisk walking could earn me over 500 calories!

    I'll be getting a HRM eventually, but right now take it with a big grain of salt :)
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    I aksed the same question recently, because I can't believe that 80 mins brisk walking could earn me over 500 calories!

    I'll be getting a HRM eventually, but right now take it with a big grain of salt :)

    Depends on the person I guess. I typically burn 300 for a 30 min walk. But I'm big and I walk fast.
  • forgtmenot
    forgtmenot Posts: 860 Member
    Burnt calories do not taste good...
  • CharityGC
    CharityGC Posts: 499 Member
    I've found that walking has been pretty close for me. I checked several sites and they were all within 10 - 20 calories of MFP.
  • robindina
    robindina Posts: 157 Member
    I wear a heart rate monitor, but depending on the exercise MFP is over but when it comes to my cycling way under :happy:
  • AngB83
    AngB83 Posts: 6 Member
    I just started at a gym this week too! :) The trainer I met with said I need to eat more when I exercise, but not as much as MFP says to eat when I add exercise.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,237 Member
    I aksed the same question recently, because I can't believe that 80 mins brisk walking could earn me over 500 calories!

    I'll be getting a HRM eventually, but right now take it with a big grain of salt :)

    Depends on the person I guess. I typically burn 300 for a 30 min walk. But I'm big and I walk fast.

    Don't get me wrong, after asking around and checking on a cuople other sites, it actually appears to be accurate but I just couldn't believe it would burn so much!

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