calorie burn question

stevesavage09
stevesavage09 Posts: 19 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
well i love using mfp but when i walk or run i use map my fitness gps to track my speed and distance, but the calories burnd never match what mfp says like today i walked for 60 min at 3.5mph avg , mfp says i burn 460 cal , map my fitness says i burn 750!!! who do i belive?????? i know the real answer is to get a HRM but i dont have the money now to do that so can anyone answer this?

Replies

  • lilgemforgets
    lilgemforgets Posts: 285
    Even getting a HRM wont really give you exact figures, although they will be a little closer to the truth. I have a similar problem, i use Map My Run and they always come up higher than MFP. Maybe somewhere in the middle? The thing about Map My Run that is better than MFP is that it takes gradients into account, bear that in mind if you walk / jog / run a hilly route!
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,422 Member
    Use one or the other and stick to it. Or use an average. Personally, I used MFP's numbers for 4/5 of my weight loss. I only bought a HRM when I was down to the last 10 pounds. Even an HRM is just a guess...albeit a better guess.

    If you use MFP's numbers and you aren't getting results, adjust. Most of this is a big estimating game.
  • Dlhigh
    Dlhigh Posts: 72 Member
    If in doubt, I personally would use the more conservative number.
  • elijhasmomma
    elijhasmomma Posts: 270 Member
    If in doubt, I personally would use the more conservative number.

    ^^^^^^^^^ this!
  • sunnyflower1177
    sunnyflower1177 Posts: 212
    kinda hard to say, I usually just go with the lower one, just in case Im logging to many cals.
  • stevesavage09
    stevesavage09 Posts: 19 Member
    thank you all !!!
  • jennkain97
    jennkain97 Posts: 290 Member
    unless you are extremely obese (as in, you have to use the electric cart at walmart because your legs can't support you) or have some other severe medical condition, walking only burns about 100-125 calories per mile (regardless of speed). so at 3.5mph for an hour, you would burn between 350 and 437 calories. looks like both estimates are high. get an hrm- preferably one with a chest strap. you'll find that the same walk (or any other workout) your burn will vary from one time to the next, and as your fitness increases, calorie burn will steadily decrease.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    I have a HRM and the calorie data from it and MFP are always very close. I have found map my run and endomondo to be crazy high for calories burned. Like double what my HRM gives me. I would ignore them. MFP is probably the closer of those.

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