exercise machine saying less calories burned than MFP?

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ashleymichelle06
ashleymichelle06 Posts: 47 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I was just wondering which source I should rely on?

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  • corrieville
    corrieville Posts: 113 Member
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    Invest in a HRM in-order to get an accurate calorie burn.
  • RobynMWilson
    RobynMWilson Posts: 1,540 Member
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    I did notice MFP has a lot of overestimations on here...esp when members can add exercises to the database. I would go by the machine to be safe and ultimately get an HRM so you really get an accurate count. That's what I plan to do...
  • mlscott96
    mlscott96 Posts: 9 Member
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    my fitness pal is based on your weight, are u entering your weight into your excercise machine?
  • chicadejmu
    chicadejmu Posts: 171 Member
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    MFP might be more accurate unless you can actually program your weight into the machine before you start. I got a fitbit - loving it so far (day 2). But others swear by a heart rate monitor.
  • rhonniema
    rhonniema Posts: 522
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    Invest in a HRM in-order to get an accurate calorie burn.

    But for now, I would go with the machine. MFP doesn't know how hard you worked.
  • sweetiebelle
    sweetiebelle Posts: 332 Member
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    Go by your machine. Mfp is alway too high, wish they would fix that!
  • ashleymichelle06
    ashleymichelle06 Posts: 47 Member
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    It only asks for age on the machine, so MFP may be accurate if it's also accounting for my weight.

    I have heard a lot of people talk about getting an HRM, but what are the benefits?
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
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    It only asks for age on the machine, so MFP may be accurate if it's also accounting for my weight.

    I have heard a lot of people talk about getting an HRM, but what are the benefits?

    The benefit is knowing exactly how many calories you are burning. MFP actually was underestimating my circuit training workouts. It always overestimated when I used a machine.
  • gomisskellygo
    gomisskellygo Posts: 635 Member
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    Invest in a HRM in-order to get an accurate calorie burn.

    But for now, I would go with the machine. MFP doesn't know how hard you worked.

    I agree with this. If you add your info in to the machine, it knows you weight, age, and heart rate. It does not know whether you are male or female and how tall you are. With a HRM monitor all of this data is programmed. It's a more accurate burn. I noticed when I was first starting out, MFP burns were pretty accurate. The fitter I have gotten, the more inaccurate the burns are on MFP.
  • Kenzieb07
    Kenzieb07 Posts: 207 Member
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    The benefit is that you know exactly how much you are burning during every workout. It actually detects what your heart rate is throughout the workout and can use that, your weight and age to calculate the # of calories you're burning. I no longer have to wonder if I'm underestimating or overestimating my calories burned because my HRM tells me! Takes all of the guess work out of it and ensures you know how many calories you can eat during the day.

    I can't imagine working out without one anymore!! It really helps motivate me too :)

    It only asks for age on the machine, so MFP may be accurate if it's also accounting for my weight.

    I have heard a lot of people talk about getting an HRM, but what are the benefits?
  • Momjogger
    Momjogger Posts: 750 Member
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    Research has just come out that the machines overestimate AND often MFP is higher than what my machines say.
  • jmdax
    jmdax Posts: 119 Member
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    Heart Rate Monitors are great for cardio exercises, but not so much for weight training exercises. For the latter they could be off by as much as 35%. I always multiply my HRM burn by 0.65 when doing weight training workouts.
  • zozzabubba
    zozzabubba Posts: 137 Member
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    I actually have the opposite problem, I'll get on a stationary bicycle and put in a calorie goal of 600, and it asks for my weight and age, and i'll work really hard and get it done in 45ish mins, but when I put 45 mins of vigorous cycling into MFP it says something like 500. But I always feel like I'm cheating if I change the number MFP gives me for burn to make it higher, in case I'm wrong and I'm eating back calories I didn't burn (I always eat back 90% of exercise cals because I don't want to net under BMR, done that before and gained)

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