How inaccurate is the calories burned calculator on here

76nicky
76nicky Posts: 19
in Fitness and Exercise
Im new to mfp and i've noticed alot of people saying out inaccurate the calculator is on here for calories burned how far out have you experienced it to be? I dont have the money at present to purchase a HRM so one of those is out of the question for the time being, any help would be appreciated thanks.
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Replies

  • GoMizzou99
    GoMizzou99 Posts: 512 Member
    Better than nothing...but get a chest strap heart rate monitor (HRM) and it will take the guess-work out.
  • DeMarraDontStop
    DeMarraDontStop Posts: 342 Member
    To be honest the machines showed twice as much burned then my hear rate monitor! And MFP was about the same as the machines!! So I go with the lowest of the three which is my HRM.
  • meeper123
    meeper123 Posts: 3,347 Member
    Im new to mfp and i've noticed alot of people saying out inaccurate the calculator is on here for calories burned how far out have you experienced it to be? I dont have the money at present to purchase a HRM so one of those is out of the question for the time being, any help would be appreciated thanks.

    I love my heart rate monitor and the calorie thing on here is way off. You burn diffrent amounts of calories on diffrent days
  • NuttyCake
    NuttyCake Posts: 34 Member
    Same here. Before getting a HRM everything I entered in was double what I was really burning. It was a wake up call when I finally did get the HRM and saw that I wasn't burning as much as I thought I was. But now it just makes me work even harder.
  • ObtainingBalance
    ObtainingBalance Posts: 1,446 Member
    D= MFP over calculates?? great... just great =P Its all I have..I don't use a HRM.

    Darnn
  • 970Mikaela1
    970Mikaela1 Posts: 2,013 Member
    Its been spot on for me,,, verified with my hrm.. from starting at 200 lbs all the way down to 160 lbs mfp has been accurate for me
  • PhoenixRising7
    PhoenixRising7 Posts: 194 Member
    I honestly think it depends on the individual. Thus far (when compared to my HRM), MFP has underestimated my calories burned. My recumbent bike is also low when compared with my HRM. However, others say that MFP grossly overestimates the number of calories burned.

    Before I got my HRM, I used the MFP estimates, and I lost weight. I will say that I didn't always eat back all of my exercise calories though.
  • fitQueenbeast
    fitQueenbeast Posts: 298
    It's been both ways for me, but MFP mostly would under-calculate my calories burned. There's no way their calculations could be dead on for thousands and thousands of people on here who eat differently, work out differently, and burn differently. I would strongly advise you to hit up Amazon to find a really inexpensive HRM that tracks calories burned. :-)

    Erica
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    Better than nothing...but get a chest strap heart rate monitor (HRM) and it will take the guess-work out.

    MFP estimates your calorie burn based on your age and current weight.
    An HRM estimates your calorie burn based on your age, current weight and heart rate (usually, though they don't all do this, my Garmin doesn't). This means it should be a bit closer than MFP, but it's still an estimate.

    Everything we work with is an estimate - as you don't currently have an HRM, then run with the MFP numbers. I used these for year and lost weight very steadily and relatively easily. An HRM is certainly nice to have as a training tool, but it doesn't give an absolutely accurate calorie burn, so it's nice to have but not essential.
  • almostfortysix
    almostfortysix Posts: 69
    I think if you are sweating like a pig and MFP has you burned 300 calories walking for 50 minutes at 3.5mph weighing 200lbs...(It's different with every weight) That it's likely to be close but you know yourself that you didn't burn 600 hundred calories say sitting on a riding lawn mower for an hour.
  • ealmy
    ealmy Posts: 17
    New to the boards, and I was just getting the family set up tonight and wondered the same thing. The calories burned seems way high, but when my wife looked at the same exercise it was less for her. I guess being 75 lbs lighter than me that makes sense.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    I've never used a HRM to calculate calories, and MFP estimates worked just fine for me. Granted, some are going to be more accurate than others. Running a 10 minute mile is probably pretty close to accurate. Elliptical stands as much chance of being accurate as a broken clock, since it has no variables for pace or resistance. For the super vague entries like "cleaning," I only log half my time, and only use it if it's a MAJOR cleaning where I have to move furniture and climb ladders to clean the ceiling fan blades and stuff like that, not normal mopping and sweeping.

    Easiest way to tell if the calories are accurate? Trial and error. If you're eating your exercise calories and losing close to the predicted amount, it's close enough. If your losing faster, slower, maintaining or gaining, you'll want to tweak some things.
  • ObtainingBalance
    ObtainingBalance Posts: 1,446 Member
    I've never used a HRM to calculate calories, and MFP estimates worked just fine for me. Granted, some are going to be more accurate than others. Running a 10 minute mile is probably pretty close to accurate. Elliptical stands as much chance of being accurate as a broken clock, since it has no variables for pace or resistance. For the super vague entries like "cleaning," I only log half my time, and only use it if it's a MAJOR cleaning where I have to move furniture and climb ladders to clean the ceiling fan blades and stuff like that, not normal mopping and sweeping.

    Easiest way to tell if the calories are accurate? Trial and error. If you're eating your exercise calories and losing close to the predicted amount, it's close enough. If your losing faster, slower, maintaining or gaining, you'll want to tweak some things.

    Well said!
  • RunFarLiveHappy
    RunFarLiveHappy Posts: 805 Member
    Since every day and every workout are different I can't really say I've "compared" many different workouts in regards to calories burned, but I do have one example. My running/walking app calculates an estimate of calories burned and I have used that to track distance along with my HRM to track calories burned. The app consistently shows maybe 20-30% more calories burned than my heart rate monitor, and when I've gotten home to look at MFP, it's usually even a bit higher. I will also say that I lost 45 pounds counting calories TRACKING EVERY SINGLE THING and exercising basing calories burned on an app prior to getting my HRM. Biggest recommendation I would give is listen to your body and take accurate measurements of time, veracity, etc during your workouts--after time you should be able to judge whether you think you burned as much, more, or less. You can adjust the default amount also.

    P.S. I don't track anything that isn't intentional exercise! Cleaning to me isn't intentional exercise. I do track yardwork though, because I do it specifically to burn calories, otherwise hubs would do it. Good luck!!
  • leojsivad
    leojsivad Posts: 124 Member
    Use it a very general guide.

    If you notice you're not losing weight eating back all the calories MFP "tells" you you burned, it's probably overestimating.
  • simplydelish2
    simplydelish2 Posts: 726 Member
    You have 100 lbs to lose. My advice (and it's controversial) is to NOT eat back your exercise calories at first. You need to get the weight off. If you want to eat back your cals - I'd recommend not more than 1/2 if you use MFP's numbers. Even then you may be eating far more than you should and not losing what you could.

    Good luck!
  • butterball43
    butterball43 Posts: 4
    what is a hrm? or p
  • Dandawa
    Dandawa Posts: 97
    I ve noticed on some acyivites extra caution is needed since depends a lot om how hard u wrre pushing urself. My goal drip sweat n not eat them back.
  • NeuroticVirgo
    NeuroticVirgo Posts: 3,671 Member
    MFP has been pretty close to my HRM for most exercise (walking, jogging, hiking etc). The only time I noticed it was really off was for swimming, or if the exercise wasn't exactly right. (Like JM videos and circuit training etc)
  • LaurenAOK
    LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
    Here's what I did before I got my HRM. I noticed almost everyone said it overestimates, so I would just log a little less time than I actually worked out. (So if I ran for 30 minutes I would log like 25 minutes). I ate back all my exercise calories and lost weight!

    Then I got a HRM and found that for me, MFP is actually completely spot on with what my HRM says. Like, within 3 to 4 calories every time. So it isn't wrong for everyone! Still, to be on the safe side I'd just log a little less time if I was you.
  • cmcorn26
    cmcorn26 Posts: 253 Member
    what is a hrm? or p

    Hrm = heart rate monitor
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    D= MFP over calculates?? great... just great =P Its all I have..I don't use a HRM.

    Darnn

    Don't worry about it. You'll be just fine. No one needs a super accurate calorie count to lose weight, and no one needs to spend $100 to get a calorie burn count that's off by 20%. Watch your diet to lose weight, work out to improve your physique and you're going to do well.
  • OnionMomma
    OnionMomma Posts: 938 Member
    I've never used a HRM to calculate calories, and MFP estimates worked just fine for me. Granted, some are going to be more accurate than others. Running a 10 minute mile is probably pretty close to accurate. Elliptical stands as much chance of being accurate as a broken clock, since it has no variables for pace or resistance. For the super vague entries like "cleaning," I only log half my time, and only use it if it's a MAJOR cleaning where I have to move furniture and climb ladders to clean the ceiling fan blades and stuff like that, not normal mopping and sweeping.

    Easiest way to tell if the calories are accurate? Trial and error. If you're eating your exercise calories and losing close to the predicted amount, it's close enough. If your losing faster, slower, maintaining or gaining, you'll want to tweak some things.

    Well said!

    ^^ Yes this!!!

    I don't have a HRM but, I just log my food and exercise and go by that. I adjust when I see that I am not losing as fast as I was which means I need to taper down on my eating or up my exercise.
  • Going4Lean
    Going4Lean Posts: 1,078 Member
    I use the calories the machines give me, but i eat about half of the calories or less. When i log it anyways.
  • Brendajo510
    Brendajo510 Posts: 153
    I would agree that it changes daily and MFP has never been close. For me, it usually underestimates. I'm just curious but have you checked on Amazon? There are some on there for around $20. They may not be as good as a more expensive one, but they are a helpful tool. I wore mine while mowing the lawn in the heat (bad idea), I saw my heart rate was too high and went to lay down before finishing. I'm pretty sure I was about to reach heat exhaustion and I'm glad I wore it.
  • 76nicky
    76nicky Posts: 19
    Thanks for the replies everyone i will just go with what it says for now as i never eat back my exercise calories, so with watching what i eat and exercising for atleast 30minutes daily i should see some results
  • alpine1994
    alpine1994 Posts: 1,915 Member
    Really depends on the person and how hard you work.

    For example, when I do Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred or Ripped in 30 DVD, I put it in MFP as 20 min of circuit training for a burn of 202 calories. The other day I wore my HRM and REALLY put my all into it, and burned 350 cals. I did it again yesterday but I wasn't feeling well so I tried but really couldn't give it my all, and burned 270 cals.

    Haven't tried running with the HRM yet but that's next.
  • Terree83
    Terree83 Posts: 93
    I thought the exact same thing. I play tons of tennis, and it was telling me that I was burning over 600 cals/hour I was playing. Well, I thought it was too high, so I bought a HRM and starting wearing it while playing. Turns out, it was underestimating everything! I was actually burning 800 cals/hour.

    I guess my point is that it totally depends on how hard you're working. If you get on the elliptical for 30 min and go at the pace of a snail, you're probably not burning the same amount as if you're hauling *kitten* the entire time, or have the intensity way up. It's definitely worth the $60-$80 bucks to invest in a HRM so you get an accurate reading.
  • roachhaley
    roachhaley Posts: 978 Member
    I only log half of the actual time I did and even then I don't trust it. I just ignore "extra" calories I get and treat them as a bonus if they cause me extra weight loss.
  • eatrainsmile
    eatrainsmile Posts: 220 Member
    It's mostly accurate. I have an HRM and I get almost the same numbers on MFP.

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