How inaccurate is the calories burned calculator on here

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2

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  • cmcorn26
    cmcorn26 Posts: 253 Member
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    what is a hrm? or p

    Hrm = heart rate monitor
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    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
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    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: 1,077 Member
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    It's mostly accurate. I have an HRM and I get almost the same numbers on MFP.
  • brunette_gurl_66
    brunette_gurl_66 Posts: 48 Member
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    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.

    agree!
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    I would say depending on the person between 50% to 99%.
  • tadpole242
    tadpole242 Posts: 507 Member
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    I have a cheap Aldi heart rate monitor, and wear it for all my exercise, with running on a treadmill it is spot one with the treadmill software, and within 10 to 20 calories of MFP, walking out doors I’ve nothing to judge it by so I go with the HRM and MFP. When I cycle I’ve an online calculator, plus wind resistance calculator and of course and Strava, and Myfitnesspal .

    The online calculator seems to be giving me the same numbers as MFP, what throws it all out of whack is the affect of wind. Taking into account wind using the wind resistance calculator and the reading from my heart rate monitor and MFP is 50% out.

    So I’d say until you know better, rely on the numbers MFP gives you, but if you are not losing weight, first I’d say buy a set of food scales, and weigh your food, if that doesn’t work, then adjust your exercise calories down by 10% for a month. Still not losing weight, buy a Heart rate monitor.

    If after all that you’re still not losing weight, well then you are a special snowflake and normal rules do not apply.
  • trouble_72
    trouble_72 Posts: 29 Member
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    It's my impression that mfp includes basal metabolism in it's calories burned figure, reporting total calories burned instead of net. I divide the burned figure by two so I'm only eating back part of the net burn. For me mfp gives a large overestimate, so it's interesting to see all the people who say they see an underestimate.
  • Angie_1991
    Angie_1991 Posts: 447 Member
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    It is working for me...I try not to question those things that help and work......
  • kluvit
    kluvit Posts: 435 Member
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    Using MFP worked pretty well for me with a few caveats. If I had a reading from a machine, I used it instead as most of my treadmill workouts are interval training with lots of incline, so there's no way MFP can calculate. Also, I tried to be conservative on the intensity using what I knew about my treadmill burns. For example, if I did a 20 minute DVD and was not as "out of breath" or sweaty as my treadmill workout, I made sure to choose something that showed a lower calorie burn.

    For things such as "shopping," I cut the time in half as I know I was pausing to look at items and not walking/carrying items for the whole time. Hint: I use "Circuit Training" for Jillian Michaels Interval training, "Low Impact Aerobics" for most aerobic type DVDs, and "Calesthenics" for most strength training DVD's, and it seems pretty reasonable.

    Also, while in weight loss mode, I only ate back about 1/2 to 3/4 of my exercise calories just to make up for potentially over-logging exercise and under-logging on food.
  • sgv0918
    sgv0918 Posts: 851 Member
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    I used it in the beginning always. Now I use it for outside activities etc and use the machines reading at the gym for that. It worked for me. Might be off but I'm down pounds :)
  • bowseramanda
    bowseramanda Posts: 58 Member
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    Thank you for this! I got my JM videos in the mail yesterday and did day 1 of the 30d shred. I logged as 24 min circuit training (262) but because it was day 1, I was just getting used to what they were doing and I didn't have any hand weights so I just did the motions I actually cut it in half just to be safe. Once I get weights I think I will log 200. and I will consider getting a HRM. I also do not eat back my exercise calories unless it is for a little something to get me through.... a small handful of grapes is way better than potato chips, right :-)
  • 76nicky
    76nicky Posts: 19
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    i just tried out map my ride as i do my exercise on a stationary bike and it says way more calories burned than on here lol i think i will eventually invest in a hrm but only been eating healthy and exercising for just over 2 weeks now and i have lost 4.7 ( i have a lot of weight to shift and only joined mfp friday just gone so this weight loss doesn't reflect on here) so what im doing for now is working so i will stick with it
  • BeeElMarvin
    BeeElMarvin Posts: 2,086 Member
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    I don't have an HRM - sometimes it feels like the caloric estimate on MFP is a little high, so I manually change it to about 1/2. It's not that complicated.

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