calories burned question

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DebraLosesIt
DebraLosesIt Posts: 60 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
i tend to go by what the equipment says, be it the treadmill, elliptical, arc, whatever, i do enter my weight on there but mfp says almost double most of the time. so i go with the equipment reading to not over estimate my calories. i can't afford a him but someone did say they are fairly comparable to the machines.. i dunno...what do you go by?

Replies

  • 10Racing
    10Racing Posts: 6
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    I don't have a heart rate monitor, so I usually just go off the machine and cut that number by 20%-25%. I know the machines can over estimate (even the ones where you input age and weight). Personally, I'd rather under-estimate my workout than over-estimate. I could be totally off base but its been working for me.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    I use a HRM. Amazon has some of the Sportline duo (chest strap and watch) for $30 with free shipping. It may not be the best or top of the line, but it will be more accurate than the machines or MFP's estimates.
  • AmberSpamber
    AmberSpamber Posts: 391 Member
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    I use a HRM. I got mine on Amazon for 59 bucks and it works great. I don't think that is too expensive personally, but I know I saw some that cost less. Here is mine : http://www.amazon.com/New-Balance-Monitor-DESIGNED-Berry/dp/B0088EV6XA/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1364249402&sr=8-14&keywords=hrm

    I do find that the amount I burn with my HRM is about 20-50 calories more than what the treadmill says.
  • ameliaannakin
    ameliaannakin Posts: 344 Member
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    I go with what the machine says, as long as I have entered my weight. If not it tends to be way way over, as does MFP.

    Ax
  • Goosiesnougs
    Goosiesnougs Posts: 420
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    They have a HRM on groupon for like $20 .......don't know what the reviews say, but better than the equipment for sure! My personal treadmill has a monitor for HR and it STILL overestimates like 100 - 200 calories difference than my HRM.
  • vschwgrt1
    vschwgrt1 Posts: 86 Member
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    Does anyone have an opinion about how far off mfp calories burned are and also, why?
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    Does anyone have an opinion about how far off mfp calories burned are and also, why?

    Because MFP just gives a general estimate based on your weight. How many calories you burn is determined by HR, weight, ect. MFP can only guess at how hard your working out. Either way it's all estimated.
  • ProudMom2Jade
    ProudMom2Jade Posts: 18 Member
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    I have a Bodymedia band which monitors my activity. It is very generous in what it says I burn--it gives me 900-1500 a day. Before it started syncing wiht MFP I went by MFP's count which was lower. I can't really say how accurate it is because the situation is different. I'm losing less weight than I was but I am also a lot smaller and doing more things that may be building muscle. I'd say maybe just make it a habit not to eat more than half of the exercise calories to be safe. It is tempting when MFP says you have # left to want to eat them, but as long as you are getting 1200, stop eating when you eat you last planned food.
  • Shannon_H
    Shannon_H Posts: 35
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    I just bought a HRM at Target and I've been using it the past few days. On one particular workout, MFP would say that I burned 318 calories. According to my HRM (which I LOVE by the way!) I burned 268 calories doing that same workout. I'm glad I got it because I'm sure I have been overeating.
  • skyeashlee
    skyeashlee Posts: 108 Member
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    http://mydr.com.au/tools/calories-burned-calculator : you enter you gender, weight, height, type of exercise and amount of time and it calculates based off that... MFP wil give you inaccurate amounts as its based off what others have put in here, unfortunately its generally alot more too so gets ur hopes up! hehe...recommend this site without a doubt....no costs involved for this way :)

    i tend to go by what the equipment says, be it the treadmill, elliptical, arc, whatever, i do enter my weight on there but mfp says almost double most of the time. so i go with the equipment reading to not over estimate my calories. i can't afford a him but someone did say they are fairly comparable to the machines.. i dunno...what do you go by?
  • Warchortle
    Warchortle Posts: 2,197 Member
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    I'm going to trail blaze and keep telling people not to log their exercise as adjustments to food and set calories to maintenance. If you lose weight you can accurately figure out how much TDEE you're burning per week if you lose weight, maintain, or gain.
  • vschwgrt1
    vschwgrt1 Posts: 86 Member
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    this is something i have been interested in. my activity is all done in the swimming pool. any suggestions on what heart moniter to use to moniter so as to get a more accurate calorie burn.
  • cindyjoesousa
    cindyjoesousa Posts: 87 Member
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    Because the equipment doesn't know how much you weigh..mfp calculates based on your weight, height, etc..the equipment bases it on an avg weight person
  • morielia
    morielia Posts: 169 Member
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    Does anyone have an opinion about how far off mfp calories burned are and also, why?

    The difference between MFP and my HRM is about +250 calories for a 40 minute ride on the stationary bike. The bike itself, incidentally, was about -200 calories off.
  • DebraLosesIt
    DebraLosesIt Posts: 60 Member
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    Im not logging it to eat more food although on a particularly good day i may eat a little more. i just like to know.
  • BaconMD
    BaconMD Posts: 1,165 Member
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    Im not logging it to eat more food although on a particularly good day i may eat a little more. i just like to know.
    1) MyFitnessPal is designed so that you eat back your exercise calories. You'll be doing yourself a disservice to not eat them back.

    2) Not all forms of activity have a calorie counter built in. If you don't have an HRM, I would just log using MFP's database, and when eating back calories, just eat 50-75% to cover any error margins.

    3) TDEE minus 10-20%, without logging or eating burns is liberating, works, is easy and ideal... I like the calculator from www.iifym.com/tdee-calculator
  • alitap
    alitap Posts: 38 Member
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    I don't have a heart rate monitor, so I usually just go off the machine and cut that number by 20%-25%. I know the machines can over estimate (even the ones where you input age and weight). Personally, I'd rather under-estimate my workout than over-estimate. I could be totally off base but its been working for me.

    I follow this as well...
  • DebraLosesIt
    DebraLosesIt Posts: 60 Member
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    follow up question...if i leave my hands on the heart Rate monitor on the machine does that make it more accurate?

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