Calories burnt on Elliptical trainers.

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googiegrinner
googiegrinner Posts: 5
in Fitness and Exercise
I go to the gym a lot and use an elliptical trainer a few times per week, just wondering why the calories burnt shown in myfitnesspal are more than double what the read out on the elliptical trainer is at the gym. e.g. I did 36 mins today on a random program and machine calculated that I burnt 151 calories, looked it up on myfitnesspal and it calculated something like 360 cals.
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Replies

  • missyvhammond
    missyvhammond Posts: 5 Member
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    I have noticed that with alot of exercises. I tend to go with what's on the machine as its less, if MFP is right than thats a additional bonus! ... At least I'm burning more than I think.
  • DinkyDani88
    DinkyDani88 Posts: 22 Member
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    I have a similiar problem, my trainer at home tells me I bun 650 cals in 30 minutes, I train with a lot of resistance on to feel the burn! But my HRM tells me I've only burnt like 250-350 cals every time.

    If anyone knows the answer I'd love to know :)
  • Colleen790
    Colleen790 Posts: 813 Member
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    I use the elliptical a lot. I got a Heart Rate monitor to get a more accurate reading.
  • SexyCool13
    SexyCool13 Posts: 11 Member
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    I use the elliptical a lot. I got a Heart Rate monitor to get a more accurate reading.

    I agree with Colleen. Get a HRM watch or a FitBit for a more accurate calorie reading.
  • trudijoy
    trudijoy Posts: 1,685 Member
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    corect me if i'm wrong, oh knowledgeable ones, but i figure i burn more than the machine tells me coz i generally don't enter my weight. MFP on the other hand knows what i weigh and what my height is so knows more accurately what i'm burning than a random gym machine with default settings.
  • jennkain97
    jennkain97 Posts: 290 Member
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    The database is generic, mostly entered by other users. So if someone were extremely obese, or going at an insane pace/resistance, they might have burned that much, and that is the baseline used for all new calculations. The machine probably asked your age/weight, so that would be more accurate than using someone else's info. But the best thing to do would be to get a heart rate monitor. You'll find that there's probably still a 25% or so difference from what the machine says, and also that you don't necessarily burn the same calories each time you do a particular workout.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    MFP numbers are very generic estimates. Of course, so are the numbers on the elliptical, usually neither will give you very accurate results for your individual workout. If you're serious about your calories burned you should buy a quality Heart Rate Monitor and use that. Even an HRM is only going to be an estimate, but it's much more accurate than either of those two methods usually.
  • trudijoy
    trudijoy Posts: 1,685 Member
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    MFP numbers are very generic estimates. Of course, so are the numbers on the elliptical, usually neither will give you very accurate results for your individual workout. If you're serious about your calories burned you should buy a quality Heart Rate Monitor and use that. Even an HRM is only going to be an estimate, but it's much more accurate than either of those two methods usually.

    nah MFP calculates on your specifics. Why else would my exact same walk be less now than it was then?
  • WendySPWarren
    WendySPWarren Posts: 63 Member
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    Do you adjust the intensity, or are you keeping it on the start-up defaults? That might effect it. If that's not the case, maybe have a look at what other ellipticalls in the list tell you, if you haven't already.

    I've noticed that when I work out on level 7-9 it's usually pretty accurate when I move it to mfp, so I don't need to adjust it. But if your at half the intensity it may be burning half of the cals.


    Either way, congrats on doing 36 mins! That would kill me. p
  • trudijoy
    trudijoy Posts: 1,685 Member
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    Do you adjust the intensity, or are you keeping it on the start-up defaults? That might effect it. If that's not the case, maybe have a look at what other ellipticalls in the list tell you, if you haven't already.

    I've noticed that when I work out on level 7-9 it's usually pretty accurate when I move it to mfp, so I don't need to adjust it. But if your at half the intensity it may be burning half of the cals.


    Either way, congrats on doing 36 mins! That would kill me. p

    this too... when i use the stepper i do half of it at level 20. (out of 20) the rest is between 5-15. But there are no 'degrees of effort'for stepper, so i just log it, but it works out about right, i think
  • tndejong
    tndejong Posts: 463
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    i have an elliptical at home a 3 different types of ellipticals at the gym i go to. mine at home always says less then the 4. then when i log it on mfp it says a different number. i am confused too. i also noticed the calories burned changed on mfp as i started to lose weight. it said almost 1000 when i was around 260 pounds. not im around 220 and i get lower numbers. but you do have to take many things into consideration. how does mfp know what resistance, speed, and the crossramp setting we are using when we log it. i can go 30 min easy on manual. but 30 minutes on a program you would burn more. and when you log it, you would get one generic number. so the machines with the heart rate settings and when they ask you age and weight i would assume to be more accurate. for 3 months now, i will log the elliptical for time. but i dont rely on the calories to eat back. if i know i did my exercise that day and i am hungry, i eat. that has been my rule of thumb until im willing to get more serious and get a heart rate monitor. i have lost a lot of weight in 3 months to prove my theory works.
  • googiegrinner
    googiegrinner Posts: 5
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    Thanks for all the responses, I will get myself a HRM and use that to calculate calories burnt from now on. Was just wondering if other people were encountering similar discrepancies with calories burnt through exercise.
  • wwgirl83
    wwgirl83 Posts: 3
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    Both myself and my boyfriend use different types of HRM's. I use the polar ft4 (I think) and he uses the pulse rhythm - it syncs with mfp. They will most likely give you an accurate reading. They are a great work out tool and help you stay in your 'heart rate goal' you should shoot for 140-150 hr if you are wanting to burn fat (at least that's what my trainer told me)
  • googiegrinner
    googiegrinner Posts: 5
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    Thanks, yes the 36 mins does nearly kill me - particularly on days when I'm fasting. The resistance of the random program goes up pretty high, so quads are killing me during the last 5 mins! :wink:
  • wwgirl83
    wwgirl83 Posts: 3
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    Yes I had similar issues before I got an hrm
  • googiegrinner
    googiegrinner Posts: 5
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    Both myself and my boyfriend use different types of HRM's. I use the polar ft4 (I think) and he uses the pulse rhythm - it syncs with mfp. They will most likely give you an accurate reading. They are a great work out tool and help you stay in your 'heart rate goal' you should shoot for 140-150 hr if you are wanting to burn fat (at least that's what my trainer told me)

    Thanks for the tip, will look out for the HRM that will sync with MFP - too easy!
  • rachelerwin
    rachelerwin Posts: 140 Member
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    Yesterday at the gym I did 81 minutes on the elliptical. MFP said 968 calories burned. The machine said 750. My HRM said 555 calories burned. I always go with the HRM.
  • googiegrinner
    googiegrinner Posts: 5
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    Yesterday at the gym I did 81 minutes on the elliptical. MFP said 968 calories burned. The machine said 750. My HRM said 555 calories burned. I always go with the HRM.

    Such a huge difference, and woah for doing 81 mins - legs of steel!
  • umer76
    umer76 Posts: 1,272 Member
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    I think generally you can rely on the calories burnt in the following order:

    1 HRM
    2 Elliptical (machine)
    3 MFP

    MFP is giving quite high estimates of calories. Why machine calories should be accurate because we are entering the resistance levels and weight and it should be more reliable. For a simple walking MFP gives quite high calories.
  • udallmom101
    udallmom101 Posts: 564 Member
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    I rely on my HRM. It is a Polar FT4 and has a strap which goes around my chest. It is the best thing I ever invested in. It is way off from MFP and another 200, if not 250 calories off from any machine I use. I use my elliptical an awful lot. My elliptical says in my 30 minutes of time on my high resistance I burn around 550 calories. My HRM says it's 337 calories or so. Everyone is going to have their opinion on what to trust. I, personally, only trust my HRM.

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