Excercise calculator on my fitness pal accurate

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lynnlamothe
lynnlamothe Posts: 1 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Are the total
calories burnt, listed in fitness pal calculator, accurate?

Replies

  • nightdragon70
    nightdragon70 Posts: 94 Member
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    I would take it all with a grain of salt.. They are accurate.... as an average. Everyone's calorie burn is going to be different through depending on your current weight, how hard you work, etc

    When I got my HRM I started using that to track calories burned. It was close for most, way off on others.
  • jfcarlson713
    jfcarlson713 Posts: 108 Member
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    Since everyone will burn calories at a different rate these are estimates only. According to my Heart Rate Monitor (HRM) they aren't even close.
  • glassxxballerina
    glassxxballerina Posts: 48
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    No, they are not! Use a heart rate monitor for more accurate results.

    However, if you're eating at your TDEE you don't have to worry about how many calories you've burned as your activity is already figured into how much you should eat per day.
  • skylark94
    skylark94 Posts: 2,036 Member
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    Compared to the numbers I get from my Polar HRM, they're way overestimated. I would lop off 25% or so from whatever MFP says.
  • eej23
    eej23 Posts: 15 Member
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    I'm with everyone else, if you want a more accurate calorie burn, use a HRM. I started using one a year or so ago and was amazed at how off the mfp calories were for me. Also the more muscle you put on, the more calories you will burn.
  • TinaBean007
    TinaBean007 Posts: 273 Member
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    Agree on the HRM comments. I've found that sometimes they are accurate and sometimes they are way off.
  • GBA55
    GBA55 Posts: 3
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    Exercise calculator for 30 mins swimming breaststroke at 572 is way way too high. Half of this would be high reading. I think they need to adjust it down
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
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    When I was obese, MFP's number were low. Now that I'm only 20 lbs overweight they're pretty close to my HRM. I've only used walking and running entries.

    Actually now that I think about it, cycling is a pretty big overestimate. So I guess I'll say running and walking are pretty accurate and others probably less so.
  • KenosFeoh
    KenosFeoh Posts: 1,837 Member
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    They're only estimates and almost never agree with the estimates that the elliptical gives me at the gym. I record the lower value because I don't want to accidentally overeat.
  • twinsmom03
    twinsmom03 Posts: 90 Member
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    Hi,

    No they are not even close to being accurate.....I have bought a HRM (polar) and found that using the elliptical I burn about 200 calories ...MFP will give me 600+ calories!
  • schondell
    schondell Posts: 556 Member
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    They're overestimated
  • AngieM76
    AngieM76 Posts: 622 Member
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    When I use my HRM, they are even close!
  • teachmom32
    teachmom32 Posts: 183 Member
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    Definitely overestimated, even for short workouts. Body bugg gives me about 150 calories for a JM workout. My fitness pal estimates 20 minutes of circuit training as nearly 250 for me.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
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    It's just an estimate based on average people. Since we aren't all average, it's not going to be super accurate. A lot of people find that MFP gives them way too much credit. I find that for me, it's actually usually within 10% of the real calories burned. That's close enough for me. I mean, pretty much everything is an estimate anyway - even calories in serving sizes aren't perfect . It's worked for me for over two years, so I'm cool with it. If you're worried, use a HRM or just don't eat all of your exercise calories back. :drinker:
  • bobf279
    bobf279 Posts: 342 Member
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    I don't know how accurate it is but I always use the calories from my runkeeper app for walking and running and MFP for indoor cardio when not on a machine. My garmin forerunner 305 with HRM mostly agrees with runkeeper. If I stay consistent with my exercise counting I think I will continue to lose
  • ktdidit78
    ktdidit78 Posts: 29 Member
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    It's worth it to invest in a good HRM. (love my Polar FT7)

    Also, the trackers on machines aren't all that accurate either. A stationary bike comes close to the estimate because it's hard to use poor form, etc. Whereas an elliptical or treadmill can be way off as they cannot evaluate form, stride, etc.
  • maggs155
    maggs155 Posts: 258
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    I dont worry a lot about it because i do not eat back my exercise calories....
  • swillybay
    swillybay Posts: 61 Member
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    I tend to look up all my exercises on what I find to be a more accurate site or resource. For instance, I ride dressage, which burns many more calories than just sitting on a horse, trail riding, but I only take the calories for basic horseback riding so that I don't overestimate, since it tends to give an exhorbitant amount of calories for "horseback riding, trotting," which I think is way off. I find with circuit training and the weights I use, the calories for my weight are pretty accurate. I find that for heavier people, MFP "gives" them way more calories, especially on stationary biking. I know that the heavier you are, the more calories you burn, but 300 calories for 1/2 hour of "light to moderate" stationary biking seems absurd. I'm no expert though.....

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