should i track what the treadmill tells me? or mfp?

megbee617
megbee617 Posts: 100 Member
edited January 23 in Fitness and Exercise
So here is my problem: I go to the gym and use the cardio machines. I put in my weight so that I can track how many calories I burn. Then I go into mfp and insert the amount of time I did my cardio. But the machine and mfp oftentimes have VERY different numbers... Sometimes 100+ calories difference. Mfp numbers are always waaaayyy more than what the machine tells me. Which should I follow, and which do you think is more accurate? I've been entering less time into mfp because I'll just try and match what the treadmill or elliptical told me I burned.

Replies

  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
    I always go with the lower number to be safe.
    Unless Im on a hunger rampage that day, then I pick the higher ;)
  • 257_Lag
    257_Lag Posts: 1,249 Member
    If the treadmill is of high enough quality to input your weight it is probably safe to use it's output. For a home treadmill I use an online calculator like http://42.195km.net/e/treadsim/ and then adjust MFP's minutes as you said.

    If it's within a 100 you are ahead of the game, often it is off by a lot more than that. Use the lower number and take your victory on the scale!
  • JenMc14
    JenMc14 Posts: 2,389 Member
    My treadmill is way inflated, I ignore it. I use an average of MFP and the elliptical I sometimes use for those calories. For treadmill, I use the online treadmill calculator, but it's way higher than MFP sometimes, even if I say I weight less than I do, so I sometimes average, sometimes just not 20-30 calories off that estimate, depending on how I feel.
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