calories burned on this site seems off

mm61470
mm61470 Posts: 10
edited September 21 in Fitness and Exercise
help.....when I put the actual time frame I did on the elliptical for example, 50 min it says I burn about 2 to 3x the amount of calories my heart monitor says I actually do. How can it be off that much? I am worried to use anything that the site says regarding exercise because it always seems way off. How do you all track your calories burned? how do you know it's accurate? since my heart rate monitor is actually one that i put in my info, DOB, age, weight etc...i assume it's more accurate. i guess i am confused.

Replies

  • Edestiny7
    Edestiny7 Posts: 730 Member
    Trust your monitor. You will find sometimes your monitor says you burned more than this site says, sometimes less. Intensity has a lot to do with it.
  • Angowen
    Angowen Posts: 22
    I would go with your HRM, for sure. I think your weight/age has a lot to do with calories burned. The info on this site I think is pretty basic.
  • ShaneG76
    ShaneG76 Posts: 3
    I'm thinking of getting a HRM myself. I put in my exercises earlier on here and it said I burned over 2300 calories. No way I burned that many. I wish! LOL
  • jrich1
    jrich1 Posts: 2,408 Member
    It uses a generic calculation to be suitable for all people, its not going to be accurate
  • Hemis_mom
    Hemis_mom Posts: 193 Member
    Go with your heart rate calories! You can even put in your own workouts and how many calories you burn. That is what I do. Good Luck!
  • rubycarol
    rubycarol Posts: 9
    I was wondering the same thing. I try to add 30 min. of Curves and is hard to calculate it. So I put in 30 min. of cardio. It's close enough I guess. I also put in one hour of water aerobics and seems to be a bit much as well as one hour and 45 min. of bowling.

    I'm going to stick with it for another three weeks to see how it works out.
  • Ge0rgiana
    Ge0rgiana Posts: 1,649 Member
    From what I understand, ellipticals are notorious liars. :flowerforyou:
  • lcrichar
    lcrichar Posts: 8
    I finally got a HRM so that I can make sure that I am recording the correct calories burned! Most of the time they are completely wrong!
  • Meganalva
    Meganalva Posts: 282 Member
    Is there a more reliable site??
  • ShaneT99
    ShaneT99 Posts: 278 Member
    I haven't been here too long, but I've always thought the calories for exercise here seem off too. I don't have a heart rate monitor to compare to though. I've been considering a Body Bug from 24 Hour Fitness, but I'm not sure if it would work any better than a normal HRM. I've heard that the HRM's are good for cardio but not accurate for weights.
  • WarmDontBurn
    WarmDontBurn Posts: 1,253 Member
    I hear ya! I just got a HRM and I am more confused then ever. So I am going off the internet and keeping with what has been working for me.
  • mm61470
    mm61470 Posts: 10
    OK i will go with what my HRM says. thank you. it just seemed way off and i didn't want to under eat (although that rarely happens :)

    but other than that-i love the site and the support!! thanks everyone!!
  • Izzybackyet
    Izzybackyet Posts: 16
    HRM is better but still not perfect, nothing is going to be pinpoint because things like intensity and weather will affect how many calories you burn. As for MFP as a rough guide I halve the amount of calories it says I've burned off.
  • Xenopha
    Xenopha Posts: 6 Member
    From what I understand the most accurate thing you can do is see a health care professional and have them calculate your basal metabolic weight (which will shift depending on a number of things including your weight).

    Let's say your doc says you need 2300 calories to sustain your current weight. If you want to loose weight its just simple math at this point. If you know you are only eating 1500 calories per day and you get 30 min of vigorous activity, you can be confident that you will loose weight. How fast and how much will vary with everyone.

    This is the second time I have gone on a structured weight loss program and the first time I did it I was consuming about 1500 calories per day. I would go and work out like a demon and I probably burned about 300-400 calories between cardio, martial arts, and weights. I was dropping weight at a fairly good clip (about 1.5 - 2 lbs per week). I never really focused on how many calories I burned as an accurate prediction of anything. I tended to view it as a goal. Each week I would try and burn just a few more than what the cardio machine said I was burning. It was surprisingling rewarding to know that I beat my previous day's goal even by five calories.
  • scrappymel
    scrappymel Posts: 107 Member
    the site calculates my elliptical calories pretty well. it's usually only off by 10-15 calories, but it does not do well with walking for me. i just have to override it.

    what settings do you use on your elliptical? i fluctuate between 6,7,8 and try to keep it at 50-60 rpm.

    i would just trust your hrm.
  • SHALONDAG
    SHALONDAG Posts: 50 Member
    Go with what your HRM says. I just put in all my calories burned PER HRM now. It is working for me to do it manually that way.
  • mm61470
    mm61470 Posts: 10
    OK I haven't figured out all the quirks yet to this site. :) I need to see how to enter it manually. When I do HIIT with my trainer I could never find it on the list so I would use any exercise and make sure the calories met what my HRM said.

    Has anyone ever done any kind of Metabolic Testing? They offer it at my gym and was wondering if it was even worth it.

    If i don't want to eat my exercise calories will that harm me?
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