Do I trust the treadmill or the calculator for cal burned?

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UhohDanny
UhohDanny Posts: 32
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm new to all of this and I have noticed that there is a huge difference between kCal burned on the treadmill and the number I get when using a calorie calculator. The Treadmill doesn't take my weight into account. When I use the calculator, I use the avg's (mph, incline, ect...) the treadmill gives. For an hour workout there is an almost 600 kCal difference! Which can I trust?

Replies

  • xxmarysmxx
    xxmarysmxx Posts: 199 Member
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    Often thought the same thing. My treadmill takes my weight still give me a high kCal burned number. Like today treadmill said 400 and logged in as 332. Yours is give a diff of 600.. That is a lot. Do you use a treadmill at a gym or home? Thinking if it's a gym you could ask them.
  • UhohDanny
    UhohDanny Posts: 32
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    I use a treadmill at the gym.... Today it said i burned 491 kCal, but when i put my weight into the calculator it says I burned 1030 kCal. Really pretty confusing.
  • kaydeedoubleu1
    kaydeedoubleu1 Posts: 567 Member
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    you should be able to enter your weight into the treadmill...will give you a more accurate figure
  • LeakieChan
    LeakieChan Posts: 31 Member
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    I have the same issue with my stationary bike! I can be on it for an hour and it'll say I burnt 200 calories, and then i'd type it into the MFP calculator and it says something like 400! when I log I use the stationary bike's number, because it's lower.
  • UhohDanny
    UhohDanny Posts: 32
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    yea, i have decided to go with the lower of the numbers.... thinking about getting a heart rate monitor though.
  • spangler1972
    spangler1972 Posts: 18 Member
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    I was curious about this too. I mean, it feels nice to put a big number on my exercise log (my run today was 807kCal. yay.), but I'd rather it be accurate. I've been chalking the higher number to the 'hill' setting being a little more strenuous, but I've noticed the disparity in treadmill numbers and the calculator. The one I'm using does use my weight in the caloric burn rate.

    It makes a difference if you're eating back your calories.
  • ncsjodi
    ncsjodi Posts: 102 Member
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    Spend $75 and buy a heart rate monitor. Neither the treadmill nor the calculator here is very accurate when compared to my hrm.
  • kimbux
    kimbux Posts: 154 Member
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    Get a heart rate monitor..... the machines are never accurate because everyone is different. 4.0 MPG on the treadmill might be a run for me (high intensity) and a walk for you (low intensity) - therefore, the calories burn will not be the same for both of us. A heart rate monitor will take into account your age, weight, and sex and will calculate accordingly. Just remember as you lose weight (every 10 lbs) to adjust your settings so that your calorie burn is correct for your new weight.
  • spangler1972
    spangler1972 Posts: 18 Member
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    Spend $75 and buy a heart rate monitor. Neither the treadmill nor the calculator here is very accurate when compared to my hrm.

    Well, color me stupid. I hadn't picked up on the fact that hrms did calorie counting (I should pay more attention!). Sounds like a better way to go. Any particular type you'd recommend?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,871 Member
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    I use a treadmill at the gym.... Today it said i burned 491 kCal, but when i put my weight into the calculator it says I burned 1030 kCal. Really pretty confusing.

    Did you run 1/2 marathon on the treadmill? No way with the 1030...no way. You can assume roughly 100 calories per mile give or take...it won't be exact, but it isn't 1030 calories in an hour unless you can crank out 10 miles plus in that time.

    Another way you can estimate is taking a number between 7-10 and multiplying that by the time you spent exercising...with 7 basically being a 4 mph walk and 10 being a workout to where you really can't hold a conversation or anything and have to be completely focused on the task at hand to accomplish it.

    Also, HRM is a reasonable estimator for an aerobic event...it's still an estimate though (it's all estimation...you're never going to be exact). You'll still want to knock of 30% or so for estimation error.
  • NoMoreTwizzlers
    NoMoreTwizzlers Posts: 71 Member
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    I second that motion. You can actually enter your current weight into the watch and go for it. I love my heart rate monitor. I rarely workout without it. :noway: I like to see those numbers!
  • eating4me
    eating4me Posts: 239 Member
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    I love my Garmin FR60, which is ancient, compared to the current models, but it's been fantastic, and does everything I need. I also run, so I love that the foot pod that comes with it (or any of the newer models) will record pace, distance, laps, longest run, marathon info, PR's, calories burned, etc., and will alert you if you're in or out of your training zones. There are a lot of other features, as well. After I started using HRM, I saw how inaccurate my treadmill and elliptical were in estimating calorie burn. I burn at least double what my elliptical is saying I burn. Garmin and Polar are the best on the market. Whatever brand you decide to get, just be sure it has a chest strap, for a more accurate HR reading. I purchased mine on Amazon....the prices seemed much more reasonable than anywhere else. You'll love having a HRM!
  • sphyxy
    sphyxy Posts: 202 Member
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    I have a Polar FT40 HRM and have been using it for over a year and love it. I bought myself one as a gift for my first 25 pounds lost. I think I managed to catch a sale on a website and paid about $55 for it. Before that I was using the presets on this website. The numbers were WAY off. I could do 30 minutes on the elliptical at level 7 at an easy pace and it would say I burned X amount of calories. I could also spend 30 on the elliptical at 10 incline for 25 of those minutes and 5 minutes at 14 incline and sweating my butt off and increasing my HR to over 170 and it would still say I burned X amount of calories. Your intensity and heart rate really changes things!

    I would go with whatever the lower number is if you feel like you aren't really pushing it and raising your heart rate by much. If you can afford a heart rate monitor I highly recommend it, along with everyone else. It is really eye opening!

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