Elliptical Stats vs. MyFitnessPal Stats

Does your elliptical machine calculate your weight as well. I have the Sole elliptical that has my weight pre-programmed so it's "fairly" accurate. The calories are always way off on MFP for me. I recently purchased a Polar heart rate monitor watch that I love love love because it tracks your heartrate and calories burned during your workout which is more accurate than the elliptical machine. I noticed that my elliptical machine in comparison to my watch is a close match depending on the workout setting I use but have noticed that if I use the manual mode it is waaaay off. My advice would be to get yourself a heart rate monitor and track your workout calories that way for the most accurate results.

Neither are particularly accurate, but since MFP has no idea how intense your workout was, I would guess that the elliptical machine might be closer. I find that when I wear my HRM, it is virtually always lower then the machine and the MFP number. Good luck!

Sadly the studies really testing your calorie burn on ellipticals, have been bad at getting any formula for the makers to use, unlike treadmill or cycle ergometer that is most tested.

There are too many variables on ellipticals, resistance, slope or grade, size of circle or range of movement, ect, plus great variety in your personal efficiency and method of doing it.

Without asking for weight, it's likely going for how many watts the machine had to supply to withstand your work effort.
That actually can be very accurate, as watts is energy measurement, just like calories.
1 watt/hr is 0.859845228 calories. So 300 watts in an hr would be 258 calories.

So see if the display shows watts, if they use it they usually show it, in which case the calorie estimate is potentially really good.

This is a case where doing it by weight, with formula's that have no validity in studies, could be way off. MFP could be very off too.

Yes, that is the reason

Neither way is very accurate, but I'd be conservative and go with the smaller number.

I wouldn't trust the MyFitnessPal Stats at all. I got a HRM a few weeks ago and I was shocked on how little calories I burned, especially in comparison to MFP. I have never tracked my calories with an elliptical or treadmill so I don't have any advice on that. They don't "average" the calories, they have a default weight already entered. Is this a machine that relies only on you holding the handles all the time to get the heart rate, or do you use a chest band with it? I would only really trust something with a chest band to tell me how many calories I burned.

I too was SO shocked! Actually depressed to find out I wasn't burning that many calories!! Our machines are approx 40% higher compared to my HRM!

I will join that shocked club! I was very bummed out when I saw the difference between what my HRM read compared to MFP. At the same time, I was happy to have something that would be more consistant for what I was losing.
OP-as many people have said, go with a HRM. Mine isn't the most expensive one out there (I got it from Target) but my best friend has a fitbit and her numbers are generally very close to mine.

HRM, is all I use. Never trust a Machine! Have you NEVER seen TERMINATOR?...................oh wait an HRM is a machine
anyway...........HRM............it's a Bettererest Machine:bigsmile:

560 is probably about right, it still might be a bit overestimated but I would guess only by 150 at most. One trick I noticed, at least with the ellipticals in my gym (Precor) is that you can do the same math trick that generally works for walking where 1 mile = 100 calories (so if you go 2.5 miles, that's 250 calories). Check your elliptical next time to see if it shows distance and see how that compares to what it gives you for calorie burn.

FYI, this is in comparison to what my Polar FT4 HRM gives me for calorie burns.

In your case, I would trust the elliptical more than the MFP stats. I find MFP always burns high compared to what my HRM says. If you enter your weight into the elliptical it will probably give you more accurate results. I've noticed on my elliptical (which has sensors in the handles) that it's usually only a 40-60 calorie difference between HRM and the machine.

My HRM and MFP are pretty close to the same number (650 to 700 an hour) but my elliptical (NordicTrack 990) has a much higher calorie burn (40% higher) plus the elliptical can read my HR. Now I wonder if my elliptical still thinks I weigh 270? lol

Neither, atleast for me. Both of them over estimate, i usually go by what my HRM says.

What I’ve learned from my HRM is that the healthier I get the harder or longer I have to workout to burn the same amount of calories I did a few months ago.

45 min and only 311, I think you need to up the resistance a wee bit

Probably. But it takes a lot to get my HR going. Resting is about 40 so I guess I'm very adapted.

ETA - I should say "possibly". >400 calories/hour burn isn't too bad for someone in excellent condition.

How does MFP know how intense you worked out.... Your calorie burn is gonna diff if your going slow reading a book or if you are really cranking it out and sweating.

I enter my weight on the eliptical my calorie burns from the machine always show at least 100 less than what MFP estimates. This is me going pretty moderate to intense at times. Since then I dont trust MFP estimates because intensity can vary and throw calorie counts way off.

Heart rate monitor?? I want one also but no $$ LOL. So for now I always enter my weight on the machines I figure that is closer than what MFP states.

I wouldn't trust the MyFitnessPal Stats at all. I got a HRM a few weeks ago and I was shocked on how little calories I burned, especially in comparison to MFP. I have never tracked my calories with an elliptical or treadmill so I don't have any advice on that. They don't "average" the calories, they have a default weight already entered. Is this a machine that relies only on you holding the handles all the time to get the heart rate, or do you use a chest band with it? I would only really trust something with a chest band to tell me how many calories I burned.

I would agree - I use a Polar HRM and it gives consistently lower calories than elipticals or other machines and the MFP or similar calculations, normally by around 20% but sometimes much more (although on static exercise bikes it always reads higher). To be fair though, HRMs are not necessarily entirely accurate either, they too have to estimate calories using formulae based on weight etc and including heart rate as a measure of exertion levels. The only proper way to measure calories burned is in a laboratory using indirect calorimetry, but obviously in the real world we have to use a best guess - and with a HRM there is more reliable data going into the estimate. I would tend to take the lowest of all the calorie used estimates to be on the safe side, especially if intending to consume the calories burned!

Don't get me started on how difficult it is to accurately measure calories consumed in any given meal either, but the key for me is to record everything I eat and all my exercise and hope the overs and unders in the various estimates average out over time...