Elliptical trainer vs MFP calories

lydiaannepage
lydiaannepage Posts: 172 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Okay so this is probably a difficult question to answer, but I figure I'd ask anyway -

When I use my SOLE E35 elliptical trainer for let's say 15 mins it tells me I burned 91 calories based on presumably how fast I went, the incline, my heart rate and level I had set and distance travelled. When I enter 15 mins of elliptical on MFP it tells me I should have burned around 197 calories. I am assuming the elliptical read out is far more accurate?

Does this mean the MFP is way off on other calorie suggestions? For example - walking I know it is way off so I tend to only input 30 mins for every hour I go out walking/hiking. Is there a better place to get estimates on calories burned?

Thanks for any help/feedback!

Replies

  • pinkiemarie252
    pinkiemarie252 Posts: 222 Member
    MFP seems to be WAY high on calories, but your elliptical isn't correct either unless it's asking for height, weight, age, etc.
  • lydiaannepage
    lydiaannepage Posts: 172 Member
    It does record my age height and weight :smile: so hopefully it is close to accurate! Just wish I had a way to calculate calories burned other than the elliptical and my workout dvds.
  • PinkNinjaLaura
    PinkNinjaLaura Posts: 3,202 Member
    You could invest in a chest strap heart rate monitor, which would be far more accurate than the one built into your machine.
  • donnaleighh
    donnaleighh Posts: 178 Member
    It will all be relative to weight, height, exertion, tension/resistence etc .... and yes I think the MFP calc's are well over. The most accurate way to measure your real burn is to use a HRM with a chest strap ... but if you can't do that, I would go with the lowest figure and just manually enter it... (by way of comparison personally at 5"7 and 77-78kg, I burn about 100-125 per 15min on an elliptical with resistance)
  • KingCharlesTheFat
    KingCharlesTheFat Posts: 10
    I have noticed that as well. Though, my elliptical does not seem to adjust calorie burn level to anything but speed. For example, my heart rate does not seem to matter to my machine (and it should). If you want to be safe, perhaps it is better to use the lower one. :/ It is a lot less epic, however
  • dbm037
    dbm037 Posts: 125 Member
    I burn 300 calories for 30 mins on. I feel that is correct
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    Okay so this is probably a difficult question to answer, but I figure I'd ask anyway -

    When I use my SOLE E35 elliptical trainer for let's say 15 mins it tells me I burned 91 calories based on presumably how fast I went, the incline, my heart rate and level I had set and distance travelled. When I enter 15 mins of elliptical on MFP it tells me I should have burned around 197 calories. I am assuming the elliptical read out is far more accurate?

    Does this mean the MFP is way off on other calorie suggestions? For example - walking I know it is way off so I tend to only input 30 mins for every hour I go out walking/hiking. Is there a better place to get estimates on calories burned?

    Thanks for any help/feedback!

    That is correct-MFP is way off on their exercise calculations, but the machines may not be on either. This is exactly why I bought a heart rate monitor.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    I burn 300 calories for 30 mins on. I feel that is correct

    That actually seems high. Where are you getting your numbers from?
  • candiceh3
    candiceh3 Posts: 379 Member
    You can also use METS to estimate calories. When I am on the cross trainer I am at METS of about 7-7.5. So I plug in 7 cals per minute (far far less than what the machine gives me).

    When I am jogging I am at 10 METS.

    Walking is about 3.5-4 for me.
  • lydiaannepage
    lydiaannepage Posts: 172 Member
    I'll try that. Thanks!

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