Why the differences in cals burned???

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30 minutes elliptical exercise;

Elliptical machine says 306cals burned.
MFP says 306cals burned.
Podometer says 160cals burned.

I would say since machine and mfp match that the 306cals burned is more accurate??? What do you guys say?
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  • megsmom2
    megsmom2 Posts: 2,362 Member
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    30 minutes elliptical exercise;

    Elliptical machine says 306cals burned.
    MFP says 306cals burned.
    Podometer says 160cals burned.

    I would say since machine and mfp match that the 306cals burned is more accurate??? What do you guys say?

    That's approximately what I get for that amount of time...according to Fitbit. When in doubt though..estimate low.
  • mzhus11
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    Always go with the lowest number, or in a few more weeks you will be wondering why no weight has been lost.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    I would say since machine and mfp match that the 306cals burned is more accurate??? What do you guys say?

    When in doubt, use the lower number.

    300 calories in 30 minutes for a 150 pound human is the equivalent of running 3 miles. Since elliptical has approximately half the MET of running, that bumps up to the equivalent of running 6 miles in 30 minutes.
  • BetesBitch
    BetesBitch Posts: 234 Member
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    I would say since machine and mfp match that the 306cals burned is more accurate??? What do you guys say?

    When in doubt, use the lower number.

    300 calories in 30 minutes for a 150 pound human is the equivalent of running 3 miles. Since elliptical has approximately half the MET of running, that bumps up to the equivalent of running 6 miles in 30 minutes.
    I believe the distance of my workout was 5 miles. If i remember correctly.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    I would say since machine and mfp match that the 306cals burned is more accurate??? What do you guys say?

    When in doubt, use the lower number.

    300 calories in 30 minutes for a 150 pound human is the equivalent of running 3 miles. Since elliptical has approximately half the MET of running, that bumps up to the equivalent of running 6 miles in 30 minutes.
    I believe the distance of my workout was 5 miles. If i remember correctly.

    Sorry, that wasn't clear. If you're fit enough to do that burn on the elliptical, you're also fit enough to run (not "ellipt" - run) 6 miles in 30 minutes. If you can't do the latter, you aren't doing the former.

    Scale accordingly, and you'll have something in the right ballpark. I suspect your pedometer is actually pretty close.
  • BetesBitch
    BetesBitch Posts: 234 Member
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    I'm gonna do this exercise 3-4 times a week for 30 minutes each time anyways so im sure i will lose weight from this...healthy diet is in check as well of course.
  • BetesBitch
    BetesBitch Posts: 234 Member
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    I would say since machine and mfp match that the 306cals burned is more accurate??? What do you guys say?

    When in doubt, use the lower number.

    300 calories in 30 minutes for a 150 pound human is the equivalent of running 3 miles. Since elliptical has approximately half the MET of running, that bumps up to the equivalent of running 6 miles in 30 minutes.
    I believe the distance of my workout was 5 miles. If i remember correctly.

    Sorry, that wasn't clear. If you're fit enough to do that burn on the elliptical, you're also fit enough to run (not "ellipt" - run) 6 miles in 30 minutes. If you can't do the latter, you aren't doing the former.

    Scale accordingly, and you'll have something in the right ballpark. I suspect your pedometer is actually pretty close.

    Hmmm, I don't know about that. I ran my first 5km run in the summer and it took me 40minutes. I find running soooo much harder than "ellipt running". During my race i had to walk quite a bit to catch my breath.
  • Just_Scott
    Just_Scott Posts: 1,766 Member
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    Interesting numbers on this thread....
  • BetesBitch
    BetesBitch Posts: 234 Member
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    Interesting numbers on this thread....

    Care to elaborate?
  • Just_Scott
    Just_Scott Posts: 1,766 Member
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    A little. I agree using the lower number since your question was asking which to use.

    And, if you run 5 miles you're burning closer to 500 calories. The equation someone provided is great, but simple rules of thumb seem to work for a reason...they are easy to remember. So, walk or run a mile =100 calories. SImple.

    Best of luck. Train hard, eat well, and have fun! Hope this helps.
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
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    I would personally go with the lower number.
  • BetesBitch
    BetesBitch Posts: 234 Member
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    A little. I agree using the lower number since your question was asking which to use.

    And, if you run 5 miles you're burning closer to 500 calories. The equation someone provided is great, but simple rules of thumb seem to work for a reason...they are easy to remember. So, walk or run a mile =100 calories. SImple.

    Best of luck. Train hard, eat well, and have fun! Hope this helps.

    Ok, so i used the elliptical for about 5 miles so i've burned 500cals??? I think im misunderstanding......
  • _Josee_
    _Josee_ Posts: 625 Member
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    Podometer might be off as you are not really walking on an elleptical ?!?

    I'd go with the mfp and machine number as it is the same....
  • jennibear8504
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    I'm 135 and on the elliptical I burn about 100 cals per mile I do. I use a hrm now, but mpf is semiclose most of the time, at least to me it is....
  • davert123
    davert123 Posts: 1,568 Member
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    podometer ? is this a step counter ? If so I know my one doesn't work very well unless I am moving in a forward direction so it may be missing the beat. Also the kinematics of elliptical may burn more calories than walking so even if it is counting the correct number of steps, each step may be harder. I agree normally with the guy who says go with the lowest but in this case I would go with 2 out of 3 because I think you may be counting apples and pairs
  • miss_henrie
    miss_henrie Posts: 6 Member
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    I can do 10 mins each on three items. Cycling I can burn 170c. Jogging 140 and Eliptical 170. It all depends on the resistance I set it to or the incline. Generally I average 150 calories burned for each 10 minute period.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    I find running soooo much harder than "ellipt running". During my race i had to walk quite a bit to catch my breath.
    Exactly.
  • MarissaMotivated
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    I weigh 165lbs. I go at a pretty OK pace on the elliptical, not as fast as I would want but good enough for now.

    Anywhoes, every 10 minutes I do, I make sure I reach 100 cals. So 30 minutes for me would reach about 300 cals. Plus I wear a heart rate monitor and the machine always gives me a lower number (but the machines here are basic and you can't fill in all your specifics). The fitness coaches and the sports man in the shop also told me that my heart rate monitor would always be the most correct.

    Since you have 2 things saying the same thing (and the pedometer doesn't really count because you're not actually walking), I would stick with the 300. To be sure, you could buy a heart rate monitor, they're really good and they show you if your heart beat is not elevated too much and so on. They're not that expensive, at least not here in Belgium. I bought mine for 70 euros I think, so that would be about 96 dollars. I think that's an OK price, because you can use it forever (if you take good care of it, the battery also lasts years with moderate usage).
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    I would personally go with the lower number.
    Me, too. But only time will tell. If you eat back all your exercise calories for two weeks and don't lose, then you'll have to trust the lower number.
  • jellybeanmusic
    jellybeanmusic Posts: 161 Member
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    I second the heart rate monitor. Numbers on here are averages, so if you've got some massive guys with huge burns in the mix, then little girls like me are never going to hit those numbers. I was shocked at how low my burns were when I wore my hrm at first, but at least I knew exactly what I was dealing with. Totally made a difference for me to know what was going on.