which to believe: MFP or gym machine?

MKEgal
MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Today I did 40 minutes on the elliptical (first time ever!), broke 400 calories (first time ever, actually went to 450!), and broke 2 miles (first time ever!).
:happy: :happy: :happy:
The machine said 450 calories, MFP says 729. That's a difference of 279.
My doctor said not to eat over 1700 cal per day, and treat exercise as a bonus, not to add extra calories based on exercise, so I do try to stay close to my goal.
(My net calories are usually way under, and even the absolute calories are usually pretty close.)

It's not working anyway, and is discouraging... I haven't lost any weight in the last month, even though I work out about an hour a day (weights & cardio) and am paying close attention to what I eat. :grumble: :sad: :angry:

Replies

  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
    Well, between then & now I've lost just over 17 lb.
    Slowly, slowly.
    And I've decided to split the difference between the machine & MFP when I consider how many calories to have that day.
    But someone at the gym pointed out that maybe MFP is accounting for the increased metabolism which continues for a couple hours after exercise.
  • BookAngel_a
    BookAngel_a Posts: 143 Member
    I have the same question. I'm thinking about getting a heart rate monitor to get a more accurate idea of the calories I'm burning. Sorry no one answered you, I would have liked to see what everybody said. :)
  • 1pandabear
    1pandabear Posts: 336 Member
    Well, between then & now I've lost just over 17 lb.
    Slowly, slowly.
    And I've decided to split the difference between the machine & MFP when I consider how many calories to have that day.
    But someone at the gym pointed out that maybe MFP is accounting for the increased metabolism which continues for a couple hours after exercise.

    Good job! Your persistence is admirable. Congrats on your success.
  • Keepcalmanddontblink
    Keepcalmanddontblink Posts: 718 Member
    Maybe use the smaller number to be on the safe side, but please do get a heart rate monitor. I got my Pyle Sports watch and chest strap on Amazon for $26 and its amazing!! Get one with a chest strap so you have an accurate reading. :)

    Edited to add: I know a lot of people prefer Polar HRM's, but they can be pricey. If you can't afford one, and go for a cheapie like I did, make sure you can add your age, weight, gender and Vo2max for the most accurate calorie burning.
  • 12bfree
    12bfree Posts: 67 Member
    MFP and the exercise machine are just estimates. They are both only good for documenting trends. A heart rate monitor would help make a better assessment. If you are not concerned with eating back the calories just pick one and track your results. However, do not try to guess your caloric intake. You will guess wrong every time and just get frustrated. So get a good set of measures and a digital food scale.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    I would like to know the answer to that myself. I have 3 values to worry about, machine, MFP and my heart rate monitor. I usually count whichever is lowest and recently started subtracting my "calories burned within that period if I did no exercise" from the total exercise calories, and then split the result in half for "eat back" purposes.

    Why you aren't losing may as well be a matter of working too much too fast which causes water retention, as well as some inaccuracies in the way you are tracking your calories (cups vs food scale). It may also be that your expectations are not realistic. I hit such a point in my weight loss when I stopped losing 3 pounds a week anymore simply because I lost enough weight to have a lower daily burn and big burns became harder.
  • afortunatedragon
    afortunatedragon Posts: 329 Member
    Get an HRM.
    The numbers on MFP are simply to good to be true.
    30 min of swimming on MFP is 594 cals.

    My HRM told me 175 cals - and I was swimming for 30 min. Breast and back.

    Just to show you the difference.
  • sabrina19782014
    sabrina19782014 Posts: 50 Member
    i had the same question...

    until i get a good answer i go by gym numbers
  • greymane98
    greymane98 Posts: 29 Member
    +1 for heart rate monitors.

    Barring that, what I used for quite a while until I got one was an online calculator for converting heart rate to calories. My elliptical reported heart rate when I hold the handle and I would periodically check. For example, for the first couple minutes my heart rate would be in the 120s, so I used 2 min of 120 rate, then for the next 20 minutes it would be in the 130s so I would remember that...etc. I just used the lower heart rate at the 10s until I clearly was consistently above that.

    Then with those numbers I went to:

    http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/heart-rate-based-calorie-burn-calculator.aspx

    and plugged each value in and added them up. Normally it is only 2-3 calculations as I keep my rate in the 130-140s rate at this point so it sounds more complicated than it is.

    The numbers were workable and I used this for quite a while until I got a heart rate monitor. Frankly, using this system the calories have been pretty accurate compared to the HRM since it uses the same process...the HRM just automates it for you.

    In any event, I would NEVER use the calories that an exercise machine gives you unless it is a very high dollar machine that you have to plug in age/weight/sex and has a heart rate monitor built into it...

    I also agree that MFP is just a guide and it has always seemed somewhat high to me.

Categories