Is MFP right???

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staceyo1211
staceyo1211 Posts: 163
in Health and Weight Loss
Is it me or has anyone else noticed that the calorie burn seems to be higher than what is really burned off? When I ride my bike its says I burn 300 cal for a 40 min ride but when I put it in here it says I burn 500+.....I dont want to cheat myself or not do enough so what should I do?

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  • Dafrog
    Dafrog Posts: 353
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    i think the databases are offtrack a lot. i always went by what the readouts said at the gym. your best bet if you want a true number would to be to invest in a HRM.
  • Mrs2Mac
    Mrs2Mac Posts: 16 Member
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    What is an HRM??
  • staceyo1211
    staceyo1211 Posts: 163
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    Heart Rate Monitor
  • shelly650
    shelly650 Posts: 319
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    What is an HRM??

    Its a Heart Rate Monitor! Apparently they are really good! Id love to get one!!
  • ifiwasurvampire
    ifiwasurvampire Posts: 181 Member
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    Mfp is way off on cals. Before my hrm I would enter my mins then only account for half of what it said for cals. And I lost weight that way
  • malabaugh
    malabaugh Posts: 130 Member
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    After buying a HRM I discovered that I was actually burning more than MFP said. Worth every penny!
  • knittnponder
    knittnponder Posts: 1,954 Member
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    Heart Rate Monitor. Mine (Polar FT4) has a chest strap and will calculate calories burned based on your HR. Some don't so shop carefully.
  • dawnna76
    dawnna76 Posts: 987 Member
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    Its very off! On the high side.

    I recently got a HRM and it opened my eyes to why I was wrking out so hard and not loding anything. Yes I toned a little NOT A LOT but my scale has not really moved in over a month. Now I have only had my HRM not even a week so I cant say how the adjustment will pan out when I weight next week but I did sneak a look at the scale this morning and it has moved. So I hfeel I get a better feel of how much I can or CANT eat
  • TrainingWithTonya
    TrainingWithTonya Posts: 1,741 Member
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    Exercise machines are notorious for being inaccurate. MFP uses a METs compendium to determine calorie burns based on your weight. The MET level of certain exercises have been studied and the average of calorie burns was converted to METs, or metabolic equivalents. Basically, METs are how much your normal metabolism is estimated to be raised by the exercise. So, normal basal metabolic rate is 1 calorie per kilogram of body weight per hour, but if you do a workout that is 4 METs then you actually burn 4 calories per kilogram of body weight per hour. Like the machines or HRM's the METs are just an estimate, but it is the one we use in the lab at school so I trust it just as much as any other estimate, more so then the reading on the machines which is generally based on a person weighing 150 pounds and not your actual weight.
  • TrainingWithTonya
    TrainingWithTonya Posts: 1,741 Member
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    Remember if you are using a HRM that it is also only an estimate and can be off if you have taken anything that would effect your heart rate. People on asthma, allergy, or decongestant medications or who have consumed caffeine within 4-6 hours prior to exercise will have a higher heart rate regardless of exercise. The HRM will read that as more calories burned but if an elevated heart rate from caffeine would burn that many calories, then we'd all be skinny from drinking coffee and soda. ;) Also anyone on blood pressure medications or heart medications that lower heart rate may be working way harder then their heart rate indicates because the medications don't allow the heart rate to get up as high with exercise. So, whichever method of estimating calories you chose, just stick to the same method and take into consideration that they are all just estimates. The only way to know an actual calorie burn is with a human calorimeter, which is basically where you live in this room where all intake (food, water, oxygen, etc.)and output (yeah, that Output, along with carbon dioxide) is measured and calorie burns extrapolated from that.
  • Mrs2Mac
    Mrs2Mac Posts: 16 Member
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    Does anyone have a link to where I could get a decent HRM? Also, is this something you wear only while exercising? Thanks!

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