Quick Calories Burned Question

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emeraldthunder
emeraldthunder Posts: 18
in Health and Weight Loss
My treadmill is very basic and does show calories burned, but it's always different than what my fitness pal says I burned. MFP takes into account my weight and gender I assume when saying how much I've burned, so should I go with what MFP says or my treadmill? I've always gone with my treadmill though.

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  • LisaKyle11
    LisaKyle11 Posts: 662 Member
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    I would definitely go with MFP... workout machine calorie counts are just very average (or ballpark) - especially older machines.
  • Perfectlycrooked
    Perfectlycrooked Posts: 275 Member
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    For sure go with MFP over the machine. It doesn't know as much about you!
  • diegelman
    diegelman Posts: 55 Member
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    I would definately go with MFP's stats. An even better way to tell is to get a heart rate monitor. Mine was cheap, only $30 at ****'s Sporting Goods. It's amazing how many more calories my workouts burn compared to what the site and equipment says.
  • Lexie71
    Lexie71 Posts: 144 Member
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    Calories burned is not an exact science so my opinion would be use either one but be consistant. If you use the treadmill one day and MFP the next you will have more inaccuracy than using one of the other.
  • lesford
    lesford Posts: 8
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    I've heard too that the treadmill (or other cardio equipment) takes into account the number of calories you would've burned just doing nothing in that same amount of time. So if you exercise for 60 minutes, the treadmill will show your normal, everyday calorie burning for 60 minutes of daily life, plus the exercise of 60 minutes. Knowing that, the treadmill probably inflates your calories burned.
  • CatseyeHardcast
    CatseyeHardcast Posts: 224 Member
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    I am with diegelman. A cheap heart rate monitor (that takes into acount your height, weight, age and gender) is a great place to start. While only giving a ball park figure it will be closer than the machine. You can also use it to see how hard you work and how as you get fitter your recovery times etc all change. I got mine second hand from an evil online auction site and use it every day.
  • emeraldthunder
    emeraldthunder Posts: 18
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    I hope to get a HRM monitor as soon as possible, but I'm a broke college girl, so it won't be until I find a job :/

    Thanks guys!

    HRM > MFP > Treadmill ;)
  • CatseyeHardcast
    CatseyeHardcast Posts: 224 Member
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    HRM > MFP > Treadmill ;)

    Perfect.

    And we all know what it is like when funds are tight. Good to see you are not letting it get in the way of your fitness program. Good luck and keep up the good work!

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