Is the calorie to exercise calculator on here really accurat

naturallykat
naturallykat Posts: 118 Member
edited September 27 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi all

Fairly new to this site, but I am amazed by the amount of calories that exercising burns on here. Fair enough I have a heck of a lot to lose, but even so... 20 minutes on the Cross trainer burning 300 calories... really??

How accurate do you think the exercise calories are?

Replies

  • therealangd
    therealangd Posts: 1,861 Member
    They can only be estimates because to actually calculate calories you need to know intensity and volume of oxygen processed. But they are good estimates. They have helped tons of people lose tons of weight.
  • rileamoyer
    rileamoyer Posts: 2,412 Member
    They are good estimates, but when I finally got my HRM I found they tended to be a bit low, so if you use them you should be fine.
  • godsgirl82
    godsgirl82 Posts: 5 Member
    Thanks for posting....I was thinking the same thing! Lol
  • ohthatmomma
    ohthatmomma Posts: 115
    I thought this same thing. Especially since we burn calories based off of our weight and intensity of exercise. I would like to know the same thing. I am going to check it out online with a true calorie counter.
  • SaraWo24
    SaraWo24 Posts: 192 Member
    They are good estimates, but when I finally got my HRM I found they tended to be a bit low, so if you use them you should be fine.
    And for me it was the opposite! My actual burn was a lot lower than what MFP said so I realized I needed to up my intensity a little on some of the days. Your calorie burn will also go down with the amount of weight you lose so keep that in mind! :)
  • katy5692
    katy5692 Posts: 140
    i do 25 mins on the crosstrainer and thats only 100cals for me- so just be careful! :)
  • tonicia
    tonicia Posts: 145 Member
    My estimated calorie burn with mfp was almost 800 calories. My estimated calorie burn with a heart rate monitor was 500....I'd get a heart rate monitor. In my opinion, mfp overestimates your burn by a lot.
  • ohthatmomma
    ohthatmomma Posts: 115
    I just went online and checked the calories burned based off my weight, which is 187 lbs. MFP says my burn for a 4.0 walk @ 60 minutes is 424 calories burned. Online calculator with says, 437 calories burned. Pretty close. :-)
  • kennebec
    kennebec Posts: 10 Member
    I use either what the machine says (since I have entered my weight into the machine) or my Garmin 405 with HR monitor. The Garmin is awesome if you like doing outdoor activities where you can accurately track mileage and your HR. I've found that the MFP tracker is a little higher than what I'm actually burning, but this does (as someone else stated) depend on your weight and the actual intensity of your workout.
  • SoCalSwimmerDude
    SoCalSwimmerDude Posts: 507 Member
    I'm new to MFP and have thought this exact same thing. In fact, I've changed the burn a few times since it seemed way too high. If the workout machine says 300 calories for 30 minutes on a treadmill and MFP says 450, then I'll go w/ around 350 or so.

    This is especially true with swimming. I swam competitively all my life. So 30 minutes in the pool can be extremely easy if I want it to be. When in doubt, if I've gotten in an honest workout of 30-40 minutes cardio and some abs, then I'll put anywhere from 300-350. Ha, but I also don't measure and weigh all of my food... So to each his or her own!
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