Can someone explain "exercise" to me

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skinniwithin
skinniwithin Posts: 17 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
LOL, Yes, I know what it is but I am totally confused over how MFP tracks it.

I'm a newbie to MFP and definitely to exercise too. I'm going from a 95% sedentary lifestyle, hopefully to something better and I've set a goal of 6000 steps a day. I know that for most of you that is nothing but for me, if I can do it every day, it would be huge and I can work up to a higher number.

I try and get my steps in on an Elliptical machine. It's an old one without moving handlebars so just a lower body workout.

According to MFP a 45 minute workout should net me 765 calories yet the readout on the machine tells me 345.

So which one is it? I am going at about 110 steps per minute so nothing fast but it's a lot for me just starting out.

Replies

  • Earthtokarmen
    Earthtokarmen Posts: 19 Member
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    Probably neither is accurate. They are both giving you some sort of ball park without really being able to accurately calculate calories burned. I suspect the machine is closer in this case.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    edited March 2015
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    Use the lower number. The MFP number assumes you're already very fit.

    Even that may still be high...
  • fearlessleader104
    fearlessleader104 Posts: 723 Member
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    I use 5 calories per minute when I'm going moderate to hard, and 10 calories per minute when I go hard to breathless. That has been working out for me in terms of accuracy regardeless of what the exercise is.
  • sweetpea03b
    sweetpea03b Posts: 1,124 Member
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    Unfortunately unless you wear a HRM its going to be hard to know. Usually what I do in this case is go by the machine. If you think its a little low... guesstimate somewhere in the middle. If you have the funds, I definitely recommend getting a heart rate monitor. It takes a lot of guess work out of these situations.
  • Earthtokarmen
    Earthtokarmen Posts: 19 Member
    edited March 2015
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    I was curious what MFP says about this - they actually have an FAQ about this:
    - These calculations, while reasonably accurate, are not as accurate as the feedback from a cardio machine in the gym, or an activity tracker, that can calculate your calories burned based on data collected moment to moment. For this reason, our system allows users to input their own values for calories burned, in case they have a more accurate figure from such a source.

    Edited to add link to the FAQ: https://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/265066-the-calories-reported-by-my-gym-machine-don-t-match-myfitnesspal-s-estimates-what-should-i-do-
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    edited March 2015
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    Don't bother with an HRM - they lead to more problems than solutions because most people use them wrong, and for the wrong things. They only give accurate-ish numbers under specific conditions, for specific activities.
  • haniscor
    haniscor Posts: 9 Member
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    Actually, the machine might even be a bit high.
  • jordanify
    jordanify Posts: 81 Member
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    I use 10 calories per minute too and most times I don't eat back those calories
  • Earthtokarmen
    Earthtokarmen Posts: 19 Member
    edited March 2015
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    I agree that the machine may also be high.
  • amflautist
    amflautist Posts: 941 Member
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    Mr_Knight wrote: »
    Don't bother with an HRM - they lead to more problems than solutions because most people use them wrong, and for the wrong things. They only give accurate-ish numbers under specific conditions, for specific activities.

    Splain please. I don't believe that most people use them wrong.

  • Earthtokarmen
    Earthtokarmen Posts: 19 Member
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    I actually stopped tracking my exercise on MFP. I track my calories and macros but not my exercise (I track exercise on bodyspace). It wasn't really telling me anything, personally, for my goals. I just choose a calorie goal that is appropriate for my activity level. I realize a lot of people eat back their calories but MFP just had a great article about this:
    http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/ask-the-dietitian-should-i-eat-back-my-exercise-calories/
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    edited March 2015
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    amflautist wrote: »
    Mr_Knight wrote: »
    Don't bother with an HRM - they lead to more problems than solutions because most people use them wrong, and for the wrong things. They only give accurate-ish numbers under specific conditions, for specific activities.

    Splain please.

    It's been explained 8 billion times on MFP, by myself, Azdak, and others - heart rate does not correlate with calorie burn except in very specific circumstances. More detailed explanations are available through the search box.
    I don't believe that most people use them wrong.

    That's entirely up to you...

    :drinker:
  • CA_Underdog
    CA_Underdog Posts: 733 Member
    edited March 2015
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    skinniwithin wrote: »
    According to MFP a 45 minute workout should net me 765 calories yet the readout on the machine tells me 345. So which one is it?
    Choose the estimate that has the most info about what work you've actually done--in this case, the exercise machine. It knew your speed, elevation, and resistance. Hopefully you also told it something about yourself, like your weight and possibly more. MFP doesn't know whether you went 2mph or 6mph, on an incline or a straight-away, resistance 1 or 10.

  • skinniwithin
    skinniwithin Posts: 17 Member
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    Thank you. I am wearing a fitbit Zip to track my daily steps and will go with the calories on the machine. Other than today, which was a total write off, I am trying not to eat my exercise calories.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    amflautist wrote: »
    Mr_Knight wrote: »
    Don't bother with an HRM - they lead to more problems than solutions because most people use them wrong, and for the wrong things. They only give accurate-ish numbers under specific conditions, for specific activities.

    Splain please. I don't believe that most people use them wrong.

    well to be fair- people can be using them in the manner in which was intended- strap heart rate on- monitor heart rate.


    but heart rate =/= calorie burn.

    and heart rate during lifting- or anything other pretty much than steady state cardio- or sprints when you need to be hitting certain target heart rates - is useless.

    so yeah they maybe USING them properly- in a manner that reads the heart- but that does not mean they are applying the data set in an appropriate manner.

    see the difference?

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