Calorie burned tracker on MyFitnessPal vs Tracker on my elliptical

Epic1523
Epic1523 Posts: 5 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey guys, so I was wondering which is more accurate, MyFitnessPal calories burned tracker or the calories burned tracker on my elliptical at home because there is quite a large difference between the two. For example, my elliptical at home says that I burn 900 calories in 45 minutes, whereas MyFitnessPal tells me I only burned around 560 calories. I would think my personal elliptical would be more accurate considering it knows my height, weight, age, distance I ran, and intensity of my workout--Not just my height, weight, and age that MyFitnessPal knows. But my elliptical could just be inaccurate so any thoughts on this would be appreciated :)

Replies

  • socioseguro
    socioseguro Posts: 1,679 Member
    None of them.
    I use my Heart Rate Monitor to calculate cardio burned calories
    It all depends on intensity and effort, not only time.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    probably less than both of those estimates.
  • BasicGreatGuy
    BasicGreatGuy Posts: 857 Member
    socioseguro wrote: »
    None of them.
    I use my Heart Rate Monitor to calculate cardio burned calories
    It all depends on intensity and effort, not only time.

    Spot on.
  • HealthyHappy619
    HealthyHappy619 Posts: 17 Member
    socioseguro wrote: »
    None of them.
    I use my Heart Rate Monitor to calculate cardio burned calories
    It all depends on intensity and effort, not only time.

    Agreed. I (F/35/5"9/150lbs) log 400 calories for a 60 minute elliptical session at resistance level 14. My average heart rate tends to be around 155bpm. This is probably 100-150 calories under, but I'd rather err on the low side.

    This is the link I use to calculate "net calorie burn" (start with gross then enter that # into net calc)
    http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/heart-rate-based-calorie-burn-calculator.aspx
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    edited July 2015
    Epic1523 wrote: »
    For example, my elliptical at home says that I burn 900 calories in 45 minutes...

    That's a "No, I didn't sleep with your best friend" level of lie.

    ....whereas MyFitnessPal tells me I only burned around 560 calories.

    That's a "Okay, yes, I did sleep with your best friend, but only once, it wasn't any good and it didn't mean anything anyway" scale lie - but it's still a lie.

    Take the MFP number and cut it in half, you'll at least be somewhat close. If you need a more accurate estimate, figure out how far you can run in 45 minutes, calculate the burn for that, and take 2/3 of that value. That'll most likely get you to within the same error bars are your food logging, which is all you can realistically hope for.

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