HRM waaaay diff than MFP

Daysea13
Daysea13 Posts: 21 Member
edited September 28 in Fitness and Exercise
I bought an HRM yesterday, it's a New Balance wrist one (no chest strap). It tracks calories & I take my heartrate multiple times throughout the workout. Yesterday when I walked/jogged 2 miles, MFP would say that was about 315 calories burned. My HRM said 570. Why is there such a difference?

I do know that the HR the HRM is taking is correct. The only info it asked from me when I set it up was age & m/f. I weigh 236lbs & have a high resting HR.

I try to only eat back about 200 calories a day, so I don't know how much it matters. I just want it to be semi accurate. Any advice???

Replies

  • arc918
    arc918 Posts: 2,037 Member
    HRM is wrong in this case, not sure why.

    FWIW, running miles in the MFP database are generally pretty accurate (not much else is...).
  • gec1266
    gec1266 Posts: 201 Member
    Sometimes MFP has been off on some of the calculations. It's a pain but you'll have to do your own adjustments. I have to adjust my elliptical calories burned all the time. I just think they are using a generic template and hoping that it will be correct.
  • ltf304
    ltf304 Posts: 132 Member
    The HRM's without the chest strap are not accurate.....at all. I suggest returning that one and get one with a chest strap.
  • jrich1
    jrich1 Posts: 2,408 Member
    I have always heard for running you burn about 70% of your body weight in pounds per mile. I would go on the HRM over what MFP estimates. I have always found the MFP estimates grossly overstated
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
    Its not accurate because it does not have a chest strap. Also you only entered age and sex.. as my trainer told me, the more info you can enter, the more accurate it will be. So you want one that lets you enter age, sex, height and weight.

    Look into polar.. they really are the best.
  • merrillfoster
    merrillfoster Posts: 855 Member
    My HRM (with chest strap and I input my weight) is always nearly double what MFP says. Either I'm working out way harder than the average person (doubtful, I'm pretty lazy) or something is off. The question, of course, is which? Obvi I'd rather my HRM be correct, lol, and since it has more specific info about me than MFP (which only knows my age, weight, general type of exercise and duration), I tend to trust the HRM...
  • nfanning3
    nfanning3 Posts: 23 Member
    this is a great question...cause a monitor said i had burned nearly 1200 calories in a weight lifting/cardio mix 2 hour class and mfp had me at about 700. thts huge!
  • ltf304
    ltf304 Posts: 132 Member
    My HRM (with chest strap and I input my weight) is always nearly double what MFP says. Either I'm working out way harder than the average person (doubtful, I'm pretty lazy) or something is off. The question, of course, is which? Obvi I'd rather my HRM be correct, lol, and since it has more specific info about me than MFP (which only knows my age, weight, general type of exercise and duration), I tend to trust the HRM...
  • ltf304
    ltf304 Posts: 132 Member
    My HRM (with chest strap and I input my weight) is always nearly double what MFP says. Either I'm working out way harder than the average person (doubtful, I'm pretty lazy) or something is off. The question, of course, is which? Obvi I'd rather my HRM be correct, lol, and since it has more specific info about me than MFP (which only knows my age, weight, general type of exercise and duration), I tend to trust the HRM...

    It is probably right. I am always over what MFP says.....usually by 150 calories or more. MFP has no clue how hard you working during the alotted time. :)
  • iAMaPhoenix
    iAMaPhoenix Posts: 1,038 Member
    HRM with chest strap, HRM without chest strap, MFP, Treadmill calories lost, Elliptical calories lost...and a partridge in a pear tree. I just try not to eat back too much of the calories because all this is too hard to calculate. I figure if I am in the negative at the end of the day, then I will eventually lose weight. Just remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint.
  • elly620
    elly620 Posts: 209 Member
    i've had the same problem. at the gym i walked on the treadmill for 30 min at 3 mph. mfp says 119 calories burned. treadmill says 144 and my hrm says 209. so i have no idea who is right. i just took the average of them all.
  • arc918
    arc918 Posts: 2,037 Member
    i've had the same problem. at the gym i walked on the treadmill for 30 min at 3 mph. mfp says 119 calories burned. treadmill says 144 and my hrm says 209. so i have no idea who is right. i just took the average of them all.

    so 30 mins @ 3mph = 1.5 miles walked

    depends how much you weigh
  • DannyDD79
    DannyDD79 Posts: 6 Member
    I have the same problem. My elliptical machine tells me something way different than MFP lists. And I only put 40 mins when I play baseball because I figure out of the 3 hours a week that I play, I'm only running for 40 minutes of it.

    Am I off base here?

    What's the best HRM out there that's not going to kill my wallet?
  • gailygail99
    gailygail99 Posts: 582 Member
    i have a new balance fit without chest strap. but mine must be a different model because it also has you figure out your target hr zone. you have to first get your resting hr, then figure out your low and high for your target zone with that crazy mathematical equation and then put that in. my target zone is from 127-167..my max hr is like 183. so the 167 is about 90% of my max. i try not to get that high but i like to stay in the 150s. i can burn about 400 cals in 30mins on the treadmill at that heartrate @ 3mph with an incline. i know that the more times you take your rate the more accurate which is why the strap is more accurate but i take mine like every 2-3mins...i believe my results are accurate. i might eventually get one with a strap..we will see...
  • flash53
    flash53 Posts: 46 Member
    I think mfp over estimates the amount of calories burned. I noticed that you did't input your weight just age and m/f. that could be a difference. I think your hrm is way over on the amount of calories burned. I weight 300lbs and burn off about 225 calories in 20 min walking at 3.0 at a 6% incline. My guess you might be some were around 300 cal. I
  • Daysea13
    Daysea13 Posts: 21 Member
    Thanks everyone for you insight!

    I will just make sure I don't eat back all the calories it says I burn. I am taking the HR every 2 minutes or so & it stays around 170 while I'm working out. I've always had a high HR when I workout, so I know the HR portion is accurate....plus I checked by doing it the old fashion way & it was right on.

    I guess as long as I don't eat all the calories back, it really doesn't matter. What does matter is that I'm doing exercise...LOL. My calorie limit each day is 1320 and I don't usually go over that, so I'm sure I'll be fine.

    Thanks again everyone & keep moving :)
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