IS MFP or HRM more accurate ?

Babieseverywhere
Babieseverywhere Posts: 311 Member
edited October 4 in Fitness and Exercise
We are lucky enough to have bought an Zephyr HxM Bluetooth Heart Rate Monitor and tried it out today.

My C25K run on a treadmill, consists of me walking very briskly for 16 minutes (3 MPH) and running for 15 minutes (4MPH)

Current weight 227 lbs

According to MFP I have burnt around 200 calories, where as the heart monitor said 520 calories !

Which is right ?

Replies

  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    If someone at a carnival eyeballed you and guessed your weight, and then you stepped on the scale, which number do you think would be more accurate?
  • 2knoxs
    2knoxs Posts: 81
    would love tosee some answers on this one, as I am doing c25k, and wonder all the time if Im logging close to what I actually burn. I do not have a HRM...yet.
  • Gilbrod
    Gilbrod Posts: 1,216 Member
    HRM.
  • SergeantSunshine_reused
    SergeantSunshine_reused Posts: 5,382 Member
    If someone at a carnival eyeballed you and guessed your weight, and then you stepped on the scale, which number do you think would be more accurate?

    Love this :D
  • MrsH06
    MrsH06 Posts: 159
    HRM. :)
  • ShrinkingNinja
    ShrinkingNinja Posts: 460 Member
    If someone at a carnival eyeballed you and guessed your weight, and then you stepped on the scale, which number do you think would be more accurate?

    ^^Awesome^^

    The HRM of course is more accurate. MFP is a guess.
  • KristinaD3
    KristinaD3 Posts: 12
    Your HRM is right. I don't go by the entries on MFP because they are someone elses.
  • Boo67
    Boo67 Posts: 43 Member
    HRM!
  • leomom72
    leomom72 Posts: 1,797 Member
    200 cals is too low for that much exercise..its usually low anyways, so go with the hrm..good luck
  • BigDaddyBRC
    BigDaddyBRC Posts: 2,395 Member
    HRM with a chest strap...so long as your settings are accurate.
  • greeneyes82
    greeneyes82 Posts: 315 Member
    I trust my HRM more because MFP is kind of in the general amount by weight of different people. The HRM is actually going by my heart rate & how much effort I'm putting into it.
  • greeneyes82
    greeneyes82 Posts: 315 Member
    HRM with a chest strap...so long as your settings are accurate.

    Agreed!
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
    HRM.. but only if it takes your age, weight, height and gender into account.. If it doesn't, then MFP would prob. be safer.
  • Babieseverywhere
    Babieseverywhere Posts: 311 Member
    If someone at a carnival eyeballed you and guessed your weight, and then you stepped on the scale, which number do you think would be more accurate?

    LOL, love this post.

    Wow, bit of a difference in calories, guess I better alter my exercise calories upwards !
  • Jeepinmom4
    Jeepinmom4 Posts: 298 Member
    Its been said but ill vote HRM also...I was shocked when I got my hrm,it was way diffrent than what mfp said!
  • SmartFunGorgeous
    SmartFunGorgeous Posts: 699 Member
    My stupid HRM doesn't calculate calories, so it was a complete waste of money. Lesson learned. But I wonder of my phone C25K app, or MFP, which is the more accurate?

    ETA: if anyone is interested in guessing!
  • _Khaleesi_
    _Khaleesi_ Posts: 877 Member
    HRM with a chest strap...so long as your settings are accurate.

    Agreed!
    Yep!
  • Babieseverywhere
    Babieseverywhere Posts: 311 Member
    I'll have to try a Kettleworx workout and see what I get on my HRM. Last kettlebell workout I put it under MFP Strength training and for 20 minutes of sweat and tears had 77 calories burn which I thought looked low. I'll look forward to seeing what Zephyr says :)
  • Babieseverywhere
    Babieseverywhere Posts: 311 Member
    HRM.. but only if it takes your age, weight, height and gender into account.. If it doesn't, then MFP would prob. be safer.

    It does take my age, weight and gender into account and it has a chest strap. I'll have to remember to alter my weight as it changes.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    We are lucky enough to have bought an Zephyr HxM Bluetooth Heart Rate Monitor and tried it out today.

    My C25K run on a treadmill, consists of me walking very briskly for 16 minutes (3 MPH) and running for 15 minutes (4MPH)

    Current weight 227 lbs

    According to MFP I have burnt around 200 calories, where as the heart monitor said 520 calories !

    Which is right ?

    I would say... neither. Probably a little more than 200, but less than 520.

    You covered almost two miles. I'd find it very hard to believe that you burnt ~260 calories per mile, unless you had the incline on the treadmill cranked up to the ceiling.
  • Babieseverywhere
    Babieseverywhere Posts: 311 Member
    You covered almost two miles. I'd find it very hard to believe that you burnt ~260 calories per mile, unless you had the incline on the treadmill cranked up to the ceiling.

    LOL, just 2% incline. Mmm, have to look into this further.
  • ChrisIn757
    ChrisIn757 Posts: 159 Member
    A HRM is by far the better choice cause its monitoring REAL numbers that are associated with your body. Depending on how high tech your HRM is it can measure your pulse, how much you are sweating, etc. If you have taken the time to enter your weight, age, etc into it you are getting a much more accurate picture of what YOUR body is doing. Whereas if you put just a length of time of your work out into a website, it is a guess based on the "average heart rate" of what you are burning. I'd imagine they probably estimate low as well, to encourage you to work out more.

    If you have access to a piece of work out equipment (treadmill, stationary bike, etc) with a built in HRM, you can see the difference that I am talking about. While the excercise equipment will usually keep a pretty accurate check of your HR, your calorie burn will be WAY different because the HRM knows more about you.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    Tough call. I don't have any experience with the Zephyr HRM so I can't say for sure.

    But for comparison, I am a male and am 6'3" and about 260lbs. I do 2 miles @ ~4mph every day for the last few months. I burn ~300calories. I'd say given that you are much smaller and female, 200-250 is a pretty good number. 500+ sounds ridiculous.

    I got my 300 calories by averaging out a couple different calculators (including MFP), including my pedometer. I feel that is a fairly accurate number since I eat those calories back and lose pretty much exactly my expected amount every week for months now. I just got a new HRM (polar FT60) and am curious to see what that gives me. My old cheap Timex ($50) would give me crazy figures, 600+ per 30 minute walk for example. No way that's even possible.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    Tough call. I don't have any experience with the Zephyr HRM so I can't say for sure.

    But for comparison, I am a male and am 6'3" and about 260lbs. I do 2 miles @ ~4mph every day for the last few months. I burn ~300calories. I'd say given that you are much smaller and female, 200-250 is a pretty good number. 500+ sounds ridiculous.

    I got my 300 calories by averaging out a couple different calculators (including MFP), including my pedometer. I feel that is a fairly accurate number since I eat those calories back and lose pretty much exactly my expected amount every week for months now. I just got a new HRM (polar FT60) and am curious to see what that gives me. My old cheap Timex ($50) would give me crazy figures, 600+ per 30 minute walk for example. No way that's even possible.

    Tried out my Polar FT60 today, wow it's very close to what I expect. Did 30 mins on the elliptical, came out to 513 calories. MFP calculated 527. Pretty good!
This discussion has been closed.

Categories