exercise calories different on my treadmill vs this site?

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lin7604
lin7604 Posts: 3,019 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
so which do i go by? when i enter my exercise eg) walking a brisk pace of 3.5 for 25 min it shows on here 101 calories, but my treadmill showed just over 200? that's a big difference.... which do i go by?

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  • kegonzales
    kegonzales Posts: 75
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    I would go by here. My elliptical gives enormous calorie burned numbers. The numbers here seem to be more in line with what I would expect.
  • juliep1974
    juliep1974 Posts: 222 Member
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    The best thing to do would be to get a heart rate monitor and get your calories burned that way. Neither this site or the treadmill is going to be as accurate as a heart rate monitor. In the meantime, I'd split the difference and log something in between.
  • lmtrevin77
    lmtrevin77 Posts: 68 Member
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    I go by the MFP calories because it actually uses your weight to determine the calories burned. I guess if you are entering that info into the treadmill you can use that, but if not then MFP would be more accurate. I never enter that info in the treadmill so I haven't compared. I know, it sucks that the treadmill gives you more of a burn.
  • Moonbeamlissie
    Moonbeamlissie Posts: 504 Member
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    I think i would go down the middle... if its that important. i do not eat my calories back... or all of them anyway. I look at them as my buffer. If i'm hungry I eat if I am not then I don't. Thing is everything is a estimate... even HRM's which are more accurate than the machine or this site. If I had to choose which is more accurate the machine or this site I would go with the machine, unless... you did not enter your weight on the machine then I would go with this site, other wise the machine was there, it knows if you did an incline or not and how often and so and so. EDIT---- also when I enter my weight on the treadmill it usually will be pretty close to my HRM... however this is not true for any elliptical type device I have used.
  • lorihalsted
    lorihalsted Posts: 326 Member
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    Were you using an incline on your treadmill? That would make a difference. Unless you have a treadmill that you enter your weight MFP is probably more accurate than your treadmill. Either way it's exercise!
  • LynneGG
    LynneGG Posts: 95 Member
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    If the machine allows you to enter your weight I would go by that...that would be more accurate since it would be derterminng calories burned based on your weight versus a "standard" number which would apply to any weight
  • Maurey
    Maurey Posts: 44
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    I would go by mfp, or even better invest in a HRM. Once I got my HRM i realized that my treadmill said I burned almost double of what I was actually burning.
  • onebigbutt
    onebigbutt Posts: 48
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    This is interesting. I've always used my treadmill because of the incline.
  • Puffins1958
    Puffins1958 Posts: 614 Member
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    The BEST thing I ever invested in since starting MFP was a HRM. I would get an accurate reading when I was on the treadmill, but that was it. It amazes me how many calories I burn when I'm doing the circuit training. If you could afford one, I would get a HRM. It will give you the MOST acurate readings once set up properly....

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    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    Everyone will tell you to buy a HRM so that your calorie burn is accurate. However, I lost all my weight going by the numbers on my treadmill. It asks for age, weight, etc - so I feel that it is pretty accurate (or close enough at least). I don't think a HRM is a necessity to lose weight and keep it off. :)

    That being said - does your treadmill ask for your age, weight, etc? If so, I would go by its numbers since it knows exactly what you're doing during the workout.
  • lin7604
    lin7604 Posts: 3,019 Member
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    no my treadmill doesn't ask for age, weight, etc it also has incline but you don't know how high you are going as there is no numbers. I did have it on a bit of a incline for the last 10 of my 25 min workout but even without that i was over what it shows on here. I guess i will go by this site's info since it did ask for my weight and age.... how much can i expect to spend if i were to get a HRM?

    it just made me think tonight when i say the numbers and then went to log on my exercise for the day. I have been exercising for 1 month 5-6 days a week and haven't lost 1 lb yet... I didn't find this site until a week ago to log my calories, etc so i was wondering what i am doing wrong....
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,239 Member
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    so which do i go by? when i enter my exercise eg) walking a brisk pace of 3.5 for 25 min it shows on here 101 calories, but my treadmill showed just over 200? that's a big difference.... which do i go by?

    Use the lower of the two would be what I suggest.
  • lin7604
    lin7604 Posts: 3,019 Member
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    thx i will do so, i'll just keep using this sites estimate!
  • Asher213
    Asher213 Posts: 46
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    The calories burned reading on the treadmill/eliptical at my gym is always less then what mfp says so I go by the reading on the gym equipment.

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