HM vs. data base for calories burned???

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LethaSue
LethaSue Posts: 285 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
For those of you with a HM, how does the actual calories burned compare with the numbers used in the data base? The credit they give for burned calories seem to be very over estimated. If we could all burn calories to that extreme then I doupt any of us would be needing to lose weight. As a matter of fact, some of us would need to be tied down to keep the wind from blowing us away.

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  • adjones5
    adjones5 Posts: 938 Member
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    MFP greatly underestimates my calories burned.
  • austepants
    austepants Posts: 356 Member
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    MFP usually overestimates my calories burned for a specific activity. I love my HRM!!!
  • cjv73
    cjv73 Posts: 240 Member
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    I don't have a HRM, but I have noticed that MFP and the treadmill at the gym are almost exaclty spot-on with each other.
  • shaneNSW
    shaneNSW Posts: 42 Member
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    MFP under estimates my calories burned by about 10% when cycling. So close enough if it is all you have to work with when cycling.
  • love22step
    love22step Posts: 1,103 Member
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    My HRM always shows a greater calorie burn, so I use the MFP database estimates to make sure I don't overestimate how many calories I'm burning. I still like to use the HRM occasionally to monitor my heart rate.
  • CMmrsfloyd
    CMmrsfloyd Posts: 2,383 Member
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    MFP and gym machines are always going to have the possibility of varying WILDLY from reality b/c they either may not have all your stats (machines) or cannot accurately estimate your actual effort (MFP). HRM is going to be the most accurate assuming 1) you have everything programmed in correctly 2) it has a chest strap for continuous monitoring 3) you use it correctly and 4) you do not have any medical conditions or medication that make your heartrate unusually high or low.
  • BlueLikeJazz
    BlueLikeJazz Posts: 219 Member
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    MFP overestimates for me for any of the non-specific exercises (dancing, elliptical) but is usually pretty close for the more specific ones (walking/jogging at a certain mph). Also, never trust an exercise machine calorie burn read-out unless you actually need to enter your gender/weight/age. I'm a pretty big girl (200 lb.) and my elliptical doubles my actual calorie burn, according to both my HRM and my BodyBugg. I would think for someone who weighs 200 lbs. it would be sort of a close count, but yeah, I feel bad for any "normal-sized" person who uses a machine like that, one without being able to enter your weight, and believes it. I'd be overeating like crazy!
  • MissFit0101
    MissFit0101 Posts: 2,382
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    MFP greatly underestimates my calories burned.

    Same with me! I wear my HRM and I burn way more than MFP calculates for most activities.. but that's probably because I don't really know what moderate means.. I go big or go home, every workout, LOL.
  • DM_USCG21
    DM_USCG21 Posts: 28
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    Depends on the Intensity of my workout. Sometimes it is more sometimes it is less. I fifn my heart rate to be far more accurate, seeing as it is taking into account my average heart rate not just an estimate.

    depending on how hard I work out, i can lift weights for just 45 mins and hit 550 + calories or go very intense and burn 680+ it just varies where your heart rate is at.
  • clarkrn09
    clarkrn09 Posts: 4 Member
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    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Nutrition Facts For Foods

    HRM works best for me.
  • rana_bear
    rana_bear Posts: 55
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    Think it varies for everyone. Some people say that HRM cals are higher then MFP but i find its the other way for me. I generally burn less (according to HRM) then MFP even when I'm training really hard. This isn't true for all exercises in the data base however. Depends on so many factors, intensity of the workout, your body shape, metabolism, and time of the day (i tend to burn more early in the day), etc.

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