Is the Wii accurate for calories burned?

redmagpie91
redmagpie91 Posts: 77 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Today, I spent 60 minutes doing various Wii fit exercises. The Wii tells me I burned around 100 calories, but MFP and other Internet sources say for someone my weight it would be around 220. Which would you chose? I'll probably chose 100 so I don't over estimate, but I'm curious as to what everyone else thinks.

Replies

  • PWanks
    PWanks Posts: 22 Member
    The best way to know for sure is to invest in a heart rate monitor. I bought one a couple weeks ago for the exact same reason. In my experience though, MFP was overestimating my calorie burn. 100 seems like very few for an hour's worth of exercising though. Were you very sweaty and winded or was it just very light exercise?
  • kagenw
    kagenw Posts: 260 Member
    MFP is a bit liberal with the calories lost. I agree with the above statement that you should get a Heart Rate Monitor to see.
  • hollin40
    hollin40 Posts: 120 Member
    I second a HRM. I did Xbox running and kickboxing today. The Xbox said I burned off 350 calories but my HRM said over 800....I have my stats in the info on my Xbox fitness game but it's just an estimation. The HRM is actually charting your HR and how long you stay "in the zone" and making a calculation based on that. It's much more accurate.
  • lostsanity137
    lostsanity137 Posts: 298 Member
    I would say getting a heart rate monitor is a better idea. I seen people say MFP is too high, low, and just right. It depends on the person. For me personally, since I got my HRM, MFP has been too low! I have been burning way more calories than they say!
  • INSANITY43
    INSANITY43 Posts: 142
    I use Zumba2 for WII as part of my excercise sometimes....I wear an HRM and the calories burned per the WII is usually calculated to be 75-100 MORE than my HRM!
  • morkiemama
    morkiemama Posts: 894 Member
    I can verify if it is any of the Wii Fit generic games or like the Biggest Loser game it is NOT accurate and actually underestimates (from my experience anyway). I've done a bunch of things with my HRM on and the Wii say I only burned like 10 calories and my HRM can be 5 times that amount if not more. I would go with an average of the MFP and the Wii numbers at least (if you are worried about going over).
  • jc1229
    jc1229 Posts: 220 Member
    I would also recommend a hrm. I played the Zumba 2 on the Wii and it told me I burnt 706 calories in 45 min. My hrm on the other hand told me I only burnt 350. That's a huge difference. I haven't used my hrm playing any other Wii yet, since I just got the hrm recently. Even the calories on mfp are quite a bit over estimated for me. Good luck! :)
  • JanaB2011
    JanaB2011 Posts: 20
    I am thinking about purchasing a HRM. Any suggestions on what is a good one. I have seen ones that look more like a watch and think I would probably wear that more.
  • JayPeazy
    JayPeazy Posts: 89 Member
    As a video game nerd, I have to chime in here. We have both the Biggest Loser game but also the UFC Trainer for xbox 360. Fact is both of them are low as well as some (not all) other fitness "games" out there. They low ball the burn as to not be held accountable for misleading and blah blah blah. Plus for those that DO have a hrm going, they'll feel like they did even better giving them a psychological boost.

    Keep playing/working out and get a hrm. Then you too can enjoy the artificially crafted feeling of accomplishment! lol

    P.S.
    I LOVE these games.
  • morkiemama
    morkiemama Posts: 894 Member
    I am thinking about purchasing a HRM. Any suggestions on what is a good one. I have seen ones that look more like a watch and think I would probably wear that more.

    I recommend a Polar HRM with a chest strap. I have a Polar FT7 and LOVE it! Polar is known to be pretty accurate. Whatever HRM you get should have a chest strap. Ones without chest straps (e.g. ONLY the watch) are known to be wildly inaccurate. :)
  • merzback
    merzback Posts: 453 Member
    For accuracy I would suggest a fitbit or body bugg!
  • redmagpie91
    redmagpie91 Posts: 77 Member
    Thanks everyone for.the.suggestions, but I cant do that atm. I have been wanting a hrm for a while now, but simply cant afford one. The ones with chest straps are way expensive. That's not even mentioning a bodybug or anything like that!! I was just wondering what everyone else's experiences were with Wii fit.
  • jc1229
    jc1229 Posts: 220 Member
    They have crazy good deals at bodytronics.com I have a polar ft 4 that also comes with a chest strap.
  • lizjames1971
    lizjames1971 Posts: 39
    My hrm gives me a lot more than wii does!
  • ravensfan1
    ravensfan1 Posts: 78 Member
    Thanx for the heads up about calories not being accurate. I ordered a fitbit so I will definitely be using that to see how many calories are burned when I Wii Fit
  • carramel0705
    carramel0705 Posts: 183 Member
    i found when i did my first workout yesterday the calories burned were quite a bit lower then the HRM watch i just got the day before. also the calories listed on my treadmill were a LOT lower then what the HRM was showing. that would explain the 8 pound drop in 2 weeks i was not eating back over more then half of what i had burned.
  • ahealthy4u
    ahealthy4u Posts: 442 Member
    For me the WII has been pretty well dead on in what I have been doing or fairly close. I think the WII is set somewhere in the middle to be honest. The best way to be really accurate I would say is one needs to invest the proper equipment to monitair ones progression.
  • twhitney
    twhitney Posts: 65 Member
    My HRM said I burned 100 more calories than the Wii Active tonight.
  • sandy2006
    sandy2006 Posts: 483 Member
    Wii Zumba gives me double than my HRM says.
  • Virginia90
    Virginia90 Posts: 317 Member
    I got my FT4 on Amazon.com for only $60, so maybe you could save up?
  • carolann_22
    carolann_22 Posts: 364 Member
    For stuff on the WiiFit, I found that the Wii was similar to the readout on my BodyMediaFit. For other things on the Wii, it's all over the place, some over, some under.
  • GINAvsGINA
    GINAvsGINA Posts: 270 Member
    To most simply answer your question, the answer is NO. It is not even close to being accurate, its an estimate of how much a person your size would burn doing the workout.
  • stefanieanne14
    stefanieanne14 Posts: 119 Member
    I second a HRM. I did Xbox running and kickboxing today. The Xbox said I burned off 350 calories but my HRM said over 800....I have my stats in the info on my Xbox fitness game but it's just an estimation. The HRM is actually charting your HR and how long you stay "in the zone" and making a calculation based on that. It's much more accurate.


    I have the same experience with Dance Central for the Kinect. I'll do an hour and it says I burned 225 cal but my Bodybugg will say 560...definitely worth getting a HRM or something like that!
  • runbyme
    runbyme Posts: 522 Member
    I am thinking about purchasing a HRM. Any suggestions on what is a good one. I have seen ones that look more like a watch and think I would probably wear that more.

    I ordered a Bowflex Fitwatch with a chest strap. It will read my heart rate continuously...not just every 30 seconds . It will arrive on Monday and I can't wait to try it out on a variety of exercises!

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