Wich one is right MFP or the machine

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CherryOnionKiss
CherryOnionKiss Posts: 376 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I dont have an HRM. I am not buying one, too expensive for me. I went to the gym today and the elliptical said that in 30 mins i burned about 150 cals ONLY!

But if i enter my exercice in MFP it says that i burned 350 cals.

Which one is the more accurate? Please tell me its MFP! :sad:

Replies

  • CherryOnionKiss
    CherryOnionKiss Posts: 376 Member
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    bump
  • htmlgirl
    htmlgirl Posts: 314 Member
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    HRM > Machine > MFP

    If you enter your info (weight, etc) into the machine, then it'll calculate the calories more accurately. MFP just has a general idea. If in doubt go with the lower number.
  • Colbyandsage
    Colbyandsage Posts: 751 Member
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    HRM > Machine > MFP

    If you enter your info (weight, etc) into the machine, then it'll calculate the calories more accurately. MFP just has a general idea. If in doubt go with the lower number.

    This! I have a HRM and my elliptical is very close to it.
  • Blessedmommy_2x
    Blessedmommy_2x Posts: 419 Member
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    Personally I would go with the lower guess. You don't want to"overestimate" cals burned. In your opinion was it a high intensity workout??? It would have to be, in order to burn that amount (350) in 30 minutes.

    Without a HRM its all a guess. HRM don't have to be expensive.I got extremely lucky and was able to purchase the older model of a Polar one and ended up getting it for under $30 shipped - it is the Polar F4. I figured I wasn't sure if and how much I would use it so I didnt want to spend a fortune on one. But now that I have one... It is AMAZING!
  • CherryOnionKiss
    CherryOnionKiss Posts: 376 Member
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    My trainer said that by doing 30mins of elliptical I should be able to burn between 300 and 400 cals. How is it possible that I only lost 150 ??
  • perdie7
    perdie7 Posts: 278 Member
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    what level of intensity do you have the machine on? Also what fitness program? And what speed are you going? Did you plug in your age and weight? Was the machine monitoring your heart rate?
  • Diandra81
    Diandra81 Posts: 128 Member
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    My trainer said that by doing 30mins of elliptical I should be able to burn between 300 and 400 cals. How is it possible that I only lost 150 ??

    It depends on a lot of factors....

    Anyway, like others have mentioned your best bet is to buy and HRM....and you can definitely find good quality brands for low prices all around the net.
  • CherryOnionKiss
    CherryOnionKiss Posts: 376 Member
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    Yeah I had one, but I got what I paid for. It registers my heart rate when I put my finger on a small reader. Doesn't work most of the time. It's really crappy. I'll see if I can find a cheap polar on ebay
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    If I put weight, age, etc into the machine -- I ALWAYS trust the machine over MFP. It knows how hard I've worked whereas MFP is just guessing.

    I lost all of my weight not using a HRM. I simply learned to eat better, eat less and move more. A HRM isn't a necessity - especially if purchasing one would be a financial burden. You CAN do it without one.
  • clouxles
    clouxles Posts: 71 Member
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    I always go with the lower... even the machine may be wrong as when I strap on my heart rate monitor I get almost half of what the machine says...

    It may make up for when I forget to add food to my list :embarassed:
  • AllanMisner
    AllanMisner Posts: 4,140 Member
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    The answer is none of the above. I've used my HRM and if I go low intensity, the machine and MFP shows too high. If I go high intensity, the machine is usually low and MFP can be either high or low (but tends to be low). The intensity of your work means a lot. If you're not willing to buy a HRM, consider taking your pulse a few times during your workouts and do the calculation by hand when you get done. Then you can get an idea of which one is closer. But like others have said, I would stick to the lowest one.
  • tiffanyvc
    tiffanyvc Posts: 99
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    When I use the elliptical, I burn an average of 175-200 calories in 30 minutes. Somtimes less if I'm not maxing out my intensity. I'd say 350 in 30 minutes isn't very realistic unless you're really going hardcore. Back when I had a HRM, MFP's estimations of my calories burned were always higher than what my HRM said. My HRM broke and I'm looking for a better version, but in the meantime, I'm using the machine estimations.
  • kimharrod
    kimharrod Posts: 27
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    Machines are generally (most of the time) set for a 150 pound person. If you weigh heavier than that, then you would probably burn more.
  • byHISstrength
    byHISstrength Posts: 984 Member
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    It may be some where in between. It really depends on how hard you were going and what resistance you were using. I used to always use the elliptical and in 30 minutes I could burn between 300 and 400 calories easy. I average about 90 to 100 calories for every 10 minutes. I stayed at about 150 - 190 RPM and my resistance was always between 4 and 8. And I did put my age and weight in before starting.
  • CherryOnionKiss
    CherryOnionKiss Posts: 376 Member
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    I'm not buying an HRM it's definitive. I don't have that kind of money to spend on something like that.
  • cvpis4me
    cvpis4me Posts: 50
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    I just use MFP's estimation but I too wondered about this. On WW you can select when you did light, moderate or vigorous exercise. Here you just have "Elliptical Trainer", how can MFP know how hard you worked out? That's why I only eat back about half my exercise calories, just in case the calculations are off.
  • Gr33nstars
    Gr33nstars Posts: 27
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    I got a Suunto HRM for Christmas and I find that the HRM cals burned are in between the machine's estimation (v low) and MFP (highish) calculation. Obviously I now log the HRM reading but I know even this isn't spot-on so I round down and try not to eat all my cals.

    I think if in doubt, log the lower value but monitor how you feel - if you feel unusually hungry you may need to log higher to allow you to refuel :-)
  • CherryOnionKiss
    CherryOnionKiss Posts: 376 Member
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    I just asked my trainer how I was supposed to get 350 cals in 30mins and he said that I should be at 150 strides a minute and resistance 4.

    He forgot to tell me that before my first session. I set everything to 1 since it was my first time. No wonder I only burnt 150cals! :blushing:

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