What should I believe? pedometer, MFP, or HRM?

tony1307
tony1307 Posts: 127 Member
edited December 17 in Fitness and Exercise
I have a pedometer app for my iPhone. it says when I walked 19 minutes, I burned 121 calories.
On my break just now, I walked 16 minutes. MFP says that is 150 calories.
The heart rate monitor I am wearing said that I burned 215.3 cals.
Which should I trust?

Replies

  • Ange_
    Ange_ Posts: 324 Member
    HRM is by far the the most accurate.
  • KristenStone
    KristenStone Posts: 106 Member
    I vote HRM!

    I trust my pedometer but only bc I don't have a HRM.

    MFP is so general and not to mention "tends to over exaggerate".

    Good luck!
  • jhardenbergh
    jhardenbergh Posts: 1,035 Member
    as long as the HRM has a chest strap, I would go with that, make sure all your info is put in correctly though, height, weight, resting hr, age, etc...
  • MelissaL582
    MelissaL582 Posts: 1,422 Member
    HRM
  • darlilama
    darlilama Posts: 794 Member
    HRM with chest strap
  • warmachinejt
    warmachinejt Posts: 2,162 Member
    HRM with chest strap
  • kaizen31
    kaizen31 Posts: 74 Member
    HRM! Sadly, MFP tends to be too generous.
  • courtneymal17
    courtneymal17 Posts: 672 Member
    HRM (most particularly if there's a chest strap)...pedometers and MFP go off of averages for your height/weight, and while they *may* be true there's a LOT of variation. HRMs calculate based on your heart rate, which is much more accurate
  • AmandaLAcosta
    AmandaLAcosta Posts: 87
    hrm
  • sun33082
    sun33082 Posts: 416 Member
    Why the emphasis on it having a chest strap?
  • tony1307
    tony1307 Posts: 127 Member
    I thought so too, but the HRM was the highest reading at 215. MFP only said 150 calories.
    I am able to input height, weight, age, gender.
    It also displays a graph letting me know what "zone" I am in.. Weight loss, fitness, anaerobic.
  • katiebythebay
    katiebythebay Posts: 611 Member
    as long as the HRM has a chest strap, I would go with that, make sure all your info is put in correctly though, height, weight, resting hr, age, etc...


    /\
    this, absolutely only if you have a chest strap.
  • jhardenbergh
    jhardenbergh Posts: 1,035 Member
    I thought so too, but the HRM was the highest reading at 215. MFP only said 150 calories.
    I am able to input height, weight, age, gender.
    It also displays a graph letting me know what "zone" I am in.. Weight loss, fitness, anaerobic.

    yeah another important factor is resting hr, cause say your resting heartrate is 50 and your heartrate while exercising is 150 you will burn more calories than say if your resting heartrate is 80 or 90. Your resting heartrate should be taken first thing in the morning when you get out of bed. My HRM usually has me burning more than the machines at the gym, mfp, and pedometer. The pedometer only measures when you put your fingers on it. The chest strap measures your continuous heartrate during exercise. The machines at the gym only measure when you hold the bars on it, and MFP takes into account your height and weight, but no heartrate. You could be working a lot harder than the average person.
  • fypspirit
    fypspirit Posts: 109 Member
    I was wondering the same thing on the chest strap. Does that make the HRM better than a wrist one if you wore it under the wrist where you feel for your pulse? I am looking into buying one and would like to know which is better.
  • AZKristi
    AZKristi Posts: 1,801 Member
    Does your HRM have a chest strap? How hard were you working? 215 in 20 minutes would be pretty high intensity exercise for me. I use a HRM and I usually average about 10-12 cals per minute doing spin classes or HIIT on the stairmill, or HIIT running outside (although I don't run fast...)
  • OSC_ESD
    OSC_ESD Posts: 752 Member
    ~ Traditionally the HRM ( with chest strap ) is the most accurate source of the three listed. With that being said and as long as you programmed the HRM accordingly .. I would go with the HRM. Although other devices, websites and MFP can be grossly exaggerated ... it is always in your best interest to eat back the calories at about 80 - 90% the suggested burn. Remember your body will burn during that time a suggested percentage based on your health / body whether you are exercising or just watching tv ... granted it is not a huge difference ... but it does still exist.

    I use three different ways of tracking my workouts ... My Polar F4 is my main source ... but I do like to compare the numbers to MFP and Cardio Trainer ... for the most part they tend to only be about 10% off from my HRM.

    Hope this helps ! :flowerforyou:
  • tturley
    tturley Posts: 73 Member
    HRM, but take the average and put it in this...

    http://www.braydenwm.com/calburn.htm
  • shastar
    shastar Posts: 21 Member
    HRM with chest strap. Then if you have under active thyroid, you will find you burn a lot less than the average person next to you doing the same exercise. It hits home knowing you have to work twice as long and hard to burn a calorie off than other people. Since I have under active thyroid, my calories burned is usually always half what the machines at the gym say and half of what the TechnoGym says people burn for the group exercises, like BodyVibe, BodyStep, BodyPump and so forth. I can never use what the gym machines say or the TechnoGym system that is programmed for all the exercise activities at the gym.

    I also would like to know what people think is the best HRM with strap. Mine is Sportline that I got at Walmart for $50. It is programable for age, height, weight, but not resting heartbeat.

    Is there some way to have MFP notify me when someone responds to this post? I may not find this thread again.
  • tony1307
    tony1307 Posts: 127 Member
    Thanks...
    This one does not have a chest strap. It connects to the plug in on the bottom of my iPhone, and has a clip on for the bottom of my earlobe. Similar to what they use in a hospital on your fingertip.
    I have checked it against counting my pulse manually, and another HRM I have and it seems to work fine.
  • mandaface415
    mandaface415 Posts: 17 Member
    HRM with chest strap. Then if you have under active thyroid, you will find you burn a lot less than the average person next to you doing the same exercise. It hits home knowing you have to work twice as long and hard to burn a calorie off than other people. Since I have under active thyroid, my calories burned is usually always half what the machines at the gym say and half of what the TechnoGym says people burn for the group exercises, like BodyVibe, BodyStep, BodyPump and so forth. I can never use what the gym machines say or the TechnoGym system that is programmed for all the exercise activities at the gym.

    I also would like to know what people think is the best HRM with strap. Mine is Sportline that I got at Walmart for $50. It is programable for age, height, weight, but not resting heartbeat.

    Is there some way to have MFP notify me when someone responds to this post? I may not find this thread again.


    I, too, have this same HRM.. and find that its grossly less then what MFP says i burn. I'm wondering if it has something to do with not being able to program the resting hear rate. I have never been diagnosed with thyroid issues. How does one calculate their resting HR? Experts, advice??
  • shastar
    shastar Posts: 21 Member
    Wear the HRM strap to bed and look at it in the morning before you get up.

    15% of Americans have thyroid problems and many do not know they have it. Doctors do not check it during annual physicals. It is a different blood test. I think it should be tested since many of the 15% population do not know they have it!
  • 1HappyRosie
    1HappyRosie Posts: 80 Member
    HRM, with chest strap
  • Chipmaniac
    Chipmaniac Posts: 642 Member
    HRM if given those choices...but if you are on a high-quality cardio machine and you enter your weight, go by the machine as the HRM is only an estimate and can vary considerably depending on your fitness level.
  • ambitious01
    ambitious01 Posts: 209 Member
    HRM. It's actually the only one that knows how hard we work.
  • yesthistime
    yesthistime Posts: 2,051 Member
    as long as the HRM has a chest strap, I would go with that, make sure all your info is put in correctly though, height, weight, resting hr, age, etc...

    This. Chest strap and accurate stats are key with a HRM.
  • shastar
    shastar Posts: 21 Member
    Since you have the same HRM and strap...I too wonder about how shows half the calories burned to other devices. I have wondered if it was from under active thyroid or if it is the HRM itself. I am considering purchase of new HRM with strap to compare. That's why I would like to know what is recommended for HRM strap that you can program resting heart rate, age, weight and height.

    What HRM with strap works with those features?
  • Judgirl83
    Judgirl83 Posts: 12
    I have a very high heart rate (in the 90s to low 100s resting) so I can't use HRM unless it lets you put in the resting heart rate. Since I don't have one of those yet I just use the MFP. I mostly log my activity on Fitocracy though, not MFP.
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