How accurate is MFP on calories burned?

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bm99
bm99 Posts: 597 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Is MFP accurate? I don't care if it's correct down to the last calorie, but is it within a reasonable margin of error? And does it take into account your current weight and fitness level?

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  • angel79202
    angel79202 Posts: 1,012 Member
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    I find that since I got my HRM..MFP burns are high in comparison..
  • kimber89
    kimber89 Posts: 31 Member
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    bump
  • Switty_Kitty
    Switty_Kitty Posts: 538 Member
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    Its not at all.
  • PRprincess
    PRprincess Posts: 200 Member
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    I find that since I got my HRM..MFP burns are high in comparison..


    I completely agree.
  • shadowkitty22
    shadowkitty22 Posts: 495 Member
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    I found that MFP burns were lower in comparison to what my HRM told me. For instance, my HRM told me that I burned 1400 calories during a 30 minute bike ride while MFP (and every other website I go to for calorie estimates) tells me that I burn significantly less. So I figured it was the HRM and just stopped using it. I use the MFP calories for the most part on pretty much every exercise I do and that, along with eating better, I've managed to lose 43 pounds so far.
  • jenj1313
    jenj1313 Posts: 898 Member
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    For me, it's way over compared to my heart rate monitor. If I use the MFP values, I tend to cut them in half for calories (but keep the time).
  • angel79202
    angel79202 Posts: 1,012 Member
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    I find that since I got my HRM..MFP burns are high in comparison..


    I completely agree.

    I think we have the same HRM :)
  • angel79202
    angel79202 Posts: 1,012 Member
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    I found that MFP burns were lower in comparison to what my HRM told me. For instance, my HRM told me that I burned 1400 calories during a 30 minute bike ride while MFP (and every other website I go to for calorie estimates) tells me that I burn significantly less. So I figured it was the HRM and just stopped using it. I use the MFP calories for the most part on pretty much every exercise I do and that, along with eating better, I've managed to lose 43 pounds so far.

    1400 calories was probably the HRM..not sure what u weigh but thats definitely not right..
  • JoeyTajzai
    JoeyTajzai Posts: 1,198 Member
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    Is MFP accurate? I don't care if it's correct down to the last calorie, but is it within a reasonable margin of error? And does it take into account your current weight and fitness level?

    ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
  • Awkward30
    Awkward30 Posts: 1,927 Member
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    The activity burns are high, but unless you are truly sedentary, the basal is low, when I used it properly, I lost weight as predicted, thus it was accurate for me. Try it and adjust after a few weeks if things are too fast or slow.
  • mrscherry1
    mrscherry1 Posts: 80
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    If you don't have HRM I would highly suggest getting one, I agree with others, MFP are to generalized, they tend to be higher than actual!! I bought a Polar FT4 from bodytronics.com - LOVE IT :love:
  • Pancua
    Pancua Posts: 38 Member
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    I use the Fitbit in conjunction with MFP and I am not sure which calorie burn to believe.

    I usually try to get MFP to get as close to zero, give or take within 100 and call it a good day.
  • bm99
    bm99 Posts: 597 Member
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    Does it even matter much? At this point I am so overweight and underfit that walking 2.5 for a mile is an effort for me (although a lot less now then when I began!). I keep reading that a mile is roughly 100 calories and MFP has it as a little more than that for me (which I can believe because of the extra weight). The treadmill agrees with 1m=100cal
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
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    Really, there is quite a bit of variability in the exercises that really cannot be factored in... Weight is one factor but also muscle mass and body fat percentage, tweaks and variables in the exercise itself... inclines, speed, height, stride, etc. With all these variables, there will be some variation in accuracy... I think perhaps it is a good place to start but it is conceivable that it may be a bit off for any given person...
  • feliciatopia
    feliciatopia Posts: 5 Member
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    I just try to not eat what ever I worked off. I did the same with ww. So if I burn 300 cals
    I don't eat 300 extra. I love my fitbit! I also selected the
    Lowest activity level on MFP.

    You are doing great! You lost 10 pounds!! Keep up the great work.
  • Raynn1
    Raynn1 Posts: 1,164 Member
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    I found the number MFP gave me was way too high..
    I didnt have a HRM until just this week, but what I did previous to get a better idea of my burn rate, was at the very end of my high heart rate peak (ie: end of my run), I would check my pulse rate for 15 seconds, and multiply it by 4.. that would give me my HR... then I took that number and entered it here: http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/heart-rate-based-calorie-burn-calculator.aspx

    At least then I had a better rough estimat than MFP gave me.. with this, I was finding about a 200-300 burn difference on my runs..
  • clover5
    clover5 Posts: 1,643 Member
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    Is MFP accurate? I don't care if it's correct down to the last calorie, but is it within a reasonable margin of error? And does it take into account your current weight and fitness level?

    If I am honest about how much I have eaten and how much exrcise I have done, I lose weight using the MFP program. So, for me, that is within the reasonable margin of error. The only outside item I use is a step counter, and I only use that to be certain that I maintain the lightly active activity level that I choose in the MFP set-up.

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