Calories MFP vs Machine readings

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morandanny
morandanny Posts: 18 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have read in these posts that the calories burned calculation on MFP are inflated. If I am using a machine in the gym (treadmill, eliptical, cycle, etc) that gives a calorie count, can I use those calculations? Are they more accurate? Do they vary wildily between machines?

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  • morandanny
    morandanny Posts: 18 Member
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    Bump. I thought that I would give this a try to see if anyone had an opinion.
  • Nelski
    Nelski Posts: 1,607 Member
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    Unfortunately they could both be really off. They both use some kind of average but everybody is different. The best way to get a more accurate number would be to get a heart rate monitor or someghing like Body Bugg or BodyMedia Fit.
  • SL22268
    SL22268 Posts: 59 Member
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    After investing in a HRM (Polar FT7) I have found that both the machines and MFP to be way off. It's worth the investment, especially if you eat back your exercise calories. I was eating calories I didn't earn; was not losing much and since the HRM, I have been losing 1+ lbs/week consistently.
  • XXXMinnieXXX
    XXXMinnieXXX Posts: 3,459 Member
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    I've got a polar hrm and found both to be miles out!!! Treat yourself to a good HRM with a chest strap. I got the Polar FT60 and love it! All the polar FT range is supposed to be good. They are very motivating, and when your working so hard to get your calories right,m its good to know your getting a more accurate reading with your exercise too! I got mine off ebay. That was the cheapest i could find it. It cost me £99. well worth it for the use i have already got out of it. Its water proof and you can change the battery yourself. this is important as you cannot on a lot of them and have to send them off which costs nearly as much as the watch did! Zara x
  • Emancipated_Tai
    Emancipated_Tai Posts: 756 Member
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    They are both wrong. Until I got my HRM, I was logging based on machines or what MFP had.. they are WAY off!! I was recording burns of 1200, but actually they were more around 800-1000. Now, imagine if I were one of those people who eat all their exercise calories back!

    My advice: Get a HRM. I have the Polar FT7
  • egdanger1
    egdanger1 Posts: 59 Member
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    After purchasing a HRM, I found that I was burning more calories than MFP. The only explanation that I have is that I work out more intensly than whomever posted those particular calories. I now had the explanation of why I was loosing more weight than I was supposed to. I was not eating enough exercise calories back and I had more calories left over at the end of the day than I thought.. Point......Get a HRM.
  • janet0513
    janet0513 Posts: 564 Member
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    To those of you who use heart rate monitors have you found the machines to be higher than what your monitor reads and by how much? I always figured the machine is a better indicator than MFP because it can more accurately assess my effort (speed, resistance)
  • Nelski
    Nelski Posts: 1,607 Member
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    To those of you who use heart rate monitors have you found the machines to be higher than what your monitor reads and by how much? I always figured the machine is a better indicator than MFP because it can more accurately assess my effort (speed, resistance)

    Machines always said my burn was higher than my HRM said. I'm not sure about MFP because I've never used their estimates.
  • SL22268
    SL22268 Posts: 59 Member
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    To those of you who use heart rate monitors have you found the machines to be higher than what your monitor reads and by how much? I always figured the machine is a better indicator than MFP because it can more accurately assess my effort (speed, resistance)

    The machines were quoting up to double what my HRM reads =/
  • Discoveri
    Discoveri Posts: 435 Member
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    To those of you who use heart rate monitors have you found the machines to be higher than what your monitor reads and by how much? I always figured the machine is a better indicator than MFP because it can more accurately assess my effort (speed, resistance)

    The machines were quoting up to double what my HRM reads =/

    Ouch! I really need to look into getting a heart rate monitor. I had no idea the machines would be that off.
  • vrutwind
    vrutwind Posts: 25
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    I just got my Polar F4 HRM last week and have found out a few things. However, these may just be specific to my body and I'm not sure how they would apply to other people:

    1) I burn fewer calories in my bootcamp classes than I thought. I have been logging it as circuit training and MFP said I would burn about 400 calories per class, but according to my HRM I'm burning closer to 350.
    2) The MFP numbers for running and for the elliptical trainer have been very close to what my HRM says, but are a little bit inflated. For example, I went for a 3 mile run (running 10 minute miles) and my HRM said I burned 242 and MFP said 250 calories.
    3) MFP underestimates the calories I burn on the stairtreadmill (and I feel vindicated because I find it SO HARD and always felt like I was burning more calories than MFP was estimating). For example, in 10 minutes on the stairtreadmill, MFP said 77 calories but my HRM said 87 calories.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    Both machines and MFP will be inaccurate, but how far off depends upon the machine. Does the machine ask for your height & weight? Does the machine ask for your gender? These are helpful in calculating calories. The more info you put in the better off you will be.

    Calories burned also depends upon fitness level - neither the machine, nor MFP is able to calculate this. This is what the HRM does.
  • cls_333
    cls_333 Posts: 206 Member
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    You need something that takes YOUR weight, YOUR age, and YOUR HR into consideration. If it doesn't (i.e. the machine at the gym) it's wrong. If you are doing hills, (or incline) your HR goes up, therefore your calorie burn goes up. If you have a good day and your exercise seems wicked easy, your HR will be lower and you will have a smaller burn. You can do the EXACT same exercise on a different day (say after a wicked hard race when you're super tired) and if your exertion level is higher cause it feels harder, your HR will be higher, and you'll have a larger burn. A HR monitor is the only thing that takes all this into account.

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