Polar FT7 shows I burned 500 calories less than MFP???

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Replies

  • bush_woman187
    bush_woman187 Posts: 25 Member
    i was going 18mph which is supposed to be vigorous. I'd rather count what I 'm actualy doing, but wow, I was eating some of those calories back, not sure how i actually lost weight! I wanted to see if anyone else experienced that. I am a larger woman and wasn't sure if maybe the strap was too tight or not tight enough or if I just wasn't working out as hard as MFP said I should. :-) Thanks for the feedback.

    how much resistance? i think that needs to be taken into account as well.
    18mph on a flat will obviously not get your HR up the way 18mph on any sort of incline would.

    trust your hrm more than mfp.
    and just as a rule of thumb...pick the lower number! its best to underestimate burns than overestimate...
    don't wanna eat back calories based on an inflated number. :)

    Thanks for your reply. Resistance ranged from 4-6. i was talking with my dietician because my weight loss has been flat. she thought i was eating too many carbs (which is true! :-) But, she thought maybe my calories were underestimated. But, now it seems my workouts were way overestimated, so it makes sense, but it doesn't feel motivating at the moment. I'll need to let it marinate in my head how upset I am that I'm not really burning a lot of calories...lol.
  • bush_woman187
    bush_woman187 Posts: 25 Member
    i'm glad to know it can go the other way too and give you more calories burned! :-) I did zumba today for 20 mins and at my weight i felt i was going to die! I was almost dripping in sweat....and i burned 163 calories. I thought it would be much more, but it wasn't. I am going to give it some time for me to get used to it. I'd rather know what I'm really burning and lose weight than use MFP's estimation and remain the same weight or lose much more slowly.
  • sc1572
    sc1572 Posts: 2,309 Member
    Go with the HRM, no matter how shocking it is! I experienced this...my HRM was pretty accurate with the treadmill/bike, but the elliptical it was 300 less! :/ However, it was higher than MFP for my group classes/outdoor runs! :)
  • bush_woman187
    bush_woman187 Posts: 25 Member
    600+ seems way too high but 186 seems too low if you really are working out hard during the 30 minutes. Not sure of your weight, but when I was around 200 lbs, I probably burned about 280 in 30 minutes of stationary bike, but I also did a little hand weight work at the same time. can you check during your workout that your HR is still picking up? And double-check your settings.

    ETA just saw where you posted your weight ;)

    thanks for your reply. Will it tell me if it stops picking up my HR? I saw the HR pretty consitently moving up and down while working out. granted this was my first time using it. i also didn't hear it beep any time during the workout. is the beep really low?
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
    I typically burn more for "stationary bike" or spin than MFP says.

    The higher your watts (effort -- a function of resistance and speed), the higher your calorie burn.

    Obviously, not everyone is riding a stationary bike with the same effort. Therein lies the problem if you are looking for exact numbers.

    For cycling, if you have a bike that shows watts, you can convert that to METs and multiply it by (RMR/24) to find your calories burned.

    Here's a formula:

    http://www.livestrong.com/article/77130-calories-burned-using-stationary-bike/

    Livestrong also has other useful formulas for calculating calorie burn.

    blessings.
  • fmbomzo
    fmbomzo Posts: 382 Member
    I don't have an HRM. I'm debating buying one since I do a lot of interval training. I use a combination of MFP and Livestrong to come up with reasonable estimates based on my weight and height. I err on the low side if they are drastically different.
  • Kelico528
    Kelico528 Posts: 39
    I'm SO glad I found this thread! I just used my Ft7 yesterday for the first time. My treadmill takes my weight into account, but nothing else. My HRM showed that I burned about 75% MORE calories that the treadmill showed. I was afraid to believe it! I feel like I need to be in a support group.... "Learning to trust your HRM" LOL
  • kristelpoole
    kristelpoole Posts: 440 Member
    I'm SO glad I found this thread! I just used my Ft7 yesterday for the first time. My treadmill takes my weight into account, but nothing else. My HRM showed that I burned about 75% MORE calories that the treadmill showed. I was afraid to believe it! I feel like I need to be in a support group.... "Learning to trust your HRM" LOL

    This is how it worked for me too! I was burning way more calories than even MFP was estimating for most exercises. And I have learned more about my body and how much it can do with my HRM because my HRM pushes me to reeeeally work myself hard during my workouts. I also hold myself more accountable because I can see in the HRM whether I've truly worked hard or not.

    Anyway, best exercise or fitness investment EVER. I <3 my Polar FT7.

    To the OP: The beep isn't that loud, especially if you are wearing headphones.
  • torygirl79
    torygirl79 Posts: 307 Member
    Yeah my HRM calculates much lower than the site. It's depressing but also much more accurate.

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