Calories burned are way off on MyFitnessPal?

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  • LLStover09
    LLStover09 Posts: 49 Member
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    Most of the straps are adjustable. The package should say sizes it fits. You are probably already aware but without the continuous HR monitoring, your calorie count is going to be much less accurate..
  • WickedDeadly
    WickedDeadly Posts: 4 Member
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    I have the exact opposite problem. The MFP numbers are nearly 40% less than my HRM.
  • AlabasterJar68
    AlabasterJar68 Posts: 121
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    There are many facets to this conversation. I found MFPs calculations to be way too high, but I have friends who have found them to be too low. You have to try it for yourself and see how it works with what YOUR body is doing. Either way, if you are working out and not logging and exercise, I hope you are exactly at your calorie goal or going a little over regularly, so you are at least eating back some of those calories.

    Thank you. I have been doing this for a week now.
  • rmhand
    rmhand Posts: 1,067 Member
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    My HRM give me a higher number than most machines and MFP.
  • jamm2000
    jamm2000 Posts: 79
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    I have found them to be off, but not significantly off. And I don't try to eat all of my exercise calories anyway so if it's off a few here and there, its no big deal. If I use a cardio machine that tracks, I'll enter those calories instead of what pops up on MFP.
  • ready2tryagain42
    ready2tryagain42 Posts: 202
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    That is why I bought an HRM with a chest strap a year and a half ago.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    If you don't believe the MFP calculation of calories burned (and you probably shouldn't), just override it. At least then you have a record of your activity in your log, which is an important aspect of keeping it.
  • kgprice11
    kgprice11 Posts: 750 Member
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    Your Nike + statistics are also off because the Nike chip is just a generic pedometer with a Nike emblem on it, now if you are using you iphone to track with map your run (whatever the app is called) then you can evaluate your actual calorie burn compared to what your program says. :smile: All in all no program is 100% accurate therefore these programs just give you a guesstimate of the actual weight loss you have accomplished.

    Good job to everyone and keep it up
  • susieq101178
    susieq101178 Posts: 305 Member
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    After getting an HRM, I found that MFP was underestimating my burn.
  • Chameleone
    Chameleone Posts: 281 Member
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    I agree the calories are off BUT I don't think that is a reason not to log exercise. I lost 22 lbs logging both food and exercise without a HRM. That being said, I usually do not eat ALL my exercise calories back.
    I just got a HRM about 2 weeks ago, and for me, I was burning more than MFP said I was, altho I hear that many others are burning less.
    I would say get a HRM as soon as you can but I don't think your workouts should go unlogged just because you don't have one.
  • Masterdo
    Masterdo Posts: 331 Member
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    It depends on the activity.

    For running and walking for example, stats on MFP are as good as any. Those are really well documented in scientific litterature, and directly related to your weight and speed, so it's quite simple.

    But if you are "gardening" or doing "circuit training", then yeah, the estimate is probably off by quite a lot.

    Also, consumer grade HRM are as much as 20-35% off the real Energy Expenditure, so it's FAR from perfect too. MFP uses a formula based on information you provided. HRM does the same, but using heart rate. If your HRM doesn't ask for VO2Max or body fat%, it is honestly not very reliable either, and the error of calculations using MFP is also within that range.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    Because I couldn't get myself to buy a HRM, I just started logging half of my workout so a 60 minute swim I put in as 30 minutes. It seems to do a good enough job of fixing the problem. Good luck! I definitely like logging the exercise. More calories to eat!

    *mind boggled*

    Wouldn't it make more sense to accurately record your time, but override the calories-burned amount by half?
  • idratherbethin
    idratherbethin Posts: 1
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    Well if you're putting your all in your exercise and are losing weight I don't see a problem.
  • mandydoll
    mandydoll Posts: 25
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    i don't take any numbers as gospel on MFP, although i do find that it does give you a estimate and that's closer than just guessing on your own. There is no way MFP can know your level of intensity in each work out, if you're serious about weightloss or fitness, get a hrm,
  • Linda_Darlene
    Linda_Darlene Posts: 453 Member
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    It is nice to be able to track exercise as well. I always track my exercise so I know what I have done and how long.

    It won't throw anything off unless you decide to eat all the exercise calories it shows.

    I have compared calorie read outs from MFP to numerous other sites. They all have read pretty much the same but keep in mind the are general numbers. While I enter mine in, I know my metabolism is a wee bit slower and I do not eat back the calorie burn it shows. If you want greater accuracy on your calorie burns, there are reasonably priced HRMs that can show you what you are burning. I just the weekend bought myself a little MIO HRM at our local sporting goods store.
  • MikeM53082
    MikeM53082 Posts: 1,199 Member
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    I've done some comparing between the MFP numbers, the number I enter on the machine (w/ my age/weight), and with my heart rate monitor. They vary a little, but are usually in the same ballpark.

    For one hour on the stationary bike, MFP says 625 cals, bike says 520, HRM varies between 500-550.
  • BigDave1050
    BigDave1050 Posts: 854 Member
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    I would log everything. On the days that I exercise, I give myself a 200 cal buffer from my original goal calories. So 1800 + exercise (200) = 2000 for the day. This way I don’t waste all the calories I've tried burning up during my exercise. Most of my workouts burn at least 500 cals as well. Good luck to you on your journey and I hope you figure out what works for you.
  • NickIandolo
    NickIandolo Posts: 11 Member
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    I only include the calories burned that my NordicTrack tells me about. Its monitor calculates speed and distance and comes up with calories burned. It does not take into account the resistance setting or my heart rate. And that's fine. I do use a HRM but this is to keep me working in specific exercise zones so I know how hard I'm working and what kind of progress I'm making.

    I'd rather low-ball how many calories I burn on my cardio workout and then not overeat. I don't even bother trying to figure out the calories from my strength training program. It's too much calculating and not really worth it . If one pull-up is like less than a calorie burned what's the point of calculating all the pull-ups, push-ups, ab exercises, leg exercises, all the other calisthenics that I do? Instead, I'll let the muscle mass that I'm building burn away the calories that it does to sustain itself.

    I'm less concerned with the scale now and more with getting a killer well-rounded and effective workout for a man in his mid-forties. As long I'm losing the beer gut, lowering my blood pressure, toning up, and am able to keep up with my 3 year old daughter, then I'm happy.
  • neverstray
    neverstray Posts: 3,845 Member
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    People are telling me not to add exercise to my log because myfitnesspal gives way too much credit for calories for a particular exercise. I'd love to hear others' thoughts on this. So far I'm pretty much just logging food. But I'd really like to log exercise, too. Just not if it throws everything off. Thanks!

    I think that's bogus and I get tired of reading about it. I have compared my HRM with MFP, and it's so close that it's ridiculous. Maybe it's + or - 50 cals either way. Doesn't matter in the grand scheme.

    You also have to take personalities in mind. Some people are super nitpicky about the tiniest little thing. 3 cals off and they have a coniption fit. Your looking at long-term averages.

    Do you think that the calories on food are accurate? They aren't. Someitmes, they are way off. I think they only have to be within 20% accurate, or something like that, so they can be really really off. Everything is just kind of a guess and you just average things out. Plus, 50 calories of something will wear differently on me than it will on you, so it's kinda moot in a way.

    don't dive into the details. Just do your thing and don't worry.
  • charanne52
    charanne52 Posts: 88 Member
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    I have my lifestyle classed as sedentary and my weekly exercise set at 0 but I am a bit more active. I do exercise and I do log it in but I don't use the figures that MFP provides. I use the ones provided by my exercise equipment and I go to another website to calculate my burned calories from walking which is based on my weight, speed and time taken.

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