Which calories are most accurate?

frankos72
frankos72 Posts: 11
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm using the endomondo app to figure my calories when I run. I figure it's probably pretty close to accurate because it knows how fast I was going at all times along with my heigh, weight, age and the elevation of my course. That all seems fine to me.

But when I run indoors on my treadmill, I get vastly different calories burned from the treadmill itself.

For example.
I'm 6'3", weigh 199 today, and I'm 40 years old.
Today, I ran/walked a total of 2.62 miles over 31.42 minutes.
The treadmill says I burned 349 calories.

If I go to endomondo's website and put in that I ran 2.62 miles in 31m42s. It says 456kcal.

Which one is likely more accurate? I personally think that endomondo is because it knows my heigh weight and that the treadmill might be using and average weight of say 150 or something. At the same time, I DON"T want to do anything that would be cheating and I'd rather underestimate a workout or overestimate a meal rather than the other way around.

Thanks,

Replies

  • kenny_johnson
    kenny_johnson Posts: 108 Member
    Endomondo seems pretty accurate for me when I've compared it to http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc

    However, I put your stats (I used run 5mph) and got: 394 -- which is closer to the treadmill.

    Your best bet is to use a HRM and measure it.
  • frankos72
    frankos72 Posts: 11
    Can you get a decent HRM that is wrist only or do I need one with a chest strap to be truly accurate? I just can't imagine a chest strap being very comfortable.
  • Saiklor
    Saiklor Posts: 183
    I can't afford a heartrate monitor right now, so my method is to underestimate my calories burned. I always take the lowest number I can find (between the machine, this website, and general internet search) and hey, if it burns MORE than that well BONUS!
  • wellbert
    wellbert Posts: 3,924 Member
    Can you get a decent HRM that is wrist only or do I need one with a chest strap to be truly accurate? I just can't imagine a chest strap being very comfortable.

    Chest strap. You stop noticing it after like 5 minutes.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Treadmill walking/running has the most studies done with it, and therefore the most accurate calorie counts from using it, when you can enter needed info into a calculator - NOT the treadmill itself.
    Sadly many of the public databases like MFP uses make assumptions, and actually only use weight.

    http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs.html
  • frankos72
    frankos72 Posts: 11
    Treadmill has the most studies done on it, and therefore the most accurate when you can enter needed info.
    Sadly many of the public databases like MFP uses make assumptions, and actually only use weight.

    http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs.html

    My Poore treadmill is about 7 years old and I cannot put any info into it.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Treadmill has the most studies done on it, and therefore the most accurate when you can enter needed info.
    Sadly many of the public databases like MFP uses make assumptions, and actually only use weight.

    http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs.html

    My Poore treadmill is about 7 years old and I cannot put any info into it.

    Well, actually, I didn't mean the treadmill's themselves, they actually are not that accurate though they could be. The manufacturers like to inflate to be encouraging.

    Rather, that link is most accurate, along with others, that calculate the MET's literally needed, and what you at your weight must have expended in energy to accomplish the pace/incline you entered.

    Outside flat is figured to be about 1% grade BTW.

    Glad you caught my wrong way of saying that.
  • kenny_johnson
    kenny_johnson Posts: 108 Member
    I've also noticed that Endomondo's numbers seem much higher now. I wonder if it's since the last update? I do pretty much the same route every day and Endomondo's now calculating it at about 275 calories -- when it used to calculate at about 200.
  • heatherhallenadams
    heatherhallenadams Posts: 1
    I, too, have been wondering about the latest update - it's suddenly giving me 475 calories for a route, speed and time that used to give me 250. I'd love to believe the new update is more accurate...
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    I've also noticed that Endomondo's numbers seem much higher now. I wonder if it's since the last update? I do pretty much the same route every day and Endomondo's now calculating it at about 275 calories -- when it used to calculate at about 200.

    Same route, but are you doing it faster now?

    Improved fitness level, VO2max, even if weight stayed the same, should allow you to do it faster, which means more energy spent.

    They could have tweaked their formula's too of course.

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