calories burnt on MFP and exercise machines are different...

ayfa
ayfa Posts: 15 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I've noticed the number of calories a machine at the gym tells me i've burnt is different to the number of calories MFP estimates I would have burnt. If the discrepency were small, 50 even up to 100 calories it wouldnt bother me so much but the difference is quite large.

For example, this evening i did 30mins interval training on the elliptical machine, the elliptical machine told me i burnt (from memory) 200 calories or so while MFP is estimating 374. Similiarly, i did something like 20mins interval on the bike machine, the machine stated 100 calories but MFP says 194 calories.

What should I do?

Sometimes i record a lesser amount of time spent on a machine on MFP so it tracks a similiar amount of calories burnt as oppose to time spent on that machine but i'm not sure if thats right.

Any thoughts?

Replies

  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    This is very common and the best advice I can give you is invest in a good heart rate monitor. I have a Polar brand the FT60 model, paid alittle more for it as opposed to the FT4 and FT7 but the one I have is a little more accurate because it factors in your V02Max.. Unless your using a HRM my best guess is take the lowest of the 2 reading for now,,, Best of Luck....
  • little_princess
    little_princess Posts: 48 Member
    I also agree with above...get a heart rate monitor! I have a timex one :) x
  • trvtrekker
    trvtrekker Posts: 18 Member
    My gym uses lifefitness equipments and they come in close to MFP calculations. May be becuase they require weight input a lotta times they come in surprisingly close. But if you suspect they are off by a fair amount then HRM is the best method to calcualte.

    @EdDavenpor thanks for posting about Polar FT60
  • TriPixie
    TriPixie Posts: 28
    Even HR monitors are only 80% accurate. Split the difference or take the lower amount. It's not going to make that much difference.
  • ktdid626
    ktdid626 Posts: 185 Member
    I found I had this same problem. So I caved, and spent the money for a Polar FT4 on Amazon. I paid extra to have it shipped overnight. I love it!!! I've had it since April. I find that I don't even out to the calories burned on the machine compared to my HRM until I hit more than 500 calories burned. Does that sound weird or what? The machine can be as much as 100 calories or double that of my HRM. I dont want to over estimate, so I go with the lower number, my HRM every time. I figure it's the only one that knows my birthday and my height and my weight and it connected to MY BODY!

    I am very happy with my purchase. I have tried to tell my friends that using a HRM is motivating. Sometimes I make a plan to workout until I burn 500 calories. I can track this easier when I switch machines to get variety with my HRM.

    Just do it. You can pay a little at Walmart or you can pay more...Target in my area carries Polar FT4s and New Balance brand HRMs that have the strap for your chest.

    Good luck!
  • ayfa
    ayfa Posts: 15 Member
    My gym uses lifefitness equipments and they come in close to MFP calculations. May be becuase they require weight input a lotta times they come in surprisingly close. But if you suspect they are off by a fair amount then HRM is the best method to calcualte.

    @EdDavenpor thanks for posting about Polar FT60

    The gym equipment does have a thing at the beginnnig which asks for height and weight, etc but I never really put those details in accurately. Tonight I will to see if that helps out in anyway?
  • lovecantsaveyou
    lovecantsaveyou Posts: 4 Member
    I too have noticed a difference in calories burned comparing what the machine says and what MFP says. It's never by more than maybe 10-20 calories though. I always manually put in what the machine says I burn. The machines I use always ask for my weight before I start so i'm hoping that makes it somewhat more accurate. Definitely try putting in the correct info into the machine and see if the numbers match up closer.
  • ayfa
    ayfa Posts: 15 Member
    Thanks for the response, everyone seems to be on the same page in terms of using some other electronic device to calculate the number of calories burnt during an exercise session.

    But for now, I think I'll continue to go with the lesser estimated amount just to be safe!
  • orishp
    orishp Posts: 214 Member
    I don't trust MFP all that much, I have found it over predicts the cals. I got a bodybugg, to track my calories throgout the day.
    I got it last week, but so far so good.

    I noticed the other day I went on a bike ride, I tracked it using the mapmyrun app, the cals burn from the app match what the bodybugg told me, but MFP overpredicted by about 200 calories .....

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