Calories the Recumbent Bike

VainMommy

I have a recumbent bike. I attach my fit bit to my shoe, add a little resistance and pedal away.

I know there are a lot of variables but do you think it's the same or more calorie burn as actually walking or am I kidding myself?

I've lost 21lbs since September counting calories... losing motivation and I've been eating a bit here and there with out weighing. Hoping the calories I burn on the bike aren't over estimated... sorry all over the place!

TimothyFish

Using a fitbit attached to your shoe won't give you an accurate reading. Cycling burns more calories per hour than walking, but it burn less calories per step. By distance cycling is about four times more efficient than walking. In fact, cycling is the most energy efficient form of transportation there is. Fitbit overestimates to begin with. Measuring steps by cadence is going to make it even worse.

MeanderingMammal

VainMommy wrote: »

...am I kidding myself?

Quite probably. A FitBit is intended to estimate the distance you move your bodyweight as you move based on number of steps. A turn of the rotor doesn't represent a step length of your bodyweight.

sijomial

Yes I think you are kidding yourself on calories - sorry!

A friend doing a Fitbit challenge realised it hadn't recorded a single step by late afternoon so I volunteered to put it on my shoe during an hour of indoor cycle training. Hit almost 6000 "steps" to get her up to where it should have been.

A crank rotation of a non-weight bearing exercise is nothing like a weight bearing step.
Why don't you just log what the machine estimates? May well not be accurate but better than what you are doing.

Well done on the weight loss so far, perhaps take a month deliberately eating at maintenance (a diet break) to address your motivation issues? You could focus on other goals for that month, fitness related for example.

VainMommy

Great great advice sijomial !! Thanks