calorie accuracy question - polar ft7

40rods

Hello everyone! I just started using my Polar FT7, and I used an elliptical machine at my gym for some cardio today. The device seemed to record a pretty consistent heart rate and it didn't jump or drop dramatically at any point. My resting rate was about 85-90. I am about 240 pounds, 6' 2", and am 21 years old. I have quite a bit of fat around my belly, thighs, and chest, and am not really "in shape" as of yet, but I would not say I am EXTREMELY big. I did 40 minutes of sports interval elliptical (2 mins of light resistance, 2 mins of medium, 2 mins of heavy, repeated). According to the FT7 my average heart rate was 143, my max was 160, and it said I burned 500 calories. On the other hand, the machine I was using said I only burned 248. I was wondering what someone else thought about these readings? I was sweating quite a lot and moving pretty fast for a good portion of the exercise as well. I also wet the strap before putting it on and it felt pretty secure across my chest.

Thanks a bunch!

Mr_Knight

There are just so many unknown variables in here that there's no way to know for sure. Personally, I'd just pick one, use it consistently for an extended period of time, and adjust once there is enough history to see how much it over/under-estimates.