Elliptical???

DancingYogini

Hi all,

I have a Nordic Track elliptical machine that I bought from Costco. Now, when I work out on it, it tells me that I have burned around 476 calories for 30 minutes, yet when I see other people posting their exercise, it is always a different, usually lower number? So I am confused. I have been using those numbers since July, and have been eating those extra calories as well! So what is the deal? I use my arms, and I change up the incline and workout level, and I try to keep my pace pretty fast...am I wrong to trust my machine, or should I just keep using that total?

TIA

Rachel

starkiss100

I burn about 300 calories in 30 minutes.

pamp1emousse

I find this to be a really good calories burnt calculator

http://www.braydenwm.com/calburn.htm

I don't have a HRM so I can't get the more accurate readings lots of people here get, but if you get your average heart rate from the machine on your next work out, plug it into the calculator and you should see a pretty good estimate. It may just be that youre working harder than most people! It can't be too horribly wrong or you wouldn't have lost 18lbs!

Mollydolly10

All exercise machines I've used have GROSSLY overestimated how much I was burning (treadmills, ellipticals, stationary bikes). I got a heart rate monitor awhile back and noticed that the calories I was actually burning are about half of what was shown on the machines.

Machines usually don't get much info from you - maaaybe your weight and age? But they don't know your maximum heart rate, height, sex, etc. so it isn't that accurate...

The best thing to do is to invest in a heart rate monitor (HRM) if you want to have more accuracy. Second best, you could always just record what MFP recommends, that's usually closer since you gave the website a good deal of information. Third best, work on only eating back half of your exercise calories instead of all of them, that way you are reducing the risk of completely negating your exercise!

Hope this helps!

PS. Just as an example, when I was on the elliptical for 35 minutes, the machine said I burned 320 calories. My HRM said I burned only 190.

mymelody_78

I used to trust the elliptical numbers but recently, I bought a heart rate monitor and even though my heart rate stay in sync with what the machine said, in the end the machine said I burned 400 calories and it turned out only to be 245. The heart rate monitor keeps track of my height, weight and age.

eabeumer

I think the thing to remember is that the machines tally your calories based on your age and weight, so comparing your numbers to others are not the same. Have you tried to see what the website indicates a calorie burn is for an elliptical? If it's comparable then you're good. Best of luck!

Natural

i burn 100 calories every 9 minutes (resistance 10) or about 300 every 30 minutes too. your true calorie burn would also depend on your age and weight and the resistance as well. getting a heart rate monitor is probably the best thing to do that way you can compare to what the machine says you burned, then you will have some idea of what's accurate.

camille45

not everyone has the same machine and they may be working at a different level. Adjusting the incline, speed etc always makes the calories burned vary. i always trust the machine that I am working out on for me its the truest measure of what you just did

txswim24

I've noticed that too. Last time I used the elliptical for 30 min, it said I burned about 300 calories. I've been going with what the machine says because it factors in the incline and resistance.

emott84

I tend to burn about 350 calories on the elliptical for 30 minutes. But, if I plug in "30 minutes" into the MFP Exercise diary for elliptical it spits out a lower calorie number. You can adjust the number though if you have a different figure from your machine.

I'd say, go with the one on your machine. Your machine knows what your resistance level, incline and speed was. MFP, for all it's awesomeness, does not!

Brady_

man, after reading this thread, i dont think i WANT a HRM..it will just tell me i have to work out 10x longer cause im not burning the extra cals! barf!!!

navs52

I always let MFP tell me how much I burned when using an elliptical. The machine doens't know how much you weigh so it can't be right. I've verified that MFP gave me about the same number as a few other sites I found on the web.

erickirb

In the absence of a HRM, I would go with the lower of the number MFP gives you and your machine gives you. This way you can ensure you are not overeating.

Since you are eating all of your exercise calories you may want to back out the calories you would have burned at rest as your machine counts total cals burned not extra calories burned and the rest calories are being double counted (once in your daily intake then again when you enter your exercise) To get this amount to back out take your BMR or maintenance calories, divide by 24 to get calories/hour.

If you BMR is 1600 and you maintenance is 2000 you should back out between 67 (1600/24) and 83(2000/24) per hour or between 34 and 42 for half an hour of exercise to ensure you do not double count those cals. Even if you are using a HRM you should back out these calories to get the extra calories burned through exercise. Most people burn between 1 and 1.5 cals per minute at rest.

♥_Ellybean_♥

I usually burn about 10 calories a minute on the Elliptical... and the machine was only off by no more than 20 calories from my heart rate monitor.

Remember that each person is going to be different based on the intensity, their body weights, etc.

I would not think the machine is off by as much as some say it is.

ShellyKay67

I usually burn 300-320 cal in 30-35 minutes!

kennedar

I usually burn a little more than 10 calories a minute on the elliptical. I actually found that my HRM gave me a higher number than the machine - by about 50 calories over a 60 minute workout! Before I bought my HRM I took the lower number of the machine vs MFP and only ate back about 75% just to be safe. With the HRM I am letting myself eat most of the exercise calories because I know that is a much more accurate number. Good luck!

KAK68

I'm looking into getting one so good to know all this info.

willimh

I wear a body bugg to see how many calories I am burning so yes, it is going to help you alot to invest in a heart monitor. I have found that you burn more when you are using a lot resistance or going to fast. Try and stay within your weight lose zone with your heart rate. I usually burn about 250-275 calories in 30 mins on the elliptical but the machine reads about 300-315. If your machine has the feature that ask for your weight and age, you should put it in instead of the quick start cause it does read differently. Good luck

DancingYogini

Wow!! Thank you all so much. I am going to invest in a HRM, and use the number the MFP gives me instead of my machine (at least until I get the HRM). I usually stay under my alloted calories, but sometimes eat all of my exercise calories(weekends), which means I have been in the red on days that I thought were ok...:mad: I am also doing yoga, dance, strength training...so it has all helped with my weight loss. I am on maintenance mode right now, but obviously don't want to put back on those lbs!! I am going to be more careful now.

RMinVA

I totally agree with Molly about exercise machines being notoriously inaccurate. I just go with whatever the data base says, which is often much lower than what the machines say.

I have to start by saying I know everyone is different and different things work for different people. But as for "eating" exercise calories, studies have shown that you don't have to eat any differently unless you have a sustained cardio session in excess of an hour. For some perspective, I'm a runner, and for me that is only 1 or maybe 2 days a week (6+ mile run). Otherwise, I eat the same. If I eat my exercise calories I won't lose weight, even though I have a deficit of calories. They key for me is to maintain my "sweet spot" calorie range of 1400-1600 calories. I have a couple of other cardio sessions during the week that are right an hour, but I don't eat any differently on those days.

paulso14

Seriously though! Regardless though I've lost almost 18 lbs using these measurements and on a diet so I'll stick with the elliptical

tsunami2

Hmm, I burn 200cal/10 minutes based on the elliptical readout.

starkiss100

The elliptical I use asks my weight and age so I trust it. MFP doesn't know what level of resistance you were using or how fast you were going. I go anywhere from 3-8 MPH on the elliptical. I do a cross training program so it varies throughout my workout how fast I am going.

takirb

I know i'm late on this topic by like a month, but i just started MFP a week ago or so. I use an elliptical at the gym 3 days a week (4 if i'm up early enough on Saturdays lol). Each gym visit, i run 45-48 min on the elliptical and it's workout summary shows:

6.00+ miles (i always strive for 6 miles)
45-48 min
570-600 calories burned
Avg heart rate is usually around 170-180

Depending on which model elliptical i use, i get different readouts. The smaller ones tend to show more calories burned (i think the stride is shorter too), but i feel the workout is a bit easier on them. They all ask for my weight and age. I set the level to "Fat Burn" and leave it be, and very rarely do i feel resistance when i'm really into the workout. I always stay above 6mph, and sometimes hit 9mph when i'm singing along to a fast song

Anywho, MFP shows i burn like 711+ calories in that time, the website provided in this thread (http://www.braydenwm.com/calburn.htm) shows i burn 924.45 in that time, yet the machine itself is always between 550-600. Should i just go with what the machine tells me since it's the lowest figure (which according to some posts is opposite of what others are seeing), or purchase a HRM for better results? I told my wife she could get me a HRM for Christmas, and she asked what difference it would make since the machines have them built-in at the gym. Any input would be appreciated.