scales & calories question

lostone68

I dont know if these have been asked and answered before but here goes.
What is the best way to calculate burned calories when on a treadmill or the weights for strength training ?
Next, how good is the Taylor scales ? I hate scales, but its needed sometimes, lol

gail1961

I use MFP to calculate calories burned because it takes into account your age, gender and weight. So if I would put in 30 minutes on the treadmill at 4.0MPH, MFP would calculate calorie burn. I know there are other monitors people suggest that are more accurate, but I already have a fitbit so I wouldn't purchase another tool. I have an eat smart scale.

goldmay

For the treadmill, a heart rate monitor would be best if you're not doing intervals. For strength training, there's no accurate way of estimating calories because there are too many variables.

I used to have a Taylor scale and I liked it. But right now I have an Eat Smart scale like the above poster and definitely prefer that.

WalkingAlong

If you want an easy estimate, use 100 calories per mile for the treadmill and for strength training either don't log it because it's hard to quantify or estimate it at 5-10 calories per minute. So a 30-minute strength training session you could log as 150-300 calories. If you're doing mostly things like bicep curls with small dumbbells, go low. If you're doing more like squatting with a barbell or swinging a heavy kettlebell, go higher.

If money is no object, consider a wifi scale like the Withings or Fitbit Aria that will log your weights to MFP automatically. Since you hate scales, I think you could weigh yourself without even looking at the display, and just check your online trend periodically, at night (when it won't ruin your day to see a worse trend than you expected!)

lostone68

Thank you for the info, I am on a deep budget, so smart scales are just not a good thing for myself. I think i mi g ht just stick to what is "working" for the now. And maybe later I will get sone of the other things