HRM calories burned

hpsnickers1

I just bought an HRM. (chest strap/wrist watch). I have left it on all day at work just to see what happens. Wow! The pedometer wasn't doing me justice and I think that's why my weight isn't really budging. I have a desk job but I get up and walk around a lot. I wear my MBT shoes and I take at least one 15 minute BRISK walk through the buildings.

MFP has my goal at 1520 (I chose the lightest Activity choice due to my desk job). I was doing okay with my treadmill workouts but they have slacked. Anyway I just checked the 3 hour and 19 minute mark. Calculations have me at 1.06 for resting calories burned per mintue. HRM shows I burned 918 in 3:19. So I did the calcs: 199 minutes x 1.06 = 211 calories. I subtract that from 918 and I burned 707 calories being at my desk. I did eat during this time and I have gotten up a couple of times. I do a lot of typing?

I am stumped. Could this be why I'm not losing weight? MFP has me at 1200 per day and I have a hard time hitting this every day (after factoring in any exercise calories). Maybe I really am not getting enough calories. I feel like I eat a lot. I'm so confused. (And when I was on the treadmill 4 days a week - slacked for the last 2) there was no budge either. My shape changed a bit but not a lot.

jrich1

HRMs arent designed to be used to be worn all day and arent accurate unless you are doing physical activity

HollyMac20

I don't have a positive answer for you, but your question is a big one. I have heard and read that HRM aren't made to me worm all day to track your calories, so it may be off. Wear it all day for a few days and see what happens. Average your days and see. If you aren't losing weight, then something has to be off.

Good luck!

hpsnickers1

I have a feeling it shouldn't be worn all day. It was only 3 hours and 19 minutes. Some people work out for that long. I was just curious to see what happens when I eat, etc. I do set it to track my 15 minute brisk walk.

hpsnickers1

Check this out:

Overview

A heart rate monitor, or HRM, is a device commonly used by recreational and competitive athletes to track their progress in their workout programs. The tool provides a quick reading of your heart rate while you are training. Although a heart rate monitor can come in handy with exercise, it has other practical applications as well.
Identification

In addition to exercise, the HRM can be worn during almost any physical activity, whether it be work or recreation, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. The majority of heart rate monitors are waterproof, so you can even wear them while swimming.


I did subtract calories burned resting. I'm going to do a little more research on it.

MisdemeanorM

300 an hour seems really high. That's what I burn in a mild cardio work out for 45 mins (keeping HR between about 115 and 140). I figured - via wearing my HRM for a couple days and also at various times like an hour here and there at my desk, that I burn about 100 cals per hour when awake (150 if I am up and moving around like at the grocery), and probably around 50 or 70 an hour when sleeping. (My resting hearth rate is around 70 or 75 and just walking around it is between 90 and 100.) This on an average day puts me right around 2000 cals for maintenance. MFP guesstimates 1990 for me for maintenance, so I feel that it is really close. I am female 154 lbs and 5' 8.5" and relatively good health.

I'd make sure your settings for height / weight / sex are right and then try it here and there some more. You might actually try resetting it every hour and then just scrolling through the diary to see the different hourly counts. You could get all nerd on it and actually chart what you did each hour (ie, typing, how many times you got up, if you walked down to the bathroom etc.)

I would love to try a BodyMediaFit that tells you all of this, it's meant to be worn all day. It also rates your sleep efficiency. But's it's expensive and it requires a subscription to access the information. I would totally rent one for a couple weeks though (if somewhere did that) to get all these numbers to start.

PS, I would also periodically check what heart rate it is displaying - if it's telling you that you are at a 102 heart rate, but thinks you are burning 300 cals an hour - something is off. If it does read that your heart rate is constantly up over 130 you might be burning that. If it reads a high heart rate but you are not feeling it - you should be able to tell if your HR is up like 130 or something - then something is off too.