Worked out for 1hr and barely burned fat---WHAT??!!

lil_missfit

Hello,

I just got my HRM yesterday in the mail. I was sooooooo excited to get it bc of all the messages I have seen on here about them. I purchased a Polar FT7. I read the little book that comes with it, but haven't read the online manual yet (going to try and do it tonight).

Anyway- boy o boy was I let down this morning when I saw the actual calories I burned. The Eliptical said 747 cals. burned and my HRM said 547. You mean to tell me all this time I have been THAT way off with my calories (especially the ones I eat back). I was so bummed (still am). Also, (now here's where I really got knocked on my RUMP) I worked out for an hour on the Eliptical and my HRM said I only burned fat for 18 minutes.....WHAT!!! Can someone tell me what I may have did wrong. Do you think maybe my heart rate was up too high or down too low? I was sweating hard and trust me...it wasn't a cake walk work out....wutz up with that??? I burned more fat doing Shred with Jillian for 30minutes (confuzzzed). How do I know on this HRM if my heart rate is too high or low? I'm not trippin off of burning 547 cals either....I know thats good, but if I am putting in an hour I just expected to burn more.

Don't get me wrong---I am super excited to have my HRM.....I just need to do some tweaking with my workouts and was hoping for some pals to help me:)) Please tell me your thoughts:))

btw...on the Eliptical my level was at 9 and my RPM was btwn 65-72. Thanks again!

dancingnancies

what was your heart rate while you were working out???

erickirb

Don't pay attention to the fat burned, it is only calculating caloires burned from fat while you are in the fat burning zone, but you still burn fat when you are above or below that zone. The zones for HR are full of S$%t. That 18 minutes means you were in the "fat burning" HR zone for that amount of time. The easy way to look at it is, the more calories you burn, the more fat/weight you will lose.

JennsLosing

what was your heart rate while you were working out???

thats what i was going to ask

lil_missfit

what was your heart rate while you were working out???

it was about 166...I think

Girlypeekaboo

oh no this is making me scared:frown: im waiting for mine today UPS says its out for deliver...i got the Polar FT4......thats weird tho only says u burned fat for 18mins i bet it has something to do with not keeping ur heart rate in the proper zone

Girlypeekaboo

Don't pay attention to the fat burned, it is only calculating caloires burned from fat while you are in the fat burning zone, but you still burn fat when you are above or below that zone. The zones for HR are full of S$%t. That 18 minutes means you were in the "fat burning" HR zone for that amount of time. The easy way to look at it is, the more calories you burn, the more fat/weight you will lose.

I agree!!!!

erickirb

oh no this is making me scared:frown: im waiting for mine today UPS says its out for deliver...i got the Polar FT4......thats weird tho only says u burned fat for 18mins i bet it has something to do with not keeping ur heart rate in the proper zone

zones are full of S%&t, but the HRM says she was in the fat burning zone for 18 minutes, but if your HR is above the zone you are burning more calories than if you were in the fat burning zone. Just pay attention to HR, and calories burned the rest can be ignored.

steffilily

My HRM will show the times in I (for in zone), A ( for above zone), B (for below zone). If your 18 minute was in the I, and most of the other minutes were in the A then that's even better. You burn even more calories in the Above zone which also burns a good amount of fat calories compared to the In zone.

MissTomGettingThin

I have an FT4.
I set it going when my heart gets above 100 and stop it the same.
I ignore the fat burning zome completely.
I eat back the calories.
Just look at my ticker....
20lbs down!
It's working!!

Go with the HRM.

Nomomush

First, did you reset your HRM to start counting the moment you got on the elliptical?
Second, does your HRM have age, gender, height and weight input? If yes, then your Max Heart Rate (MHR) should have been calculated for you and to burn the most calories and tap into your fat stores, you have to be in 65-85% of MHR.

HRMs really give you a good wake up call. When I though I was working out as hard as I could, then I got an HRM, it called me a big fat liar. I was only hitting 55% of my MHR. I was sweating hard and perceived that I was working hard...but I could do more. Now I maintain 70-85% of my MHR.

BigBoneSista

Don't pay attention to the fat burned, it is only calculating caloires burned from fat while you are in the fat burning zone, but you still burn fat when you are above or below that zone. The zones for HR are full of S$%t. That 18 minutes means you were in the "fat burning" HR zone for that amount of time. The easy way to look at it is, the more calories you burn, the more fat/weight you will lose.

I agree. After doing my research these zones where highly used for a marketing ploy. They aren't that significant in the grand scheme of things. Work out hard and burn those calories. If you want to make sure you are burning a larger amount of fat add some strength training in your regimen if you haven't already.

anubis609

I have an FT7 too. It doesn't take into account resistance level...just pure calories burned from HR alone. I have a significant difference between my elliptical burns and if I wore my HRM to compare. I made the adjustment to my weight input on my elliptical to someone working at my resistance with half of my weight; i.e. a 92 pound person doing a HIIT routine on the maximum resistance from start to finish, usually generates 200 calories less than what it would normally be.

That said, given your age, height, weight, and gender, the FT7 will calculate your estimated burn zones. You burn the most calories in the Fitness Zone which still burns fat calories, but you may also be burning a bit of muscle in that zone as well if you're in it for a long period of time. When I do my HIIT routines, I'm on the elliptical for 15 - 20 minutes and my HR is 95% in the Fitness Zone, which is around 145 - 160 bpm.

So, if you're experimental like me, you can figure out which calories you want to use as alloted exercise calories over time by choosing one for a while and see if it coincides with your estimated scheduled weight loss per week.

lil_missfit

First, did you reset your HRM to start counting the moment you got on the elliptical?
Second, does your HRM have age, gender, height and weight input? If yes, then your Max Heart Rate (MHR) should have been calculated for you and to burn the most calories and tap into your fat stores, you have to be in 65-85% of MHR.

HRMs really give you a good wake up call. When I though I was working out as hard as I could, then I got an HRM, it called me a big fat liar. I was only hitting 55% of my MHR. I was sweating hard and perceived that I was working hard...but I could do more. Now I maintain 70-85% of my MHR.

lil_missfit

First, did you reset your HRM to start counting the moment you got on the elliptical?
Second, does your HRM have age, gender, height and weight input? If yes, then your Max Heart Rate (MHR) should have been calculated for you and to burn the most calories and tap into your fat stores, you have to be in 65-85% of MHR.

HRMs really give you a good wake up call. When I though I was working out as hard as I could, then I got an HRM, it called me a big fat liar. I was only hitting 55% of my MHR. I was sweating hard and perceived that I was working hard...but I could do more. Now I maintain 70-85% of my MHR.

yes I reset it and didnt push start until I was on there and moving. I put in all my gender stuff too. so the max heart rate should be on there somewhere? I think I saw something on one of the screens but keep in mind I am still playing around with it and dont know how to use it all the way...if the number I saw is the max heart rate then that is 127....I am always at 166....so what do I do?

brendalyne

I just ordered a HRM. Thanks for the warning...sounds like I'm in for a wake-up call too!

lil_missfit

I have an FT7 too. It doesn't take into account resistance level...just pure calories burned from HR alone. I have a significant difference between my elliptical burns and if I wore my HRM to compare. I made the adjustment to my weight input on my elliptical to someone working at my resistance with half of my weight; i.e. a 92 pound person doing a HIIT routine on the maximum resistance from start to finish, usually generates 200 calories less than what it would normally be.

That said, given your age, height, weight, and gender, the FT7 will calculate your estimated burn zones. You burn the most calories in the Fitness Zone which still burns fat calories, but you may also be burning a bit of muscle in that zone as well if you're in it for a long period of time. When I do my HIIT routines, I'm on the elliptical for 15 - 20 minutes and my HR is 95% in the Fitness Zone, which is around 145 - 160 bpm.

So, if you're experimental like me, you can figure out which calories you want to use as alloted exercise calories over time by choosing one for a while and see if it coincides with your estimated scheduled weight loss per week.

oh wow:)) thanks!!!

rileysowner

First of all ignore the whole "fat burned" thing. That is a complete myth.

Second, would you rather have the extra calories you burn exercising under estimated or over estimated. I am guessing the heart rate monitor is going to be far more accurate than any calorie count on a machine as the HRM calorie calculation is based on your exertion as a function of your heart rate. That means even higher resistance will show up in a higher heart rate. I wear my HRM when lifting weights. When I finish a heavy set my heart rate is sky high. Why? Because I have very strenuously exerted myself. During my rest between sets, it drops down, only to go up with the next set. If you have your HRM setup properly for you, it will be quite a bit more accurate than the exercise machine.

Again, ignore the fat burned time thing.

Lisa__Michelle

I have a Polar FT40 and the lower your fat burn, I personally consider it better. The FT40 continuously shows you whether you are in a Fat Burn Zone (which is a lower heart rate) or Fitness Zone/ Cardio Zone (which is a higher heart rate). Obviously you want to be in the higher heart rate zone (Fitness Zone) the longest (you burn more calories that way and it is what improves your overall health). If you had been in Fat burn zone longer than fitness, you would have burned less calories.

That is EXACTLY why I bought an HRM. I had NO idea how many calories to eat back because the machines are wrong (they are not personalized to you). I found out I was WAY overeating and overestimating calorie burn.

I do have to say, any burn over 500 is FANTASTIC! I work out for an hour and am lucky to get 500 and my heartrate is in the 160-180s the entire time. Some days I get 500 and other days I get 350-450. My workout partner is LUCKY to get 300. She is closer to her goal weight so she mostly burns only 200 something in an hour workout. Good job!

healthyjen342

OMG I know what you mean..I have the Polar FT7 too and when I KILL it in the gym, yesterday for example, I burned 899 calories in 88 minutes..my fat burn time was like 15 minutes...my fitness time was the rest...my average heart rate was 160+ and my max was 205..

Its perplexing to say the least...

I try to focus on the amount of calories and the max and avg heart rates for now...

healthyjen342

Don't pay attention to the fat burned, it is only calculating caloires burned from fat while you are in the fat burning zone, but you still burn fat when you are above or below that zone. The zones for HR are full of S$%t. That 18 minutes means you were in the "fat burning" HR zone for that amount of time. The easy way to look at it is, the more calories you burn, the more fat/weight you will lose.

I agree. After doing my research these zones where highly used for a marketing ploy. They aren't that significant in the grand scheme of things. Work out hard and burn those calories. If you want to make sure you are burning a larger amount of fat add some strength training in your regimen if you haven't already.

AGREED!

dancingnancies

First, did you reset your HRM to start counting the moment you got on the elliptical?
Second, does your HRM have age, gender, height and weight input? If yes, then your Max Heart Rate (MHR) should have been calculated for you and to burn the most calories and tap into your fat stores, you have to be in 65-85% of MHR.

HRMs really give you a good wake up call. When I though I was working out as hard as I could, then I got an HRM, it called me a big fat liar. I was only hitting 55% of my MHR. I was sweating hard and perceived that I was working hard...but I could do more. Now I maintain 70-85% of my MHR.

yes I reset it and didnt push start until I was on there and moving. I put in all my gender stuff too. so the max heart rate should be on there somewhere? I think I saw something on one of the screens but keep in mind I am still playing around with it and dont know how to use it all the way...if the number I saw is the max heart rate then that is 127....I am always at 166....so what do I do?

you should find out your max heart rate and i doubt that it is 127, it depends on your age and gender. 166 sounds closer to your zone.

chrisyoung0422

I also was not content in beliving the machines so I got a Garmin FR 405 with HRM strap. Sure *kitten* the machines were off when compared using this HRM. It does suck that you need a chest strap to get the most accurate but it is true. As for the zones thats all BS IMO. Hammer out what you can as hard as you can. I try to stay 75% of max and it seems to be working just fine.