Am I really burning THAT many calories?

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supermom1114
supermom1114 Posts: 577
in Fitness and Exercise
So when I input my 30-40 min walks in MFP it will say anywhere from 285-356 depending on the time and speed but my HRM has given me numbers in the 400s consistently, the highest was 450 for a 40 min walk... is this right??? I'm so worried that my HRM isnt accurate... btw I have a Polar F6

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  • supermom1114
    supermom1114 Posts: 577
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    So when I input my 30-40 min walks in MFP it will say anywhere from 285-356 depending on the time and speed but my HRM has given me numbers in the 400s consistently, the highest was 450 for a 40 min walk... is this right??? I'm so worried that my HRM isnt accurate... btw I have a Polar F6
  • connieq288
    connieq288 Posts: 1,102 Member
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    I have a Polar F6 and I would definately go for what the monitor says. On here they dont take into account your height and weight. The best way to do it is from your monitor. So congrats on all that calorie burn

    Connie
  • Poison5119
    Poison5119 Posts: 1,460 Member
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    A good quality HRM, such as the polar brand are notoriously more accurate than most everything else on the market. Trust it. But remember, that only a percentage of the cals you are burning are fat cals. The rest are other kinds of cals, but it's ALL good, so don't worry too much and enjoy the journey,
  • Chellekk
    Chellekk Posts: 421 Member
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    I found the same with my Polar F6 and plan on doing a few more comparisons this week (soccer game and riding my bike). Don't forget that the HRM is "counting" your heart beats and knows how hard you are truly working. On here...it's a "guess-timate".

    Nice job and keep up the workout!
  • gottaluvboyz
    gottaluvboyz Posts: 555 Member
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    Great job!
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
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    Don't forget to subtract the calories you'd burn doing nothing. Your body burns a certain amount of calories per day, so it's easy to find an 'average' burn per hour. Those calories aren't considered exercise calories because they're used even if you're comatose. For a BMR of 1200, its about 50 calories per hour. So if you were to burn 500 calories in an hour, it would only be 450 from exercise. :smile:
  • Chellekk
    Chellekk Posts: 421 Member
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    Don't forget to subtract the calories you'd burn doing nothing. Your body burns a certain amount of calories per day, so it's easy to find an 'average' burn per hour. Those calories aren't considered exercise calories because they're used even if you're comatose. For a BMR of 1200, its about 50 calories per hour. So if you were to burn 500 calories in an hour, it would only be 450 from exercise. :smile:

    So true. I found when I went in for lunch (an hour) I burned around 60-70 calories. I was up walking around, eating and chatting with other instructors, so it was higher then my rest rate. AND...we did a ton of teaching (sitting/kneeling in the snow), so the calories on my HRM were not all from working out/riding. I probably burned 1000 calories just shivering from the cold! :grumble:
  • Phoenix_Rising
    Phoenix_Rising Posts: 11,417 Member
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    450 on a 45 minute "walk" sounds high to me, but "walk" isn't clearly defined, so it could be right on! If your "walk" is brisk (aka as fast as my slow jog :laugh: ) and if there are any inclines or declines, your heart rate would be increased.

    I'd trust it. Polar is highly regarded in these here parts. :wink:
  • ohthatbambi
    ohthatbambi Posts: 1,098 Member
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    Don't forget to subtract the calories you'd burn doing nothing. Your body burns a certain amount of calories per day, so it's easy to find an 'average' burn per hour. Those calories aren't considered exercise calories because they're used even if you're comatose. For a BMR of 1200, its about 50 calories per hour. So if you were to burn 500 calories in an hour, it would only be 450 from exercise. :smile:

    I think alot of people don't consider this. You do burn some calories actually sitting on your couch so you need to figure out what that is and subtract that from calories burned exercising!
  • supermom1114
    supermom1114 Posts: 577
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    Don't forget to subtract the calories you'd burn doing nothing. Your body burns a certain amount of calories per day, so it's easy to find an 'average' burn per hour. Those calories aren't considered exercise calories because they're used even if you're comatose. For a BMR of 1200, its about 50 calories per hour. So if you were to burn 500 calories in an hour, it would only be 450 from exercise. :smile:

    I think alot of people don't consider this. You do burn some calories actually sitting on your couch so you need to figure out what that is and subtract that from calories burned exercising!

    So how do I figure that out??? I know MFP has a calculator for it but is it accurate?
  • supermom1114
    supermom1114 Posts: 577
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    450 on a 45 minute "walk" sounds high to me, but "walk" isn't clearly defined, so it could be right on! If your "walk" is brisk (aka as fast as my slow jog :laugh: ) and if there are any inclines or declines, your heart rate would be increased.

    I'd trust it. Polar is highly regarded in these here parts. :wink:

    Yea its a powerwalk for sure, if I could run and keep my heart rate down I would, plus I'm pumping my arms and focusing on keeping my abs and tush tight. And in some areas the sidewalks in my neighborhood go up n down in small hills
  • chickadee10
    chickadee10 Posts: 350
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    I burn 360 on the tredmill for an hour.
  • greeneggsam
    greeneggsam Posts: 121
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    Don't forget to subtract the calories you'd burn doing nothing. Your body burns a certain amount of calories per day, so it's easy to find an 'average' burn per hour. Those calories aren't considered exercise calories because they're used even if you're comatose. For a BMR of 1200, its about 50 calories per hour. So if you were to burn 500 calories in an hour, it would only be 450 from exercise. :smile:

    I think alot of people don't consider this. You do burn some calories actually sitting on your couch so you need to figure out what that is and subtract that from calories burned exercising!

    So how do I figure that out??? I know MFP has a calculator for it but is it accurate?

    I think it's pretty good. I've used other calculators, and they come up with a similar number. Just make sure you are using your current weight.
  • Chellekk
    Chellekk Posts: 421 Member
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    1200 is the average for women, as your own profile may show. The calories on mine (based on age, weight, height) is 1220. I need 1220 just to "live" (hope that makes sense). My "rest" calories (sitting on the couch) are within those 1220. Use your HRM to figure out the rest. :smile:

    It's too hard for me to start and stop my HRM while I'm snowboarding, so I have to guess how much I rested or the ride time that was not an "official" work out. Sunday's total was 6 hours = 2744 calories so I assumed I only burned about 2000 and that's what I entered. I wouldn't be able to eat 2744 calories anyway to make up for it, so I entered something lower.

    I know the Polar F6 has a funtion (see the manual) you can set up where you enter a resting HR and a non-resting HR and then it will keep track better. I would try that, but since I "shivered" on the hill all day, my HR was well above resting for 5 hours! This is one sport that might be tough to figure out the exact calories burned. :grumble:

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