Just figured out exactly why I stopped losing weight.

prettyfitchick

Omg this really makes want to get a hrm

BerryH

Sorry to break it to you, but you're not getting the burn the HRM records during weight training.

The calorie calculation on HRMs is based on cardio and is not accurate for weight lifting. So you will get an elevated heart rate lifting heavy that the HRM "sees" as a high burn, but that is not the case. In this case you might be better off sticking with MFP's estimates.

There's a great explanation here:
http://www.sparkpeople.com/community/ask_the_experts.asp?q=75

dieseljay74

Actually weight training, especially intense training burns a ton of calories. Which is why I preach it should be the basisi of every workout....male or female.
I lost 43 lbs. of fat doing zero cardio and staying strict with my diet while weight training very intense.

I think the OP is correct inthe fact that many do not eat enought to fuel their body during hard workouts. Whether the actual calories burned is correct is obviously debatable....

City_Bumkin

I have a Suunto hrm and love it! I feel like the burns are quite acurate but have set it to meet my body's needs. I burn a TON of calories in a circuit session with cardio intervals also. Sometimes MFP underestimates the caloric burn so often times I don't even put my exercise in my log. Id rather just track my calories on MFP and my exercise logs at home. If you're considering getting a hrm...do it!

NatalieWinning

My HRM gives me about double the reading that My Fitness Pal says so I normally go with My Fitness Pal.

If you don't think your HRM is accurate thats one thing. But if you have one, use it. Eat those calories back, use the HRM number. MFP is an estimate or average. But your HRM should tell you what YOU are burning.

fallenangelloves

Gonna have to go with dieseljay on this one. Back in the day of body building, most don't do any extra cardio because they get all they need from lift weights. Not saying this is the best for your heart, but calorie burn is amazing!

But again, you will either see results or you won't. Be your own judge! (and post us the results!). Good Luck!

carolinagirl919

Man, I really need to invest in a HRM....

jjs22

I'm no expert in exercise but i have a background in science. From the reading I've done about HRMs, the comment by BerryH sounds correct.

The only thing a HRM actually MEASURES is your heart rate. In principle, you could do the same with a stopwatch and a stethoscope. Once your heartrate is known, its still a huge guess as to what's going onside your body.

When people do aerobic exercise, the number of calories they are burning is related to their heartrate in a (somewhat) predictable manner. So if in fact you ARE doing aerobic exercise (and your heartrate is high enough) then it possible to make a pretty good guess how many calories you are burning by comparing your heartrate to a table based on averages of other people of the same age, gender, weight, etc. In this particular circumstance a HRM gives a reasonably useful result.

But many other things can affect your heartrate. Weight training, a scary movie, a good cup of coffee, a loud bang, a heart valve defect, those three little words, and so on. If any one of these "other things" raises your heart rate, there is no magic inside that electronic gizmo that can peer into the detailed biochemistry going on in your body. The only thing it can do is ASSUME your heart is beating faster due to aerobic exercise, compare your heartrate to its internal table, and display the result. Sure there is a number, but it is based on completely invalid assumptions.

Of course you burn calories while weight training. But how many ? From the reading I've done, its a very hard thing to predict. Different people train with weights differently, and their bodies (heart rates) respond in ways which are much less regular than with aerobic exercise. So the number displayed on a HRM is more of a wild guess than a precision measurement. I would guess that the closer your routine is to cardio (lower weights, higher reps, no idle resting between sets, ...) the more accurate the number is.

rml_16

Actually weight training, especially intense training burns a ton of calories. Which is why I preach it should be the basisi of every workout....male or female.
I lost 43 lbs. of fat doing zero cardio and staying strict with my diet while weight training very intense.

I think the OP is correct inthe fact that many do not eat enought to fuel their body during hard workouts. Whether the actual calories burned is correct is obviously debatable....

A friend of mine lost 70 pounds with diet alone. Weights are important, but don't assume you lost because of them if you were also restricting calories.

BeautyFromPain

and yes, i do have some muscle already

ElleC

Hmmm, this is interesting.

Multi-tasking now. Reading this thread and looking at HRM's.

Riley4ever

.... feels like you need to be a mathematician to deal with this stuff!

I agree with some of the posts that lifting heavy weights probably can burn just as many calories as cardio - they always have all the biggest loser contestants swinging those enormous kettle bells all the time lol!

JaenaM

250 calories in 15 minutes sounds awfully high.

What kind of HRM did you get?

That's what I was thinking... Took me 30 to burn 176

unicornassassin

YAY I'm glad you discovered what is (hopefully) preventing you from losing. I hope you get good results from eating a little more while continuing your hard work in the gym! Let us know

Adrenaline_Queen

Brilliant news, I have a HRM had one for years, a good one too, going to start using it now! LOL thanks for your post xx

lori8431

I am very confused by all of this simply because every thing you see on tv, magazines..etc.. say you have to eat less and exercise more. So what is the point of exercising if you are going to eat back those calories, why not just eat the eligible amount of calories and no exercise.. this is all very confusing.
:huh:

LaurieEReid

I am very confused by all of this simply because every thing you see on tv, magazines..etc.. say you have to eat less and exercise more. So what is the point of exercising if you are going to eat back those calories, why not just eat the eligible amount of calories and no exercise.. this is all very confusing.
:huh:

Try checking out some of these topics to help you out.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/23912-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again

konerusp

Keeping aside the truth/falsity in the HRM readings, i guess you should eat your BMR calories no matter what.
I was on a plateau for almost 2 years- tried every other kind of diet,every new kinf of excercise(im a dancer on top)-i was under the impression my Metabolism was too slow.I was eating like 800-100 calories a day.

I started training with a personal trainer, he yelled at me when i said i was consuming 1000 cals and asked me to double it up-i was like but,then....he said "no questions asked- without any workout you would burn 2000 on a normal day,your body will never let go of your fat if you eat that low". I just started eating around 1600-1800 a day(my BMR)- 1 week into it and i lost 2 pounds-the scale moved after 2 years-i was super surprised but thats the bottom line-let your body have its basic needs and work on top of it!!

ncahill77

Sorry to break it to you, but you're not getting the burn the HRM records during weight training.

The calorie calculation on HRMs is based on cardio and is not accurate for weight lifting. So you will get an elevated heart rate lifting heavy that the HRM "sees" as a high burn, but that is not the case. In this case you might be better off sticking with MFP's estimates.

There's a great explanation here:
http://www.sparkpeople.com/community/ask_the_experts.asp?q=75

I am not sure a CPT is the right person to make that conclusion for numerous reasons. Your body consumes oxygen in the whole, not just in certain muscle groups. I can perform "cardio" without ever moving my legs so how he can make the assessment he did about cardio using your whole body is false. Also circuit lifting is considered a cardio workout but at each exercise station only 1 group of muscles is targeted. I would look for a medical expert to give a more accurate analysis.

DopeItUp

Just be careful, don't use the HRM as an excuse to eat a ton. It may be true that you are in fact eating too little, and eating more may help you lose. But from what I have seen with my own HRM and from what I have researched, they are notoriously unreliable. My HRM typically gives me 3x the calories burned as my pedometer does when I go for a walk, for example. I can tell you that 250 calories in 15 minutes of weight lifting for an average sized woman is very unlikely. I am a large man (6'4" 265lbs) with probably twice the muscle mass and it takes me at least twice as long to burn that much. So you're talking a potentially serious margin for error there.

Regardless, I would still try to eat more for a few weeks to see if you can break your plateau.