Beware of calories burned...

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alf1163
alf1163 Posts: 3,143 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I was using one of those stepper machines today at the gym, the one from Life Fitness. I told me I burned 404 calories in 30 minutes. Yeah, right!! I wear a HRM and I burned about half less than that!!!! This particular machine asks you to enter your weight but it does not ask you to enter your age. So if you are eating your exercise calories and do not wear a HRM, beware!!!! You might be eating more than what you should to see results. I recommend that you use a machine that asks you for your weight and age or better yet purchase a HRM. You can also rely on the MFP database to calculate how many calories you burned. Hope this helps anyone. :flowerforyou:
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  • alf1163
    alf1163 Posts: 3,143 Member
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    I was using one of those stepper machines today at the gym, the one from Life Fitness. I told me I burned 404 calories in 30 minutes. Yeah, right!! I wear a HRM and I burned about half less than that!!!! This particular machine asks you to enter your weight but it does not ask you to enter your age. So if you are eating your exercise calories and do not wear a HRM, beware!!!! You might be eating more than what you should to see results. I recommend that you use a machine that asks you for your weight and age or better yet purchase a HRM. You can also rely on the MFP database to calculate how many calories you burned. Hope this helps anyone. :flowerforyou:
  • lovedbyGod2
    lovedbyGod2 Posts: 23
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    very interesting!
  • Biggestloserfan
    Biggestloserfan Posts: 123
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    I have noticed this with most of the machines that you use in the gyms. It will either overestimate or underestimate the calories you burn. I mostly use a HRM or like right now I don't have one so I rely on the database and make sure that I take the lower average just to be on the safe side of things.
  • lulubar
    lulubar Posts: 739 Member
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    Thanks for sharing this good information:wink: I hadn't even THOUGHT of the machines being incorrect.... hhmmmmmmm:angry: Guess I'll be looking for a HRM!!!
  • HealthyIn09
    HealthyIn09 Posts: 36
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    This is the exact same reason why I purchased my HRM. My elliptical tells me how many calories I was burning, I didn't think that it was entirely accurate. When I got my HRM boy was I surprised! Best investment I ever did.
  • slieber
    slieber Posts: 765 Member
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    I think you've just sealed my decision. I wasn't sure about buying a HRM but will now. The ellipticals I use at the gym by and large are consistent with each other, but when I used a really new one on a cruise last month, it said I'd burned half the calories in the same amount of time. I found that odd (although the tension on that one was different to the ones I use at my local gym - at the same levels that I use at the gym, so that may have something to do with it).
  • PedalHound
    PedalHound Posts: 1,625 Member
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    Another important key when considering eating ones exercise calories is that you do burn some of those cals whether you're exercising or not. If you have a HRM make sure you take a reading for, say, 30 minutes when you're just sitting watching a show or something quite sedentary. If you do 30 minutes, see how many cals you are said to have burned, divide that by 3 and you'll have an average number of calories for every 10 minutes. Around 15 to 30 is a fairly average range. Then when you work out make sure you subtract the resting cals before deciding how many you have to eat :wink: If you do a lot of working out or burn a lot of calories you may be over-eating this way too!

    For example (my current numbers):

    30 minutes resting HRM measurement = 57 cals
    divided by 3 = 19 cals every 10 mins

    work out for 50 mins and burn 450 cals
    50 divided by 10 = 5
    5 x 19 = 95
    450 cals - 95 resting cals = 355 actual work out cals (extra calories to consume)

    This actually did make a difference to me when I started subtracting my resting cals before entering it in my spreadsheet.
  • astarte09
    astarte09 Posts: 531 Member
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    ooh really.. That could be part of my problem. :angry:
  • PedalHound
    PedalHound Posts: 1,625 Member
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    a hrm was my best investment in this process!! I have a Polar F6 :heart: :heart: :heart:
  • LightenUp_Caro
    LightenUp_Caro Posts: 572 Member
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    a hrm was my best investment in this process!! I have a Polar F6 :heart: :heart: :heart:


    AGREED!!! I LOVE my F6!
  • astarte09
    astarte09 Posts: 531 Member
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    ok now i use the elliptical with the hrm in the handles. Are those more accurate??
  • MisoSoup79
    MisoSoup79 Posts: 517
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    what about the machines that have HR sensors and display your heart rate on them? Do you think those are accurate? I always pick those machines out at the gym because I knew that without a heart rate, the other equipment would be less reliable... but the ones with the built in HRM should be better, right?
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,060 Member
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    a hrm was my best investment in this process!! I have a Polar F6 :heart: :heart: :heart:

    PH - My F6 uses the calories burned for the exercise.....how did you come up with the other calc? Maybe I don't want to know. TMI :laugh: More to obsess over.
  • Mangoaddict
    Mangoaddict Posts: 1,236 Member
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    I need a polar f6. I just saw one on overstock.com for 116 bucks.
  • michelleisfit
    michelleisfit Posts: 43 Member
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    When I use the stair climber at my gym with my polar heart rate monitor I burn almost 400 calories in 30 minutes. I step between 6 and 7 floors per minute and I'm 151lbs. I also add spurts of stepping really fast like 8 floors a minute for intervals.
    I have never thought about subtracting my resting heart rate calories or however you want to word it. That is a great idea!
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
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    a hrm was my best investment in this process!! I have a Polar F6 :heart: :heart: :heart:


    AGREED!!! I LOVE my F6!

    def the best investment!
    I just logged my ellip cals.
    MFP gave me 338
    Ellip gave me 388
    HRM-230!!
    ( I have to wonder if it actually reduces the total by your RHR)
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
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    a hrm was my best investment in this process!! I have a Polar F6 :heart: :heart: :heart:

    PH - My F6 uses the calories burned for the exercise.....how did you come up with the other calc? Maybe I don't want to know. TMI :laugh: More to obsess over.

    I just use the cals on my HRM. Like you said, enough out there to obsess over!! I figure the cals they give me on MFP are low to begin with!

    I am working for those cals, I am eatin those cals!!:bigsmile:
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,060 Member
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    a hrm was my best investment in this process!! I have a Polar F6 :heart: :heart: :heart:


    AGREED!!! I LOVE my F6!

    def the best investment!
    I just logged my ellip cals.
    MFP gave me 338
    Ellip gave me 388
    HRM-230!!
    ( I have to wonder if it actually reduces the total by your RHR)

    IT DOES! I'm sure of it. When you use your HRM on the computerized Elipticalls at the gym, the machine "picks up" your transmitter and you will be reading the HRM and the Elip with the exact same numbers.. You'll notice that same machine that gave you 388 cal, will give you 230 with your transmitter on! The elip can't adjust for your Fitness Level! It took me forever to figure that out.

    Help songbyrd. I'm gonna PM this to her.
  • berrypatchdesigns
    berrypatchdesigns Posts: 76
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    Where can I buy a hrm?
  • Wolfena
    Wolfena Posts: 1,570 Member
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    I would absolutely NEVER trust the calorie readings on ANY machine!! An HRM is definitely the way to go IMO too (although also not 100% accurate, as nothing really can be)

    Even the estimates you get from online calorie counters seem to be more accurate than the exercise machines.

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