Totals Burned??????

stroken96

Ok this may be a Question that has been asked, but here goes ......
What do I use?

20 minutes on Elliptical =187 calories burned
while my HRM was 288

This is what I did 187+288=475 divided by 2 =237.5

jacksonpt

I always go by my HRM.

Tattoos_and_Tea

I would go with what the HRM says mate

glockster972

I strictly go with whatever my HRM says, and discount the machine all together. I have found most machines are not accurate anyway.

Luvmysixpack

Go with the your HRM is more accurate

polar135

I use runkeeper app for work outs and i always go by the program and the calories that it gives me.

firedragon064

Does your HRM take into account your age, weight and sex?
My HRM shows I burm too much.
I use this website to calculate the correct calorie.
http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/heart-rate-based-calorie-burn-calculator.aspx

ATT949

Ok this may be a Question that has been asked, but here goes ......
What do I use?

20 minutes on Elliptical =187 calories burned
while my HRM was 288

This is what I did 187+288=475 divided by 2 =237.5

Can't say for sure but here are a couple of thoughts.

When I was losing weight, I made sure that my calorie deficit was so large that I was still way under MFP's recommendations without exercise. That made it easy to avoid any issues about having eaten "the right amount" and it worked well for me.

Second, the HRM value seems high. As someone who has been programming computers for over 20 years, I know that the machine is not always correct. In this case, the value from the HRM seems suspect.

I run and I think it's pretty accurate for my HRM (which is not HR-based) to give me a reading of about 160 calories per mile. At 120 pounds, a runner will burn 100 cals/mile (these values are estimates for an "average" runner).

Your 20 mins on the ellip is about the same as a 170 or 180 pounder running two miles in 20 minutes

I got there by calculating that at 190 I'm burning 320 cals for two miles, so 288 is about 140 cals/miles which is about what a person at 180, mebbe 170 would burn.

If you worked out at the equivalent rate of running a 10 minute mile, then the HRM number is in the right ballpark. OTOH, a 10 minute mile is a pretty quick pace for folks here on MFP so…"your mileage (and calorie burn) may vary". :-)

debilyn574

I always go by my HRM, but take it with a grain of salt. Sometimes I get readings so high which I know are not accurate as I can still talk/breathe without trouble.
Sometimes the calories recorded on the treadmill or elliptical are not even half what my HRM says, I just can't believe they're true!
You're probably smart to use an average so you're not over inflating your calorie burn if you think your HRM is recording it too high.