Weight loss with Elliptical??

bringit30

I have a Nordic Track. At the end of my 30 minute workout, It says I burn over 600 calories because I hit it hard - however, my heart rate monitor says I only burn 330. Don't over estimate the calories Calories burned are calories burned!

kp1439

working for me ...

bwurtzel

I have been exercising on the elliptical exclusively for a few weeks, 4 days/ week, 30 minutes each session.
I am not sure if it is just me but I am not losing any weight with whatever I am doing.
Have any of you had success with losing weight and using only the elliptical?
If so, how many days a week did you use it and for how long each time etc....?
Any advice would be appreciated.

I lost 49 pounds in 4 months (7 years ago), mainly doing elliptical. (5 days a week, 30 minutes, M, W, F, and 45 minutes, Tues/Thurs). But, I was also following weight watchers too. You need to make sure your calorie intake is below what you should have for your weight.

the Fat burn option on the machine worked for me and make sure to keep your heart rate up to where it should be for cardio.

AbiNichole

I rarely see results if I only exercise 30 mins a day. For me to lose consistently (more than 1 lb. a week) I have to work out at least 60 mins x 4 days a week. Is there any way to squeeze in an extra 15 mins a few days a week? I know you said time is scarce but I feel like an extra 15 mins would do you a bit of good.

Also- often times people on this site neglect diet when they ask fitness questions. You can't out - exercise a bad diet. I would take a very critical look at your eating habits. Are you getting in enough lean proteins, veggies, and fruit? Limiting your complex carbs? Staying away form sugar and salt?

Good luck girl! I'm sure you'll figure it out soon. :flowerforyou:

Sl1ghtly

You can exercise till the cows come home. In order to lose weight, you'll need to eat at (preferably moderate) a calorie deficit.

They'll never understand...

ejohndrow

I've lost weight doing only the ellitptical. About a year ago I was keeping my level of reisistance at about a 10-12, now it's at a 16 mainly, and I've begun putting it at 17. As others have said, use the hill settings too, or add in intervals. I personally prefer to keep mine on random. So about 4 times a week I do about 40 min on random at a level 16. Some days I burn more calories than others depending on how my body feels, but overall, I've definitely seen good results. Sometimes its hard to think that upping the resistance level is the thing to do, or it sounds like it's too much, but for me it's made a big difference and I honestly can't imagine ever going below a level 15 again.

Of course I should add that for the past 8+ months I've been doing weight training. Now I don't purely rely on the elliptical to stay in shape-but when I first started out I did, and I saw good results.

chipembele

I've lost nearly 10lb since 13th January doing eliptical twice a week, level 8 for 40 minutes, three sessions of weights per week and watching my diet.

I'm sure I could get better results doing other methods but it seems to be working for me at the moment. If I start stalling i'll do HIIT but on the eliptical, not the treadmill as it hurts my knees.

I should add that I have it on the hills setting, 20 minutes round the world then 20 minutes kilimanjaro.

weight2go

Im so glad you asked this. I that is was only me. Before when I lost I walked. The weather outside has not been good for walking so I have been working out on the elliptical and most of the time I do 65mins. The weight isnt coming off for me either. So I started last week to add some weights in twice a week and see how that goes. I was told this is easier on the joints and Im not a young soul(just at heart) so for these two reasons I left walkng and starting doing the elliptical. Speaking of I m off to do mine. Cant wait to see what others say.:indifferent:

Fubar_Bill

I started on January 8 at 234 pounds.

I am now 212.5 pounds.

During that time I have done 2 hours on the elliptical most days.

It can work, but the elliptical is likely over estimating calories and if you are eating them all back, then you are getting the loss you expected.

When I started in January I could barely do level 4 on the elliptical, now I can comfortably do level 14.

Personally, I couldn't imagine a better way to lose weight and build up a good sweat.

Best of Luck,

- Bill

nhudson79

As a new mommy that used nap time as exercise time, the elliptical became my friend. I started keep a spreadsheet of how long and how far I went. I alternated with 3 workouts to keep it fresh. 1. Just run on level 2 resistance for 30 minutes (not counting warm up and cool down) - the challenge was always to beat my last distance. 2. Start at level 7 resistance and increase resistance every 5 min. for 40 min (not counting warm up and cool down), and 3. Interval Training - This was a program on my machine that would alternate resistance with no resistance every 3 minutes - I would use level 7 as my hard and 2 as my easy for 30 to 45 min. (Using the spreadsheet to beat my last distance - helped me make it work.)

Sytera

I've only been at it officially for a couple weeks, but I'm only doing elliptical (a mini one). I get it on it daily for 30-60 minutes. I don't plan on doing any weight training right now. We plan on having one more kid after my husband is home from deployment so I will wait until after that to bust my *kitten* to build muscle. Right now I just want to get my weight down and get in decent shape. Burning calories to get my deficit, be it from elliptical, walking my dogs, or breastfeeding our 6 month old, is all I need to do right now.

weight2go

Well I tried the random setting and I got to admit, I feel like I do when Ive done 65mins. I only did 35. Thanks for putting this out there.

2012asv

Try switching up your routine a little bit- Do you use weights on the elliptical ? Try it. Also try doing squats on it or turning up the resistance high.

secretlobster

I did lose weight by exercising on the elliptical with a high intensity, but I also made sure my calorie intake was lower.
The weight you lose from exercising is directly related to your heart rate.

The people who don't lose weight on the elliptical machines (and there are many) are the ones who go through the motions without ever breaking a sweat. If your eating is great, you should look honestly at the intensity of your cardio workout.

If exercise isn't difficult, it's probably doing nothing for you.

marckilgore

All I use is an elliptical, and I am having great results after I got one that had a heart rate monitor built into it.. I do it 6-7days a week for 30-40 minutes. I set the elliptical for 80% heart rate (136bpm for my weight/age) and keep it there for the workout. The elliptical automatically adusts the intensity to keep my heart rate at 80%, and it works absolutely fantastic for me. Without that capability, I don't think I would work out at the level required to get maximum calorie burn. The machine I use is an Octane Fitness Q45e, and I don't think it would be worth it to own an elliptical or treadmill that didn't have this same tie in between the heart rate monitor and workout modes. The nice thing is that I can switch between cardio and strength workouts on my model. Of course, none of this matters if you don't count calories that you consume every day.

cca1984

I been using the elliptical 5 times a week and I believe it's working. I do intervals and I really feel list working for me.

sskrzypek090

Get yourself a heart rate monitor. Calorie assumption on an elliptical is on the high side of estimation. To be accurate, you have to keep your heart rate in the fat burning zone. You can't just go on and half it expecting to get the results you want. That's the mistake a lot of people make.

pinky_pinkster

I do 30 mins on level 3 - but not sure if its really doing anything, I feel tired afterwards and my heart rate goes up, reading these posts makes me think maybe I should be going at a higher level?

deminimis

Most everything already discussed here, but do not go by what MFP states as an elliptical calorie burn. For me, MFP results are nearly twice actual results (I go with roughly 100 cals/10 minutes-which is a bit less than my reading with my HRM). Also, if you've already taken exercise into account when setting up your profile, then do not delete elliptical cals from your daily cal allowance (a mistake I made early on---oops, cost me 500/cal day). Another trick is to understate your weight when entering your information on the machine by 10 pounds or so, to help get a less inflated reading. Also as stated above, mix it up. I like the interval program and tweak it as I work through it (backwards for 1-2 min here and there, pushing 1 min here and there, pulling 1 min here and there, free arm (the vast majority), sprinting 1 min here and there upwards of 200 rpms, gutting out a minute at a resistance of 15, etc., etc. -You get the idea). Generally keeping rpms at 130-ish, but will go as low as 100 for a minute if needed to bring down my HR and as high as 200 rpms while sprinting. Even after the 5 min cool down, my legs are noodles when finished. If you start with some weight training before, even better. Yes, Virginia, ellipticals can burn a lot calories, but you've got to put in the effort.

indybost

I have always had Great resluts with my elliptical, I do bust my butt on it though keeping my hr pritty hi, I was told it takes six weeks for ur body to gain mucel. Then the weight falls off. On the elliptical anyway I also let go of the handels and use my core to pedel I dance on it to lol also take ur meserments.!!!!!! Dont just watch the scale