I hardly burn any calories!

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2

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  • adamb83
    adamb83 Posts: 719 Member
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    I just want to lose a little body fat.
    Any advise on how to shake things up with my workouts?

    Strength/Resistance training. Best way to lower body fat % is to build some muscle (which also burns fat).
  • shaycat
    shaycat Posts: 980
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    Diet (What You Eat and Drink) is 90% of wt loss and/or Maintanance.

    If you need toning, then just do some routine toning exercises; Body Building is a different matter.
    [/quote]

    Right that is why I get mad. I like to workout. I am trying to be more fit. However working out makes me hungrier than I would be without it, yet I cant really eat more.

    But thank you all for the advise. I am not going to worry about the burned calories and just focus on looking for results.
  • russellma
    russellma Posts: 284 Member
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    What is your average HR for the workout? If it's near the top of your range, then there might be something wrong with your HRM or its setting. If it's near the bottom of your range, you can increase the intensity.

    I found that some things (such as strength training and the stationary bike) don't generally get my HR up very high by themselves, so I try to find ways to boost it.

    When I'm on the bike, I add hand weights and do an upper body workout while I'm pedaling. When I'm done with that, I do intervals.... 30 seconds hard work followed by 30-45 second lighter work.

    On the treadmill, I gradually crank up the speed until my HR is at the top of my range and stays there, or I do intervals where I max out for a couple minutes followed by a fast walk for a minute or two.

    I've also tried alternating strength training and calisthenics with cardio (jumping jacks,etc) to try to keep my HR up, which has worked OK.
  • shaycat
    shaycat Posts: 980
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    What is your average HR for the workout? If it's near the top of your range, then there might be something wrong with your HRM or its setting. If it's near the bottom of your range, you can increase the intensity.

    I found that some things (such as strength training and the stationary bike) don't generally get my HR up very high by themselves, so I try to find ways to boost it.

    When I'm on the bike, I add hand weights and do an upper body workout while I'm pedaling. When I'm done with that, I do intervals.... 30 seconds hard work followed by 30-45 second lighter work.

    On the treadmill, I gradually crank up the speed until my HR is at the top of my range and stays there, or I do intervals where I max out for a couple minutes followed by a fast walk for a minute or two.

    I've also tried alternating strength training and calisthenics with cardio (jumping jacks,etc) to try to keep my HR up, which has worked OK.

    Now I feel stupid. How do I know what my range is?
  • eriemer
    eriemer Posts: 197
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    Someone made this thread, I can't verify its accuracy

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/548645-setup-polar-hrm-for-more-accurate-calorie-burn-for-known-bmr

    Very usefull article. IMHO-way to much work. I say exercise and watch your intake, much less thinking involved. If you feel more hungry add a few hundred calories...no big deal.

    I use gym equiptment estimates, adjust to match calories via MFP, for burn then eat some back only if I feel like it.
  • Brandicaloriecountess
    Brandicaloriecountess Posts: 2,126 Member
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    I don't burn much either. I am lucky to get around 300-400 for an hour.
  • gerla_k
    gerla_k Posts: 495 Member
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    Are you small and/or close to normal weight anyway? If so then that's probably the reason... takes less effort to move a smaller vehicle.

    If you're not, then HRM could be wrong. Recheck initial settings or buy a Polar FT7.

    I was actually going to say the same thing- check the setting on your HRM - is your profile set correctly (weight, height, age?) I use polar ft4- it's pretty accurate. I am currently doing Jillian Michael's Body revolution and I burn around +/-270 cals in 30 minutes. I'm 5'9" and 160.
  • russellma
    russellma Posts: 284 Member
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    What is your average HR for the workout? If it's near the top of your range, then there might be something wrong with your HRM or its setting. If it's near the bottom of your range, you can increase the intensity.

    I found that some things (such as strength training and the stationary bike) don't generally get my HR up very high by themselves, so I try to find ways to boost it.

    When I'm on the bike, I add hand weights and do an upper body workout while I'm pedaling. When I'm done with that, I do intervals.... 30 seconds hard work followed by 30-45 second lighter work.

    On the treadmill, I gradually crank up the speed until my HR is at the top of my range and stays there, or I do intervals where I max out for a couple minutes followed by a fast walk for a minute or two.

    I've also tried alternating strength training and calisthenics with cardio (jumping jacks,etc) to try to keep my HR up, which has worked OK.

    Now I feel stupid. How do I know what my range is?

    I have a Polar FT4 and if I push the bottom right hand button after I stop my workout, it gives me the average heartrate and max heartrate. If I push it again, it shows how long I was in my "zone". I'm not sure if the FT40 is exactly the same, but I'm sure it has the same function somewhere!
  • shaycat
    shaycat Posts: 980
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    I will have to try that. I never push those buttons. I have the FT4. i have burnt 10045 cal so far with it.
  • russellma
    russellma Posts: 284 Member
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    I will have to try that. I never push those buttons. I have the FT4. i have burnt 10045 cal so far with it.

    You might already know this, but the TOP right-hand button (on my FT4) allows you to go back through the training files and see the duration, average and max for past workouts! :smile:

    If you push the bottom button DURING your workout, you can see where your heartrate is currently and how many calories you've burned up to that point.
  • chickentunashake
    chickentunashake Posts: 165 Member
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    I'm using a HRM as well and it doesn't show a big burn either, but i googled it and found a web which will show your burn with the time you worked out and your average heart rate. And that sounds more like it.
    The web is www.shapesense.com
  • zoom2
    zoom2 Posts: 934 Member
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    I've never seen so many people who are slaves to #s from computers and devices than I have on MFP. One woman here who is quite slim was convinced that she was burning the sorts of calories on a long run that someone 3-4x her size would burn...because her HRM told her so. Even though her #s were not even physically possible for someone of her size she argued that they must be right.

    From everything I've seen HRMs are notoriously flaky in terms of measuring calorie burn accurately and/or people don't have their profiles set up properly (kind of like using a bicycle computer that doesn't have the proper wheel size entered--it's not going to yield accurate #s if the user information isn't appropriate). Yet people want to believe these devices, rather than reasonably standard charts.
  • Quasita
    Quasita Posts: 1,530 Member
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    I honestly don't really think HRMs are always the most accurate... To each their own, but I love my device, it's a calorimeter but not a heart rate based one. HRMs are based solely on how many beats they sense. It's possible that during your DVD, you are jostling it and moving it away from the skin so that it's not registering accurately.

    They depend on user accuracy and standard algorithms for the calculation. If you have heart disease, heart murmur, or other things that can effect your bpm, the reading can get wildly inaccurate. Such is the same for very healthy circulation. People who are healthier have lower heart rates. This doesn't mean they aren't burning the calories, it just means that their heart is more efficient.

    I use a BodyMedia Fit Link and it has worked out very well so far. It has reflected the intensity of my workouts doing the same thing for the same amount of time pretty on par with what I am sensing. I like that it measures energy expenditure as well as calories burned. I just don't have any faith in HRM. The one at my doctor's office tells me my resting heart rate is 95bpm because I have an irregular heart beat. I didn't know I had that going on till this past year!
  • WickedGarden
    WickedGarden Posts: 944 Member
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    ^ What she said.

    Don't over-complicate things. Figure out your maintenance intake. Set a 10-20% deficit. Eat 1g/protein, 30-50g fat, the rest is carbs. You'll lose weight without the hassle of counting exercise calories.

    To figure out maintenance, go here. http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/how-to-estimate-maintenance-caloric-intake.html

    if I follow this plan, I would only be consuming 1119 calories a day...that's correct?
  • jengigs
    jengigs Posts: 37 Member
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    I have the FT4 as well. If you push the upper right button while exercising you can scroll through the screens and one of them shows your zone and where you are in it. Mine is constantly beeping at me to tell me I'm under or over.
  • AnneGenevieveS
    AnneGenevieveS Posts: 441 Member
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    make sure your settings are correct...

    check your heart rate next while you are exercising. If your heart rate is maxing out at 130 or 140, then, yeah... you aren't going to be burning many calories. Your HR monitor is probably right :(

    You could try running faster or with an incline to get your heart rate higher. I don't know how to do insanity, but is there some way to make it harder? more weight? more effort or intensity?

    Since my running endurance gets better and better, my heart stays lower while I run... therefore less calories burned. A year ago, I almost died when I ran 5 miles for the first time. My standard now is 6 miles per day.

    Push yourself harder or try a new exercise maybe (I love spinning) if you want to get that HR up higher and burn more.

    I'm afraid your low heart rate (and therefore low calorie burn) may just be an unfortunate side effect of being in great shape and cardiovascular fitness.
  • zoom2
    zoom2 Posts: 934 Member
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    Since my running endurance gets better and better, my heart stays lower while I run... therefore less calories burned. A year ago, I almost died when I ran 5 miles for the first time. My standard now is 6 miles per day.

    I'm afraid your low heart rate (and therefore low calorie burn) may just be an unfortunate side effect of being in great shape and cardiovascular fitness.

    I think this is something a lot of folks don't account for--fitter people burn fewer calories doing the same activity at the same pace as someone the same size who is less fit. I burned a LOT more calories when I first started running. When I took up cycling it was the same story...lost weight without trying. Now that I've been at both activities for a while I have to be hyper-focused on my diet, since the workouts don't kick my butt as greatly.
  • badgerbadger1
    badgerbadger1 Posts: 954 Member
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    For your size, the numbers sound right to me. If I only did a 30 min DVD that's what I would expect to burn, pnly if it were intense. That's a fact of life, the smaller you are the smaller the burn. Two ways to fix this, eat less or move more. I move more because I like to eat.
  • shaycat
    shaycat Posts: 980
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    Ok, I will take a low burn if it means I am in shape.
    I am just trying to get a good idea of how many calories to eat.
    I set my goal at 1700 and am not eating them back. I did this so I wouldn't over workout just to be able to eat more. Maybe it isnt helping. Since now I feel like I have to "earn" my set 1700 calories.
  • russellma
    russellma Posts: 284 Member
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    ^ What she said.

    Don't over-complicate things. Figure out your maintenance intake. Set a 10-20% deficit. Eat 1g/protein, 30-50g fat, the rest is carbs. You'll lose weight without the hassle of counting exercise calories.

    To figure out maintenance, go here. http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/how-to-estimate-maintenance-caloric-intake.html

    if I follow this plan, I would only be consuming 1119 calories a day...that's correct?

    It looks to me like that site is recommending that maintenance is your weight x 14-16, depending on your thermal dynamics and activity level. So, for a 120 lb. person, maintenance would be anywhere from 1680-1920 cals. To lose weight, you would reduce that by 10-20%.

    Just as a side note in defense of HRMs... HRMs are a better tool to determine if you're working hard enough rather than one to tell you exactly how many calories to eat. My weight loss took a sharp turn for the better when I was able to get a handle on keeping my heartrate high enough to actually burn substantial calories.

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