Painful Realization about cals burned...

joyzeejay

SO!!! I got a Heart Rate Monitor last week and lo and behold, when I use it with the elliptical it says my cals burned are MUCH lower than what MFP says. For instance, today I did 57 mins of elliptical with intervals of heavy weights--MFP and the elliptical have me at ~700 cals; the HRM has me at 256. It's been like this for several days...sigh! I'm going to have to eat the dust and log the lower cals. I just haven't been burning like I would've hoped I was. At least on the elliptical. But! It's been to be accurate than to lie to myself, right?

However, on the flip side, with trail runs (okay jogs/walk)...MFP has been logging me burning fewer cals than my HRM. It seems I'm working MUCH harder on the trail runs/jog than on the elliptical.

Anybody else seeing this to be the case?

dad106

What kind of HRM is it? and it does it have a chest strap? If it doesn't have a chest strap, then it's going to be a crap shoot and not accurate at all.

Your burn for the elliptical sounds a bit low but not unreasonable.. it depends on how fast you are going, how much resistance etc. If you are not going really fast with no resistance, then yes you won't burn many calories.

migoi357

It depends on what workout I'm doing...if it's a "slow, jog" type of day then the elliptical will sometimes give a higher calorie count. If it's a "make the machine scream like it's being beaten" morning then the hrm is usually higher.

I definitely have a higher calorie burn when I'm out on the road vs on the elliptical. There are advantages of the elliptical though...it's in my dry, climate controlled basement...I can hit it no matter the weather or time. It's much easier on my knees and ankles. However...I do enjoy the roadwork when the timing, weather, and my old joints harmonize in a good way.

joyzeejay

The HRM is a Garmin Forerunner with a chest strap so it monitors my heart continuously.

As for my elliptical workout, I try to work out so that I'm pushing hard and gasping for breath. I do weight and HIIT intervals on the elliptical. So for instance, I'll do 2 mins at level 3 or 4, going hard. Then 30-45 secs at level 8 even faster, then back down to 3 or 4 until I hit 5 mins. I switch to weights. Like yesterday, I did lunges, deep, non-stop, 20 reps with 15lb dumbbells. It gets my heart pounding and sweat pouring. Then back to the elliptical, with a HIIT session. The back to the weights--20 squats and 20 Romanian deadlifts with 15lb dumbbells, non-stop. I have to work hard and focus. So, it surprised me to see only 250 or so cals burned after 50-60mins. I feel I'm working much harder than when I jog...yet, it says I burn more jogging...

Lanfear

Might be a really daft question but have you set it up properly? I only ask as that seems a very low burn to me for the activity you describe - I wonder if the settings are right? I have a Garmin Forerunner and it certainly seems accurate when I'm out running, though I have yet to wear it while i'm on the cross trainer/elliptical.

joyzeejay

Might be a really daft question but have you set it up properly? I only ask as that seems a very low burn to me for the activity you describe - I wonder if the settings are right? I have a Garmin Forerunner and it certainly seems accurate when I'm out running, though I have yet to wear it while i'm on the cross trainer/elliptical.

I wondered that, too. So I did a master reset of the entire watch and then re-entered all my data. I also entered my data on Garmin Connect. The only thing I could imagine is that I set my activity class too low. I set it at 4. Although I work out/exercise everyday, which is 8-10, I only do a total of 3 or 4 hours a day, which is 4-7. Maybe I set it too low?

And I agree...it seems very accurate when I'm outside. I LOVE that part of it...it's fascinating to see the elevation, pace, etc information...

dpwellman

The HRM is probably closer to reality than MFP. . . besides as one adapts more energy expends at a slower rate. I'd say MFP, for me, is almost 100% more than what I atually burned (running or cycling)

JNick77

SO!!! I got a Heart Rate Monitor last week and lo and behold, when I use it with the elliptical it says my cals burned are MUCH lower than what MFP says. For instance, today I did 57 mins of elliptical with intervals of heavy weights--MFP and the elliptical have me at ~700 cals; the HRM has me at 256. It's been like this for several days...sigh! I'm going to have to eat the dust and log the lower cals. I just haven't been burning like I would've hoped I was. At least on the elliptical. But! It's been to be accurate than to lie to myself, right?

However, on the flip side, with trail runs (okay jogs/walk)...MFP has been logging me burning fewer cals than my HRM. It seems I'm working MUCH harder on the trail runs/jog than on the elliptical.

Anybody else seeing this to be the case?

Honestly there's too much emphasis placed on tracking calories burned. If you setup a safe calorie deficit there's no reason to track your expenditure. Additionally, and you can search this yourself via Google or whatever, HRM's are really not that accurate. One of the last articles I read said they were really only accurate during light activity. Aside from that, HRM's only "track" the initial calorie burn but do nothing to account for the increased calorie burn that occurs for hours after you exercise. How do you account for that? You can't unless you're strapped to equipment in a lab. Eat smart, exercise smart and hard, and let your body to the rest. Don't stress about calorie expenditure.