weight and calories burned tracked by heart rate monitor?

bwilton77

Ok so I have a question I guess. I bought a heart rate monitor last week and I have been using it when I work out at the gym to help me track my calories burned and to stay in my target range for fat burning. The calorie counts have shocked me but I did not question it until today. See I workout with a partner who weighs 100 pounds less than I do but is the same age and roughly the same hieght. She also wears a monitor for the same reasons. Now for the past week when we get done our calorie burn has had a difference of roughly 300 calories so mine will say I burned 900 calories and her 600. We both assumed it was because of our size difference and left it at that. So today a water instructor we know talked to us and informed us that our weight difference wshould make no difference in our calorie burn that we are doing the same exercise at the same pace for the same length and our burn should be the same if not close to. So I would like to know if this is true because then do I need a new heart rate monitor or what? She did say the only way she could see our calorie count being different is if I had more muscle mass but from what I have read and been told if you are bigger don't you burn more? I need help I am confused now.

birdieaz

Your water instructor doesn't seem to have a clue. Size absolutely matters, this is why a larger person has a higher BMR and TDEE, they burn more calories performing the same tasks as someone smaller.

Here is a good article that explains it.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/516870-do-heavier-people-burn-more-calories-while-exercising/

Angel1066

Your instructor is wrong. I have used a monitor from the beginning of my weight loss journey and the nearer i get to my ideal weight the harder it is to get big burns.

spersephone

The simple fact is that the larger you are, the more your body has to work to do the same activity. So if you're doing the exact same activity as someone of a much smaller size, they are going to burn far less than you. It sucks really, because the fitter and smaller you get, the less you burn, and the less you need to eat to maintain your weight, or lose weight.

That's something that nearly everyone who is interested in calories knows, I'm very surprised that an instructor would be so badly informed and actually spout such rubbish.

ClairBears84

The simple fact is that the larger you are, the more your body has to work to do the same activity. So if you're doing the exact same activity as someone of a much smaller size, they are going to burn far less than you. It sucks really, because the fitter and smaller you get, the less you burn, and the less you need to eat to maintain your weight, or lose weight.

That's something that nearly everyone who is interested in calories knows, I'm very surprised that an instructor would be so badly informed and actually spout such rubbish.

Well said! we set our machines at gym and yoru size def makes a difference..

Shen191

Totally agree with what everyone else has said in reply so far. Your instructor should get better educated before attempting to advise you. I am a certified gym instructor myself. Calorie burn most definitely has everything to do with your weight and other personal stats such as age, sex.

You will most likely also find your personal HRM gives a much more acurate reading than a system such as MFP and other programs that are obviously just having to estimate. Usually MFP tells me I've burnt a lot more calories than I actually have (that my HRM tells me)...so be aware of this.

Good luck x

MDWilliams1857

Think of it this way, if one person is 100 pounds heavier than the other and they do the same exercise at the same pace, doesnt it make sense that the person who is 100 pounds heavier would be working harder to keep that pace?