How do you guys feel about Jillian's response to this?

Hi there!

Age, weight, intensity, all can affect calorie burn. The best way to gauge that is with a heart rate monitor. I use a Polar F11 and love it. There are more and less expensive models out there.

Here is also a post of Jillian's from the Ask Jillian archive- There is a formula you can use to estimate calorie burn:
How Many Calories Am I Burning?

Q: How many calories are we burning during the online workouts and your front, back, and kickboxing DVDs?

JILLIAN SAYS: It's all relative to your age, body weight, height, gender, and so on. The general rule of thumb is, for every 25 pounds of weight you have on your frame, you will burn an additional 50 calories an hour provided you work out at the same intensity for the entire hour.

For example, I weigh 120 pounds — which is almost 5 groups of 25 pounds — so if I multiply 50 calories by 5 for 250 calories, then divide that per-hour amount by 60 it comes out to slightly more than 4 calories a minute.
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Replies

  • rmhand
    rmhand Posts: 1,067 Member
    It provides a good estimate for people that do not have a HRM.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    That sounds reasonable for one of her DVD's.
  • 1sisrat
    1sisrat Posts: 267 Member
    I'd say that's fairly accurate.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    Seems pretty accurate to me. I have her 30-day shed video - I burn between 180-200 calories for the 1/2 hour. According to that formula I would burn 205 - so very close.
  • claritarejoice
    claritarejoice Posts: 461 Member
    This is helpful info from Jillian, thanks. I just did her video today and MFP says I burned almost 200 calories more than her formula says. Original poster: is your HRM close to what her formula comes up with for you? Thanks.
  • staceypunk
    staceypunk Posts: 924 Member
    OP here: When I do her formula, it says I burn considerably less than what MFP says. About 50-75 calories less. But it makes sense. I think I'll have to log less calories burned. I don't have a HRM. I just cut and paste the original question from her website.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    Pretty decent estimate, but not completely and perfectly accurate like a HRM will be.
  • drmerc
    drmerc Posts: 2,603 Member
    Pretty decent estimate, but not completely and perfectly accurate like a HRM will be.

    I would not call a HRM perfectly accurate at measuring calorie expenditure
  • SmartAlec03211988
    SmartAlec03211988 Posts: 1,896 Member
    According to her formula I would burn 180 calories during my typical workout. HRM says I burn anywhere from 250-390.

    Interesting.
  • skylark94
    skylark94 Posts: 2,036 Member
    OP here: When I do her formula, it says I burn considerably less than what MFP says. About 50-75 calories less. But it makes sense. I think I'll have to log less calories burned. I don't have a HRM. I just cut and paste the original question from her website.

    MFP tends to seriously overestimate the calorie burn for most people. Before I got my HRM for real numbers I would take whatever MFP gave me and subtract at least 25%.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Pretty decent estimate, but not completely and perfectly accurate like a HRM will be.

    I would not call a HRM perfectly accurate at measuring calorie expenditure

    STOP WITH YOUR LYING LIES! HRMS ARE PERFECTLY ACCURATE BECAUSE THEY TRACK YOUR HAWT!!! EVERYONE KNOWS THIS
  • rkr22401
    rkr22401 Posts: 216 Member
    Pretty decent estimate, but not completely and perfectly accurate like a HRM will be.

    The subtle sarcasm of your posts never ceases to bring a smile to my face (as well as the responses from those who bite hook, line, and sinker).
  • jaz050465
    jaz050465 Posts: 3,508 Member
    That makes me 149. MFP says 250. Oops!
  • yeah that seems about right to me too. I make my own exercises for everything on MFP. The set ones are crazy with overestimating. But it makes you feel good so who cares lol
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    They're all estimates, even your HRM. A difference of 50-75 calories doesn't seem too far off, in my opinion.
  • I'm only burning about 100 cals doing the 30DS then... MFP says it's 160-ish! :O
  • Cyclink
    Cyclink Posts: 517 Member
    I'd say it's a plausible number.
  • AmyFett
    AmyFett Posts: 1,607 Member
    Sounds right to me. I burn a lot because of being so overweight. When I DO workout, I get really into it. Gotta make it count because I don't do it all too often!
  • skinnyinnotime
    skinnyinnotime Posts: 4,078 Member
    OP here: When I do her formula, it says I burn considerably less than what MFP says. About 50-75 calories less. But it makes sense. I think I'll have to log less calories burned. I don't have a HRM. I just cut and paste the original question from her website.

    MFP tends to seriously overestimate the calorie burn for most people. Before I got my HRM for real numbers I would take whatever MFP gave me and subtract at least 25%.

    My hrm gave me pretty similar burns to mfp....funny how it changes for different people.
  • I agree with it...
  • sin485
    sin485 Posts: 125 Member
    soo basically i burn 108 cals doing the 30 day shred..but its sooo hard!
  • KatFierce
    KatFierce Posts: 252 Member
    I think that is an easy and reasonable equation. Especially considering that most people who do her videos probably arent using a site that calculates your burn for you like MFP, and as others have said MFP is often way off on their estimates.
  • pspam
    pspam Posts: 9
    Pretty decent estimate, but not completely and perfectly accurate like a HRM will be.

    The subtle sarcasm of your posts never ceases to bring a smile to my face (as well as the responses from those who bite hook, line, and sinker).
    Yeah, pretty funny. Only working out in a bomb calorimeter would be as close to completely accurate as possible.
  • DonaA123
    DonaA123 Posts: 337 Member
    bump for later
  • capriciousmoon
    capriciousmoon Posts: 1,263 Member
    It's actually very close to what my HRM gave me when I did 30DS.
  • AmberJo1984
    AmberJo1984 Posts: 1,067 Member
    I think it's a good formula. I have always heard that you burn more (and lose faster) when you're heavier, than you do when you only have 5 pounds to lose.
  • MFP tends to seriously overestimate the calorie burn for most people. Before I got my HRM for real numbers I would take whatever MFP gave me and subtract at least 25%.

    Ditto! :D
  • sotellmedarling
    sotellmedarling Posts: 35 Member
    I typically take my MFP estimates and divide them in half. For me, there's only about a 10-15 calorie difference between doing that and using Jillian's formula, with Jillian's saying I burn a little more than what I've been estimating.
  • EnchantedEvening
    EnchantedEvening Posts: 671 Member
    Sounds about right. When I take my HRM and subtract my BMR plus another 20% for error percentage, it's pretty close to her estimate. I can definitely believe I burn 600 calories per hour if I keep my heart rate around 150, maybe even more. I weigh 316 pounds. It takes a lot to move this body. :)
  • claritarejoice
    claritarejoice Posts: 461 Member
    bump