Heart Rate vs. MPR - Need Advice

Betty_Blowtorch
Betty_Blowtorch Posts: 16 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
When I first started walking outside for 45 minutes I put the mph at 3.5 - brisk pace as I came home completely drenched in sweat. I was told by my personal trainer that the amount of exertion (I can say hello to someone but that's about it) made the estimated 250 calorie loss sound fairly accurate.

I'm starting to use the treadmill there. I use 2.3 speed with an incline of 1.0 and am still using the quickstart option. It says I'm burning about 150 calories for 30 minutes. MFP says the same thing at 2.0 - leisurely pace. Of course, 2.0-2.5 isn't very leisurely for me. I use the hand heart rate monitor and it seems to average at 160-165 during the entirety of my workout. Afterward, I'm drenched in sweat. I'm female and weigh 194 pounds.

I checked out heart rate calorie calculators for my weight, gender, age, and overall heart rate and they spit out 300 calories. I cannot afford a heart monitor until January (on the to do list). My personal trainer is now on holiday and won't be back until early January so I can't ask her at this moment.

I'm currently eating 1450-1590 calories roughly (MFP gave me the number of 1490), which is around my BMR rate. My TBEE is roughly 2000.

The reason I ask you guys is because I walked on the treadmill for 60 minutes the other day and felt dizzy with a headache. I want to burn fat not kill myself! If the heart rate calculators are correct that would mean I lost about 600 calories that day and of course 1600 - 600 = 1000 net and quite a bit below my BMR. You can see why that would worry me.

For now, my personal trainer told me that I don't need to worry about eating the calories for workout, but to go ahead and make changes according to what the dietian says. Unfortunately, I don't see her until the 12th.

I'm thinking that the calculators are more correct and that I should just exercise for 30 minutes using the treadmill until I can get some professional opinions and that chest strap heart monitor, but I'd like to see what you guys think.

Replies

  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Ignore both numbers. Track your exercise and time spent exercising. Monitor your scale. Adjust calories accordingly.

    /advice
  • Sherbog
    Sherbog Posts: 1,072 Member
    Ignore both numbers. Track your exercise and time spent exercising. Monitor your scale. Adjust calories accordingly.

    /advice

    Riight on!
  • Betty_Blowtorch
    Betty_Blowtorch Posts: 16 Member
    Thank you both! How often should I weigh myself? Some say once a day and others state once a week. Anyway, I'll try to do my best not to get caught up in numbers, it's very easy for me to do.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    For me, once per week, same bat time, same bat channel. I may step on a scale other times but I only log my Friday morning weight.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    At the treadmill workloads you are describing, you are likely burning less than 300 calories per hour. You are making a good start with a consistent program and it will definitely help you see results, but your total exercise calorie burn is not enough to be really concerned about right now. At around 1500 cals/day, I think you are in the right daily calorie range--again, at the level you are burning, I don't think you need to worry about "eating calories back".

    I suspect the dizziness is due more to a lack of conditioning or a drop in blood sugar more than anything else. You might want to experiment with eating closer to you workout time and see if that helps.

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