Calories burned....who do I trust??

gettinmeback143
gettinmeback143 Posts: 12 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Do you trust your calories burned? If I go by my elliptical, a 30 minute workout earns me about 700 calories. However, various websites, including this one, vary anywhere from 550-750 for my stats. I recently got a new Polar FT4 HR monitor that shows I burn anywhere from 275-350 for the same workout. I log the number from my HR monitor, but wonder why the other numbers are so much higher. (Plus it seems like a big girl like me would burn more than 10 calories/min boppin' around on an elliptical...or at least I wish I did! :))

Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,412 Member
    700 for 30 minutes seems high. Does the machine take in all the stats that your HRM does?

    If it were me, I'd use the HRM. Use it for a while and see if it is working for you. Adjust if necessary. If you are overweight by more than 50 pounds, you don't need to worry much about eating back the exercise calories, anyway. That becomes more of an issue as you get closer to goal. Since you have the HRM, may as well use the numbers. At least you are getting a consistent source.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,412 Member
    ..or you could always use an average of three different sources. Just be consistent in which source(s) you use. Your results are only as good as your record-keeping.
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
    id go with the HRM - machines are usually calibrated for 150 lb people, and can lose calibration over time - even if you put in weight and stuff it can be wrong.
    i burn about 600 calories an hour on the elliptical according to my polar ft4 depending on how hard im pushing...im 5'6 and 250lbs

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