Trust what your machine is telling you?

Yes, it's normal for machines to overstate your calories burned -- they just don't have enough information to give accurate counts. Even if you use a machine that measures heart rate, unless that puppy's calibrated regularly, it's likely to be off -- plus, it doesn't know your particular resting heart rate, so it can't tell how hard your particular heart is working.

Personally, I use those readings as a ballpark only, and ONLY if the machine allows me to enter my weight and age. I figure the machine already knows how fast I'm going and how high I have it cranked up, so with those two extra bits of info it's got a slightly better chance of approaching accuracy. I know what my heart rate is, so when I start my exercise, I check to see what the machine thinks it is. I recheck the machine's view of my heart rate regularly as I work out, keeping my rate at the increased level I want using its starting point as my starting point (even if it's off). When I log, I double-check against MFP and sometimes Livestrong to see what their numbers are for the same time spent and adjust accordingly.

Also, it's my opinion (totally NOT verified) that numbers provided by any of the "experts" reflect what can be achieved if you're working your hardest. So if I'm having an off day, I adjust everything down a somewhat.

Bottom line: If you feel like you haven't worked very hard, you probably haven't. Crank up the tension and add more time.

Oh, and again, I'm no expert. This is just what I do.

Good luck!

Would you consider getting a 'Heart Rate Monitor' Watch? All the exercise I do is at home on my own equipment including a stationary bike, and I've found using a HRM gives me a more accurate reading on the calories I've burned. It tells me how long I was burning fat for and how long I was improving my fitness. You enter your age, height and weight into the watch and it will also tell you what your average heart rate was and your maximum heart rate. I paid £62.35 for the FT7 Polar with free delivery on Amazon, well worth the money.

I would, also, mention...if you happen to be on beta blockers....an HRT monitor might not be for you as the medication will prevent your heart from working as hard as it needs to during exercise and thus giving you an inaccurate/incomplete reading.