am i doing this right?

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Cait2286
Cait2286 Posts: 29
in Health and Weight Loss
I usually eat what i want... i just limit the sweet stuff. I like to eat fruits and veggies. I dont think i eat too bad. My calories on MFP is 1680.. but i can hardly ever make it up there.. im usually around 1500 something. Is that ok? Then yesterday at the gym i burned 1800 calories at the gym. And before i went to the gym i ate like 1500 calories (i went at 8 at night) so my eating for the day was basically over.. besides a snack i have after i workout. Im just wondering if im doing this right? I dont want to get to my goal weight then 2 years later gain it all back. I want to do this as healthy and long lasting as possible.

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  • CantarellaMiyani
    CantarellaMiyani Posts: 91 Member
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    It might be helpful if you opened your diary, and described what you're doing at the gym. Burning 1800 calories in a couple of hours is... I mean, that's more than you burn without exercise in a day.

    And it would help to know what you're eating, what your macros are, etc.
  • Cait2286
    Cait2286 Posts: 29
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    Burned it in an hour on the elliptical. Pretty impressed with myself. Took me 4 months to get there.
    As far as opening my diary up. I have no idea how. Lol i use Android app.
  • _granola
    _granola Posts: 326
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    How are you measuring your calories burned at the gym? A heart rate monitor, the elliptical machine, or MFP?
  • CantarellaMiyani
    CantarellaMiyani Posts: 91 Member
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    Where are you getting 1800? Everything I'm finding suggests that an hour on the elliptical burns half that, or less, depending on your weight.

    If the Android app is anything like the iOS one, then on the right, hit More, then Settings, then Diary Sharing Settings.
  • Cait2286
    Cait2286 Posts: 29
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    I get it from the elliptical machine.. enter weight and go. I would love to get a heart rate monitor.
  • _granola
    _granola Posts: 326
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    I get it from the elliptical machine.. enter weight and go. I would love to get a heart rate monitor.

    The elliptical machine is not going to be very accurate. It's likely way overestimating the amount of calories you are burning. I would get a heart rate monitor if you can.
  • Cait2286
    Cait2286 Posts: 29
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    Heart rate monitor is #1 on my christmas list. Even with the heart rate readers on the elliptical its still going to be wrong?
  • _granola
    _granola Posts: 326
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    Heart rate monitor is #1 on my christmas list. Even with the heart rate readers on the elliptical its still going to be wrong?

    Yes. Make sure to get a HRM that allows you to enter gender and weight. I recommend this one: http://www.amazon.com/Polar-Heart-Rate-Monitor-Purple/dp/B005M1P85O/
  • ObtainingBalance
    ObtainingBalance Posts: 1,446 Member
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    Enter in exercise using the MyFitnessPal App.

    How do you write in forums on the droid? O - o

    1,800 is WAY off, but it's ok. You will get the hang of it and find out the accurate amount burned soon enough!

    1,500 calories is fine! Just aim for 1,500-1,600.
  • DonaA123
    DonaA123 Posts: 337 Member
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    bump
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
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    Yeah, 1800 calories is WAY too much. A really hard cardio workout is only going to burn about 10 calories a minute for the average person.
  • crimsoncat
    crimsoncat Posts: 457 Member
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    Heart rate monitor is #1 on my christmas list. Even with the heart rate readers on the elliptical its still going to be wrong?

    The heart rate monitor on the elliptical may or may not be off. I agree that 1800 pretty much impossible in one hour of time. I have a heart rate monitor and compared to the equipment at my gym they both seem to be wihin a few beats of each other. That said, this is what I recommend you do.

    First off, find out what your target heart rate should be when exercising. Too little bmp and it won't give you a nice aerobic work out. Too much and you could hurt yourself and won't get that aerobic benefit.

    http://www.thewalkingsite.com/thr.html

    http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/target-heart-rate-calculator.aspx

    You'll want something in the moderate to heavy range if you are doing an aerobic work out.


    1. Find your resting heart rate. Use a timer set to 20 sec. and count how many beats you get in 20 secs. I would recommend you do it three times for accuracy and average the results.
    2. Calculate your VO2max http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/vo2max-calculator.aspx
    3. Calculate your gross calories burned based on your average heart rate over the period of exercise and your known vo2max http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/heart-rate-based-calorie-burn-calculator.aspx (Use the second calculator)
    4. Convert the gross calories to net calories. http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/net-versus-gross-calorie-burn-conversion-calculator.aspx

    So for example, I also love the elliptical. I have a heart condition, so I have to be careful never to work my heart too hard. I am 23 and weigh 125lbs at 5'5.5" tall. My resting heart beat is 83 bmp. My target aerobic heart range is between 128-169bmp (based on the pamphlet that came with my heart monitor). If I work on the elliptical I keep my heart at an average of 165bpm. My Vo2max is 41. My gross calories burned at that heart rate is about 610 an hour. Once I convert that to net calories (see this for an explanation of why: http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/articles/net-versus-gross-calorie-burn.aspx) I get a total burn of 546 calories per hour.

    According to MPF's "Elliptical Trainer" calorie estimate, I should burn about 508 calories per hour.

    I'd pick the lower of the two estimates just to be on the safe side. Either way, both of these estimates are far under the 1800 calories the trainer said you burned in one hour. While I don't know your body weight and vo2max, it seems strange that you would burn over twice of what MPF says. Ellipticals are a great work out, but I don't think they are that good.
  • Jules2Be
    Jules2Be Posts: 2,267 Member
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    My elliptical was giving me a read of about 950 for the hour and my HRM said 975...so i was happy they were close.

    i seriously think that machine is broken that you are using.

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