How many calories do you burn at the gym?

ohheyy125
ohheyy125 Posts: 295 Member
edited January 1 in Fitness and Exercise
I just don't feel like I'm burning enough after 45 minutes at the gym. About 200-300 calories. That's probably not enough right? Some of my MFP friends are burning 800 calories/workout!

And how come MFP says I'm burning more than the actual machine says?

Replies

  • ohheyy125
    ohheyy125 Posts: 295 Member
    Okay someone just burned almost 1200 calories. That's my whole day's calorie allowance!
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    don't worry about it. a huge part of cals burned is based on body weight. I weigh double what you do so we can be doing the same exercise in/on the same class/machine and I'll burn almost 75% more than you. don't fall into the trap of trying to match people's burns.

    more importantly, losing weight is about being in a deficit. If you eat properly, you can lose without even working out, although I don't recommend it. what I'm saying is that if you eat around your goal, say 1800, then your 300 cal burn works perfectly well for you as it brings you to 1500. Don't worry about trying to hit some 900 cal burn.

    in case you didn't catch the subtle hint, i'm also saying you should probably be eating more than 1200 cals. unless you are 5'1" and weigh 115, 1200 cals is too low for almost everyone, I don't care what MFP directs you to do. 1500-1800 is probably closer to right, depending on your body stats, of course.
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    If you can afford one I would invest in a heart rate monitor I personally use a Polar FT60 and it is the only thing I rely on for my calories burned. I normally eat back 85% of those burned calories leaving 15% for error that being said I normally burn around 1200 calories a workout session... Best of Luck....
  • MzStarrQueenB
    MzStarrQueenB Posts: 194 Member
    I do what ever I have to as long as I burn 600 in under an hour. :smile:





    If you set your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.....



    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/8987-serious-diet-support-group
  • RumpusP
    RumpusP Posts: 163 Member
    I burn a lot more when I do intense cardio or weights+cardio exercise classes compared to treadmill/elliptical/whatever, plus I'm about 50 lbs overweight. Tonight for an hour of Intense Zumba my HRM said I'd lost 1039. My hear rate got high enough that I had to ease up for a couple songs so it wouldn't become dangerous, though. I usually average around 700-800.

    When I do machines I only average about 500ish.

    Getting a HRM, while they are certainly not perfect!, would be helpful for you to know a better what you're losing. You may want to see if there are any good classes that will push you hard available, too.
  • Surisaddai
    Surisaddai Posts: 142 Member
    You burn less the smaller you get. When I was 56 lbs heavier I used to burn about 300 calories more than I do now. You need an HRM so that you know how much you really burn.
  • Danardeener
    Danardeener Posts: 255 Member
    I usually go about 45 minutes per day and burn anywhere between 300-500 cals per workout. I also go by the cals on the machine (not MFP) because you enter your weight and age in the machine. I do want to get an to HRM though just to get a more accurate reading.
  • ladybug1620
    ladybug1620 Posts: 1,136 Member
    Depends what I'm doing. Today I only burned 300 something. Sometimes I get between 700-800.
  • katevarner
    katevarner Posts: 884 Member
    You burn according to your size. I usually only burn about 200-350 an hour unless I'm running, and don't even burn much more then, but I'm 5'3" and weigh 111. I have a BodyMedia Fit which tells me how much I'm burning. Machines and MFP are both pretty unreliable, as are some HRMs. Just keep at it. All it means is that you can't eat 2500 calories a day. I'm sure MFP has already told you that.
  • michellersalo
    michellersalo Posts: 60 Member
    The calorie counts on the cardio pieces can be 30% above or below what you are actually burning. Also, they predict based on your weight (which is NOT accurate at all). I would go with an HR monitor that tracks calories. I have a Polar FT7 and use it for EVERY workout. If I am doing the ARC trainer in the gym, it says that I am burning 350 calories but I usually am closer to 250. If I ate these calories on a regular basis, I would be adding 400-500 calories per week that I am not really burning off!
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