Am I really burning all these calories?

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Trollivier
Trollivier Posts: 67 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi there!

I've been on MFP since this summer. What I always hated about it is that the estimations of calorie loss has a big margin of error, and sometimes it overestimates everything.

So in order to have the real numbers, I bought an HRM (Polar FT7). I entered my information in there correctly.
Today, after my HIIT class, it was telling me I had a 815 calorie burn. This is a 1 hour class. It's intense of course, we do some spinning, some high impact aerobics and running. I asked my coach, and she seriously doubts these numbers. Is that possible?

Also, I am a male, 6 foot 2, 34 years old, 289 lbs.

Any expert here?

Replies

  • think48
    think48 Posts: 366 Member
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    I have a Polar HRM also. I am 5'5, 133 lbs female. On high intensity workouts, such as HIIT, I average 10 calorie burn per minute....so, roughly 600 calories in 60 minutes. Considering you are taller and weigh more, I would assume those are correct calorie burns.
  • evileen99
    evileen99 Posts: 1,564 Member
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    I have a Polar HRM also. I am 5'5, 133 lbs female. On high intensity workouts, such as HIIT, I average 1 calorie burn per minute....so, roughly 600 calories in 60 minutes. Considering you are taller and weigh more, I would assume those are correct calorie burns.

    I assume you mean 10 calories a minute as one calorie a minute is only 60 calories burned in an hour.

    At your weight, I imagine it's possible to burn that many calories in a workout.
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
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    Given your size, I think it could be accurate. However, you should be subtracting your BMR from that number (most people don't, but it does include your BMR). Since it was an hour long workout, that's probably at least 80 to 100 calories for you (it's about 65 for me and I'm female and much smaller)
  • Greenrun99
    Greenrun99 Posts: 2,065 Member
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    Also, I am a male, 6 foot 2, 34 years old, 289 lbs.

    Oh ya.. your height/weight that is a very believable number doing something where your HR is in the upper 70%
  • susannahsutton1
    susannahsutton1 Posts: 372
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    I agree with the other respondents. Google the formula for how calories are burned and it will show you that if you had a heart rate above a certain level you will have burned those calories. The coach has no way of knowing what your heart rate is so how would they know how many calories you burned?
  • think48
    think48 Posts: 366 Member
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    I have a Polar HRM also. I am 5'5, 133 lbs female. On high intensity workouts, such as HIIT, I average 1 calorie burn per minute....so, roughly 600 calories in 60 minutes. Considering you are taller and weigh more, I would assume those are correct calorie burns.

    I assume you mean 10 calories a minute as one calorie a minute is only 60 calories burned in an hour.

    At your weight, I imagine it's possible to burn that many calories in a workout.

    Oops, yes! Typo. :blushing:
  • susannahsutton1
    susannahsutton1 Posts: 372
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    PS félicitations pour votre perte de poids à ce jour
  • Craigamears
    Craigamears Posts: 65 Member
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    I am of similar size and it is entirely possible. Your heart rate was probably near maxing out so 800-1000/hr is believable. As your fitness improves your HR will come down along with your calorie burn (and hopefully a little weight!). Another poster mentioned subracting your BMR which should be about 100 cals/hr. but am not sure if the HRM presents the net or gross Cals/Hr.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    Definitely possible. As someone else suggested, subtract your BMR from that number though...calories you would have otherwise burned just sitting on your *kitten*.

    There are a lot of factors that go into a burn...I don't know how your coach could have any clue what your burn would be without knowing how high/low your resting HR is...your age...measurements...general fitness level, etc. I'm sure for a coach of such activity, it would be very difficult to get that kind of burn considering they generally have a very high level of fitness. The higher the level of fitness, the smaller the burn...plus all of those other factors.
  • susannahsutton1
    susannahsutton1 Posts: 372
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    HRM presents gross cals/hr, but I always forget to subtract my bmr and I am losing ~2lb per week at the moment, so figuring not worth sweating the small stuff
  • ksuh999
    ksuh999 Posts: 543 Member
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    Yup, for the HR and weight you presented it's totally possible. Remember heavier people burn more calories.
  • palmerar
    palmerar Posts: 489 Member
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    I know! Isn't it so frustrating that we take the time to log all of our food, get a HRM to get an accurate calorie burn, do the work to exercise and still have no idea what we actually did or ate?!?! I would say log the calorie burn minus BMR, or look it up on MFP and a couple other sites and split the difference between your HRM and other databases. If you still don't think you burned THAT much don't eat back all your exercise calories to be safe...because those are just estimates too.
  • nwg74
    nwg74 Posts: 360 Member
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    That amount is possible with your height and weight. Larger people will burn more. I am burning 50% less calories than I was when I was 200 pounds heavier.
  • Trollivier
    Trollivier Posts: 67 Member
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    PS félicitations pour votre perte de poids à ce jour

    Merci!

    Thanks everyone, i feel relieved. This toy wasn't free so I'm glad the numbers seem good :D
  • Trollivier
    Trollivier Posts: 67 Member
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    As for the BMR, you're probably right. I let my FT7 run while we're doing relaxation and stretching at the end of class and stuff. The idea is to know what I wouldn't have burnt if I didn't go to the workout. So I guess I need to remove 96 calories for the BMR.

    719 calories in 60 minutes is still very good, but I don't think I'll count it every time. I just want a good reference that's kinda precise.
  • JohnMessmer
    JohnMessmer Posts: 536
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    The coach has no way of knowing what your heart rate is so how would they know how many calories you burned?

    Yes it is accurate.
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
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    HRM presents gross cals/hr, but I always forget to subtract my bmr and I am losing ~2lb per week at the moment, so figuring not worth sweating the small stuff

    You have a good point. I've had my HRM for a little over a year. When I started, I didn't subtract my BMR. But, as I've gotten fitter and lost weight, I've changed (since it's getting harder to lose weight as I near my ultimate goal). For a while, I only subtracted my BMR if my workout was longer than 1 hour (which was only occasionally). But now, I do it every time. As I lose weight, I get tighter and tighter with my calorie counts (both in and out) because at this point, being a little bit off does make a difference.
  • squashyhelen
    squashyhelen Posts: 143 Member
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    I don't subtract my BMR from my HRM numbers either. Based on my food log and my exercise log ... that should be fine. I'm actually losing a smidgen more than the numbers should say if the food log and exercise logs are actually correct. However, I don't typically count the calories burned during stretching time.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    I generally cut 25 to 30% off my HRM burn number for margin of error and BMR. Remember, even the best HRM is still and estimation and not precise.

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