How to calculate calories burned on elliptical

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The reason I ask is that when I use my elliptical at home on the max setting it will say I burn 200 more calories that I would burn at the gym for the same amount of time. I find that hard to believe because I can sometimes have the gym settings very high and I can barely move the machine but at home on high I dont seem to have as much of a problem. I would like to use my home elliptical for 10-15 minutes at night to burn a few extra calories but I would like to know how much I am burning. I am not able to put my weight into the home machine. Any tips?

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  • RatherBeInTheShire
    RatherBeInTheShire Posts: 561 Member
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    Get a heart rate monitor. I hear these are pretty helpful in figuring out what your actual burn is.
  • erinarvin1980
    erinarvin1980 Posts: 9 Member
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    I have looked into those but they are pretty pricey and I may have to get a new pair of running shoes soon and my husband would just kill me.
  • SlinkyAndHerAmazingBunsOfSteel
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    MFP's database says I burn 97 cals in 10 mins elliptical. My HRM gives me 91 cals in 10 mins. Thats a 6% difference. I would just take 6% off whatever MFP gives you... ie: multiply MFPs number by 0.94 :smile:
  • erinarvin1980
    erinarvin1980 Posts: 9 Member
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    Thanks
  • MikeInAZ
    MikeInAZ Posts: 483 Member
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    Get a Polar FT4 Heart Rate Monitor. It's accurate, easy to use and will tell you with certainty how many calories you burn. I have the FT7, love it. The FT7 just stores more data and has a couple minor extra features, not really worth paying an extra $15 for. If I had to do it again, I'd go with the FT4

    Amazon is the cheapest I've found: http://amzn.to/16A6Bn8
  • Josalinn
    Josalinn Posts: 1,066 Member
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    MFP's database says I burn 97 cals in 10 mins elliptical. My HRM gives me 91 cals in 10 mins. Thats a 6% difference. I would just take 6% off whatever MFP gives you... ie: multiply MFPs number by 0.94 :smile:

    I disagree
    My HRM says i burn almost 200 cal more than MPF says i burn on the eliptical in a half hour.

    keep your eye out for some deals and steals and you can get a HRM for pretty cheep. Mine was about $50.
  • MikeInAZ
    MikeInAZ Posts: 483 Member
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    I have looked into those but they are pretty pricey and I may have to get a new pair of running shoes soon and my husband would just kill me.

    $50-60 on a device that will help you get slim and sexy. I'm sure your husband would hate that. Here's a tip. Men hate when women buy shoes (any kind). Men LOVE when women buy gadgets (any kind).