Heart Rate Monitor and Calories burned

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Jude_V
Jude_V Posts: 72 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
My Heart rate monitor says I just burned 689 calories from 1hr of Wii Fit.

Wii Fit gave me 395 so that's what I put in my exercise log.

When I put 1hr of High intensity Wii Fit into MFP it also gave me 685 cals burned.

Very confusing - I wonder which is right? Given that the Wii Fit and the Heart rate monitor both know I am a very overweight and unfit 53 year old woman???

Also - when I got the HRM it asked me for a minimum and maximum heart rate (or something) and I just guesstimated using a formula I found online (came out to 160) but I have quite a slow heart beat (I think) 60 bpm if I am sitting at the computer doing 'nothing' - I also have a quick recovery time (or so my OH tells me)...

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Replies

  • caranlee
    caranlee Posts: 7 Member
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    i don't think the wii fit takes into account your details, i know you have to put it all in but i have a feeling it doesn't use them (if that makes sense). i have a wii game that after 20 mins of aerobics tells me i have only burned 49 kcals when i am sweating and panting and def burnt more than that.
  • ashlinmarie
    ashlinmarie Posts: 1,263 Member
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    If your HRM has a chest band (or even if it doesn't) it will be WAYY more accurate than the Wii. I know when I got my HRM, I noticed I burned a lot more calories than MFP or the gym machines told me. I think it is because of how high my heart rate gets when I work out...though I am worried that I'm burning lean muscle instead of fat because no matter how hard I try, anything more than a walk sends my heart rate above my max target of 167.
  • KayLgee
    KayLgee Posts: 139
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    I have the same issue, I done 40mins of Insanity and my HRM said 700cal burned :-0

    It does have a chest band and I would love to believe it but it seems too much?
  • Jude_V
    Jude_V Posts: 72 Member
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    Thanks all of you - my HRM does have a chest band and it did tell me I was in my Fat Burning Zone for 60 minutes so I think maybe it is right - very encouraging...but maybe I will just log half of what it says - I am eating back calories but I'm not sure I could eat back an extra 700 :)
  • donna1432
    donna1432 Posts: 87 Member
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    Kaylee Insanity can burn 700 calories I would def say that is correct you could burn up to 1000.00
  • KayLgee
    KayLgee Posts: 139
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    Great, thank you!

    You have done amazing btw ^^
  • Loisxyz
    Loisxyz Posts: 17
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    I think you should deduct your BMR calories for the time spent exercising from the calories expended according to the heart monitor to get the EXTRA calories burned.
  • ashlinmarie
    ashlinmarie Posts: 1,263 Member
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    I have the same issue, I done 40mins of Insanity and my HRM said 700cal burned :-0

    It does have a chest band and I would love to believe it but it seems too much?

    I'd believe it. I can burn 600-700 calories walking at a 4.0 mph pace for 60 minutes and over 700 for 40-50 minutes of running. My rule of thumb was usually to eat no more than half of them back in case it is overestimating unless I'm REALLY hungry.
  • McSpike
    McSpike Posts: 34 Member
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    I agree that the HRM is going to give you the most accurate calories burned for most exercise that you do. HRM's don't do a good job with weight lifting or other exercise where your heart rate doesn't stay elevated for extended periods.

    Regarding the one poster who said her rate regularly shot above her max of 167, I have to ask how you arrived at 167?
    The common formula of 220-age doesn't take into account gender or genetics. To really determine your max heart rate, you need to do a stress test under medical supervision. There are a lot of stress tests that you can find on the net that will get you close, however. For myself, a 47 yr old male, my MHR should be 173 by the formula, but I can hit higher and sustain it when I'm biking or jogging. I've hit in the 180's regularly. When I was in my 30's, I could hit 200 during all out efforts.

    Resting heart rate and recovery heart rates are good indicators of overall health, but genetics plays a big role there as well.

    Sally Edwards wrote a very informative book on heart rates that is worth chasing down.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Believe your HRM. I burn 500 calories during 55 minutes of bodyjam.
  • belligerent599
    belligerent599 Posts: 40
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    Your HRM is telling you how many calories you burned plus the number of calories your body was burning, anyway. Say you burn 100 calories an hour just standing around. You do an hour of wii bowling (or whatever) and your HRM says you burned 400 for that hour. Wii bowling didn't make you burn 400 calories, you only burned 300 on the activity PLUS the 100 you would have burnt doing nothing.

    That said, my HRM seems pretty high, as well. According to mine, on days when I don't exercise, my TDEE calorie number averages to about 2900. On days I exercise, it can exceed 4k. I'm 5'6" and 150 pounds with 24% BF... Using various calorie calculators online, my TDEE should be more like 2700 or 2300 (depending on which activity level I choose).
  • Jude_V
    Jude_V Posts: 72 Member
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    Thanks everyone...really interesting theories and responses. I think I will take back about half of them unless I feel starving (which I don't)...

    I think when you weigh almost 250lbs and you are a woman in her fifties, you burn a lot of calories just waddling around the house :) Nice to know that some Wii Steps and yoga is burning even more...

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