Should I be counting all of the calories burned on my HRM?

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crlyxx
crlyxx Posts: 186 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I was just thinking about this. I don't know how it works really, but let's say my heart rate monitor says I burned 300 calories working out for a half hour. Should I count all of them? I mean, what percentage of those would you have burned anyway by simply watching TV? Or doing something else in that 30 minutes you were working out? Or does your HRM factor that out? Am I making sense? lol. I hope you know what I mean. Any help?

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  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    Find your BMR, divide by 24 and you'll know your approximate calories burned per hour doing nothing.
  • crlyxx
    crlyxx Posts: 186 Member
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    Then should I factor those out of my calories burned on my heart rate monitor?
  • pteryndactyl
    pteryndactyl Posts: 303 Member
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    I always take my HRM calorie burn and multiply it by .75, and use that as my burn. I figure that 25% cut will take care of most inconsistencies that may arise.

    It's worked fine for me so far, and it's easier than working out that my BMR equates to roughly 56 calories per hour which is .933 calories per minute so in that 42 minutes of cardio I was doing I should subtract 40.133 calories...
  • phjorg
    phjorg Posts: 252 Member
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    Find your BMR, divide by 24 and you'll know your approximate calories burned per hour doing nothing.
    not valid as when you're awake it's almost 3 times the calorie burn as when you're sleeping.

    awake is about 2-3cal/min for the average sized dude. sleep is about .8. So just dividing by 24 does not work.

    To the OP, your HRM number includes your BMR. so if you want the amount from exercise so you know what to eat back, then you have to subtract your BMR.
  • crlyxx
    crlyxx Posts: 186 Member
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    Ah, well that sucks. You'd think the HRM, after putting in your information, would factor out your BMR calories for you. I knew it was too good to be true -_______-
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
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    I do, always have. I've lost not put on weight. what's the point in having a HRM if you don't bother with the amount of calories?
  • xaMErica
    xaMErica Posts: 284 Member
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    Find your BMR, divide by 24 and you'll know your approximate calories burned per hour doing nothing.

    Thats what I do! :) I subtract it for every hour.
  • Tarawitch2eyes
    Tarawitch2eyes Posts: 19 Member
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    I do, and some days, I wear it all day long, from morning til night. You burn calories all day long, and not only are they burned simply during exercise, but for basic bodily functions, (obvious, yes, but I think ppl tend to forget about what our basic bodily functions require in terms of energy) so I think it's good to include them all.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    I do, and some days, I wear it all day long, from morning til night. You burn calories all day long, and many calories are needed for a bazillion bodily functions, so I think it's good to include them all.

    A HRM is only accurate with a significantly raised HR. Wearing it all day with give you highly inflated numbers.
  • beeboobear1
    beeboobear1 Posts: 7
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    I don't think you should count it unless you are doing an additional calorie burning activity such as walking or exercise. If you counted the calories from everyday body functions you would be huge from all the calories your brain burns by itself that you could subtract. Cheating the system is just cheating yourself here. So if you burned 50 calories watching tv 5 hrs today don't put it in unless you were getting up and dancing during the commercials as additional exercise. If I misunderstood the question, I'm sorry but it looks like you guys are just trying to get extra calories to break your diet or meal plan.
  • YAYJules
    YAYJules Posts: 282 Member
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    I do, and some days, I wear it all day long, from morning til night. You burn calories all day long, and many calories are needed for a bazillion bodily functions, so I think it's good to include them all.

    A HRM is only accurate with a significantly raised HR. Wearing it all day with give you highly inflated numbers.

    Source?
  • xaMErica
    xaMErica Posts: 284 Member
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    I do, and some days, I wear it all day long, from morning til night. You burn calories all day long, and many calories are needed for a bazillion bodily functions, so I think it's good to include them all.

    A HRM is only accurate with a significantly raised HR. Wearing it all day with give you highly inflated numbers.

    Source?

    the instructions... mine said that.
  • YAYJules
    YAYJules Posts: 282 Member
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    I don't think you should count it unless you are doing an additional calorie burning activity such as walking or exercise. If you counted the calories from everyday body functions you would be huge from all the calories your brain burns by itself that you could subtract. Cheating the system is just cheating yourself here. So if you burned 50 calories watching tv 5 hrs today don't put it in unless you were getting up and dancing during the commercials as additional exercise. If I misunderstood the question, I'm sorry but it looks like you guys are just trying to get extra calories to break your diet or meal plan.

    No, the OP is confused about whether a HRM takes into account the daily organ functions in addition to the exercise calories, or if the HRM adjusts for it in its reading. It's reasonable and responsible to know, and plan accordingly.
  • phjorg
    phjorg Posts: 252 Member
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    I do, and some days, I wear it all day long, from morning til night. You burn calories all day long, and many calories are needed for a bazillion bodily functions, so I think it's good to include them all.

    A HRM is only accurate with a significantly raised HR. Wearing it all day with give you highly inflated numbers.

    Source?
    anyone with an understanding of how the body works. your heartrate only really corolates to calorie burn when you're doing steady state movements. The misconception is that people actually think your heartrate is what determines calorie burn. it's not. your heartrate only determines how fast your heart is beating. what determines calorie burn is your BODY doing work. not your heart. and it's only while doing cardio that your bodys work can somewhat be calculated due to oxygen uptake from the heart. when you're not doing cardio, or doing things like lifting, then it's a whole different story. your heart has no bearing on calories then.
  • ZombieEarhart
    ZombieEarhart Posts: 320 Member
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    I subtract 3 calories per minute. You might want to subtract 2, since you're smaller than me.
  • Tarawitch2eyes
    Tarawitch2eyes Posts: 19 Member
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    I do, always have. I've lost not put on weight. what's the point in having a HRM if you don't bother with the amount of calories?

    Agreed, I burned almost 1000 cals today, biking and doing a kettlebell workout, and that does not include my walk, power grocery shopping, and housecleaning, AND I eat like a hungry horse to boot! So I'm not going to let someone tell me not to count all my daily cals, because I DON'T STOP until it's time to go to bed...You aren't only burning cals when you exercise, you burn them all day long! The body never stops producing and using energy until it dies. I didn't pay 150 smackeroos to not wear the bloody thing.
  • Tarawitch2eyes
    Tarawitch2eyes Posts: 19 Member
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    Yes, but I like to know what my heart rate is, particularly because of the history of all sorts of cardiovascular disease in my family. I know steady state activity is important, but if I consume about 2000-2500 cals, and i'm not gaining weight (which is awesome), then my counting 1000+ cals burned is not a problem. I also use endomondo sports tracker as well when i am doing a workout only, and it's pretty accurate with my HMR cals during the exercise portion. I'm not just blindly putting in a # to 'cheat' the system. I can't cheat the system with the amount of foods I consume each day, and not gain weight (that's AFTER school is out for the summer mind you lol)...I can't help but gain when i'm in school, not when i'm sitting for 7-9 hours per day studying or working on a paper.
  • Tarawitch2eyes
    Tarawitch2eyes Posts: 19 Member
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    I've provided one of the sources to uphold my statements, it includes the fact that the heart requires almost the same amount of constant energy for use, compared to the brain which always requires an energy source, such as glucose. I'm not going to just include my exercise. What has worked for me, OK, I should emphasize, what has worked FOR ME, so sorry for insinuating that it's for everybody, that I count my all day cals. I can see where this has come off as me telling a person what to do, but she asked!! lol

    Mazzuchin, A., Ph.D., Falter, H., Ph.D. (2006). Unit Six: Basic concepts in endocrinology (2012). Centre for Continuing Education: Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario Canada
  • RepsnSets
    RepsnSets Posts: 805 Member
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    I only use my HRM for when Im working out. I have never subtracted any cals I have burnt. Didnt realise I was meant too.

    Very confusing

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