how to count burned calories...

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nicole_riann20
nicole_riann20 Posts: 2
in Introduce Yourself
This is my first day here and the beginning of my weight loss journey :D I already have a gym membership and have been doin some working out in the past but i am no planning on being more strict on myself to go 3 to 4 times a week! So obviously when u are on a bicycle or a treadmill it tells u how many calories you have burned while you were on it... but how can you tell how many calories you are burning while you are doing other things like weight lifting, crunches, planks etc??? My exercise goal suggests that i should burn 717 calories a day if i did my workout 3 days a week... does that mean i need to burn that many on a cardio machine on top of the weight machines i use??

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  • nvrgvup12
    nvrgvup12 Posts: 51 Member
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    A heart rate monitor with a chest strap will give a the most accurate calorie count.
  • tlc12078
    tlc12078 Posts: 334 Member
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    def a heart rate monitor with chest strap. I have a sportline. Its does good here. Its good to have because not every workout will be the same burn.
  • buzzcockgirl
    buzzcockgirl Posts: 260 Member
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    I used to use the numbers on here (under cardio, aerobics, swimming, strength training etc)... but people always say it estimates high, or.... whatever?! I never knew how accurate it truly was (was I working out 'vigorously, or just moderately)?! So I got a Heart Rate Monitor for Xmas and now I use it all the time. Get one with a chest (or arm?) strap-- because it constantly monitors your heart rate, giving you more numbers to average and therefore a more accurate burn rate. If you just get one that you have to touch your finger to (to get the heart rate)... you'd have to do it every few minutes to get enough readings to average out and get an accurate calorie burn.

    HRM for sure!! You can find a good one for $60-100 !!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    Keep in mind that MFP is NEAT (Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) method calculator. While you told it that you intend to burn 700 calories per week in exercise, it doesn't believe you and that activity isn't included in you activity level (if you set it right). What this means is that you're actually supposed to eat back exercise calories...or at least most of them. I always did about 70% of what my HRM said to account for estimation error that is inherent in anything you use to measure calorie burn.

    MFP has a built in deficit in your calorie goal for weight loss. Because it is a NEAT method calculator and exercise is extra activity, it is actually designed so that you don't have to do any exercise at all and still lose weight...the deficit is all built into your diet. A lot of people get confused here because they think they're supposed to create the deficit with their exercise or make the deficit bigger with exercise. You will note however that when you log exercise, MFP will up your calorie goal...this is because, indeed, MFP intends you to eat those calories back. When in doubt, get out a dictionary and look up the word goal.

    I say this because if you intend to burn 700 calories per day with exercise you need to be able to eat back that much...a lot of people freak out when they suddenly see MfP up their calorie goal.

    I only ever counted calories burned from aerobic activity. You don't burn a lot of calories in the act of strength training...planks, etc. The benefits of those exercises are building strength and muscle...also you get a bigger burn over the 48 hours after a good strength training session than you do with a single cardio session...this is because your muscles are busy repairing themselves and require a great number of calories to do so. There are too many variable to accurately estimate the calorie burn after strength training and quite frankly during strength training. A HRM is inaccurate for anything other than aerobic activity (including circuit type training)...even then, it's accuracy is relative.
  • Jess04920
    Jess04920 Posts: 8 Member
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    I agree, definitely get a heart rate monitor with a chest strap if you want an accurate reading on how much you really burned. Most of the machines are extremely inaccurate. I have a Polar and it was well worth the money.
  • Magdaloonie
    Magdaloonie Posts: 146 Member
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    That's a really good summary, cwolfman!
  • abbyrae1
    abbyrae1 Posts: 265 Member
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    Polar FT 7 is the HRM I have and I LOVE IT! Got it off Amazon. It will cost you about $65 but totally worth it. I have found that the calories burned on the cardio machines was wrong by about 20%. Also, there was not real way for me to determine what I was burning while strength training...

    The calories burned goal should be a combination of all your activities.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    Machines & MFP can give exaggerated calorie burns. A heart rate monitor works well for cardio ... not weight lifting.

    How much information do you input into the machine........ height, weight, age, gender? One thing the machine (or MFP) can't know is your exertion level ...... an easy workout for you may be challenging for someone else ..... take the calorie burns with a grain of salt.

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