Treadmill Advice for a Newbee

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mrsdevalle
mrsdevalle Posts: 2
in Introduce Yourself
Hope someone can advise/help. I have a lot of weight to lose and got a treadmill to help. I weigh 172kg and obviously struggle to exercise due to carrying so much weight. For the last 3 days I have been walking for 10 minutes at a time on the treadmill set at 4mph. The calorie counter over the last 3 days has read 12, 17 and today, 20. I know this has to be wrong as my hear rate goes up, I am sweating and feel whacked after the 10 minutes. My plan is to increase the time I walk but as I am brand new to any kind of exercise, I need to go easy initially. The app on my phone estimates I am burning around 268 calories. Does this sound more like it ? It's disheartening to knock myself out for only a 17 calorie burn.

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  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,031 Member
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    Use the 268. That's a lot closer than the 12. :laugh:

    Good job for getting on it and moving more!!
  • mrsdevalle
    mrsdevalle Posts: 2
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    So I bought a heart rate monitor, set it up and did my 10 minutes as usual. I got a calories burned reading of just 94!!. I am now down from 172 kilos to 169 but that reading still doesn't even come close to what I was advised previously. If I have been wrong in using the higher number, then I have been overeating based on what I thought I had burned off.
  • Lemongrab1
    Lemongrab1 Posts: 158 Member
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    You're not going to burn that many calories in 10 minutes from walking, unfortunately. But that's not a reason to be disheartened. You said you've lost 3kg, so it's obviously working.
    You don't want to overdo it when you've just started. At the weight you're at now you'll drop weight faster with less exercise.
    The only thing I could recommend for an extra calorie burn is doing interval training. Not speed intervals, but hill intervals. So walk 3 minutes on 0% incline, then walk 1 minute on a 2% incline.
    That will speed your heart rate up, burn more fat and basically give your muscles a harder workout.
    But seeing as right now you're still trying to adapt to your current exercise plan, I'd stick to that.

    Edit: And yes, the HRM is a lot more accurate than MFP's calorie reading or the treadmill's reading. Even logging in your weight and age it will still likely overestimate your caloric burn.
  • Luciewithienoty
    Luciewithienoty Posts: 15 Member
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    Treadmills work out your estimated calorie burn according to an "assumed" average weight. If you weigh more than it assumes, you will get a greatly reduced calorie read out (and vice versa). Do you have to enter in your weight at the start? That will give you a more accurate reading.
    The HRM is much more accurate. When I run on the treadmill (at just under 6mph) for 10 minutes I burn about 100 calories, but I only weigh 65kg, so your walking at 4mph for 10 mins & burning 94 cals doesn't sound too far out to me.

    None of the MFP calorie burn figures have ever been close to what my HRM says. I always log the HRM figure.

    Don't get disheartened - even if it's only 100 calories today, it's a 100 calories that you didn't burn off yesterday. Next week, next month, next year you'll laugh in the face of 100 calories! Keep going :)
  • Armyantzzz
    Armyantzzz Posts: 214 Member
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    I love the treadmill :smile: (which I originally hated because it was too routine and boring in my estimation:angry: ).. and my start up results were similar to yours! :embarassed: . fortunately for me I discovered an incredible method that increased my focus and my results on the treadmill:happy: .... Television!!!:tongue: Yes.. television and add earphones :bigsmile: from that point the treadmill became increasingly easier to perform on over a period of time. Before I knew it I was routinely walking and running up to an hour at a time and sometimes 2-3 times a day!
    Remember , you're just starting out so be careful not to sabotage your efforts because you're currently unsatisfied with the results. Based on my experience , you have to start before you can finish!:bigsmile: :bigsmile: Just find a way to keep yourself motivated and your goal will come to you sooner than you think. I found that I could watch a lot of TV (which I love watching) and get in the exercise I need!
    You never know where you're going until you get there!! But you have to be at least headed in that direction!!:wink: Good luck and hang in there by doing whatever it takes! It will be a very rewarding experience for you!!:smile::wink: :smile:
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
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    Concentrate more on your diet for weight loss and your exercise for fitness. They are two separate pieces to a puzzle, you don't have to exercise to lose weight.... on a side note 94 calories burned in 10 minutes doesn't sound to out of the ordinary, hrm are in and of themselves just an estimation but one that is better than an app on your phone or taking the number off the treadmill..... Best of Luck
  • kristy6ward
    kristy6ward Posts: 332 Member
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    Here's a tip, when I was first starting out, I had trouble keeping a fast speed for long periods of time. I preferred to walk at 3 mph. So to increase my burn, I just bumped up the incline. By increasing the incline to even a 3 or 4, my heart rate would be the same as if I were doing a light jog. Eventually I found a cross country setting buried in the programs and it would auto adjust all kinds of terrain. It kept things interesting.

    ps. The 94 does sound more on point for only 10 minutes of walking.
  • Corinne_Howland
    Corinne_Howland Posts: 158 Member
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    I agree with Kristy. I've been a walker forever. 4MPH is hard to do for a long period of time, especially, if your carrying some extra weight.
    Most treadmills have an incline program. I do the hardest incline program my treadmill offers. Ranging from 0% to 6%. I do it at 3.5 MHP. It's a great workout. I try to do it for at least 60 minutes. The TV is definitely helpful in time passing!!
    I've read that you burn an average of 100 calories per mile, regardless of speed. The difference is, the faster you go, your heart rate goes up, helping you burn fat. So, stick with it. Push yourself as hard as you can, without getting hurt or burned out. If you start off at a slower pace, you'll build endurance and won't dread it as much. Good luck!
  • marciebrian
    marciebrian Posts: 853 Member
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    Not sure how helpful this is but he's my 2 cents... I would slow it down. 4.0 is great but if you can't do more than 10 minutes slow it down. take it to 3.0 and incline of 2. See if you can do 20 minutes or even 30 minutes. You can increase the time later but just get used to being on it and staying on it for a longer period.

    Good luck and congratulations on getting started and wanting to make it happen :flowerforyou:
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
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    It's a learning process. We've all had mistakes and setbacks along the way, so don't worry too much about that part. Just keep going. I agree with others that your HRM is probably the most accurate read for your calorie burn. Your stamina will increase over time, just keep doing what you can, and what you can do will increase!

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