TDEE according to Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor

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CillitBang
CillitBang Posts: 33 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Am a bit freaked out.

I thought I'd wear my FT7 watch all day today so I could work out just how many calories I burn on a 'normal' day where I don't exercise. I normally hit the gym 5 or 6 times a week.

My calories per day is set to 1,400. It was at 1,200 but on other people's advice I upped it.

So I put my heart rate monitor on when I got up at 7.30am and in the 4 hours since then I've burned 634 calories according to this. I'll be moving about just as much for the next, say, 10-12 hours so on that calculation I'll be burning way over 2,000 calories and then more when I'm sleeping. How can that be?! I know my resting heart rate can be quite high, even though I've been working out for years, but I think this is because of my hypothyroid.

Does anyone know if this means I should be eating more, or if the watch is incorrect or something?? It's definitely programme with all the correct details...if anything I'm a couple of pounds heavier since I programmed it.

Am I being really thick??

Replies

  • ncsjodi
    ncsjodi Posts: 102 Member
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    Heart rate monitors aren't meant to measure caloric burn when you're not exercising. It will not be accurate.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
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    Heart rate monitors aren't meant to measure caloric burn when you're not exercising. It will not be accurate.
    This ..... They are only designed to measure steady state aerobic activity. It will not be accurate if you wear it all day
  • CillitBang
    CillitBang Posts: 33 Member
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    Well that's that cleared up then.

    WHOOPS!

    Thanks for that, both of you. I thought something was wrong with me there.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    150 cals an hour is reasonably high - what heart rate are you showing ?

    On that model do you put in your VO2max or just height & weight.

    They work best when you exercise at 100 bpm plus, but my FT6 tracks sitting calories fairly well at about 60-70 per hour.
  • nelinelineli
    nelinelineli Posts: 330 Member
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    I don't quite understand the problem. A TDEE of 2000 doesn't sound that far fetched for an average person - but you didn't mention your height/weight or what you expected your TDEE to be.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    This is not what HRMs are designed or programmed for so your data is virtually worthless.
    They count heartbeats not calories and use a formula to give a calorie estimation when used for steady state cardio with an elevated heart rate.

    Basically you cannot use a HRM to work out TDEE, also remember that exercise/activity is only part of your TDEE anyway.
  • kathleenjoyful
    kathleenjoyful Posts: 210 Member
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    Use this calculator http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ to work out your BMR and TDEE, then set a realistic calorie goal based on that. You can adjust that, depending on what you burn while doing cardio using your HRM.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,583 Member
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    Even if you were using the HRM wrong, it's still a good idea to bump your calories up from that 1200.
  • CillitBang
    CillitBang Posts: 33 Member
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    To yarwell: Just height, weight and sex. My resting heart rate shows at between 70 to 75 bpm.

    To nelinelineli: I'm fairly new to all of this, but going by this my TDEE would be way OVER 2,000 for the day. I'm 5' 2" and 148 pounds. I'm being told now though by other members that the heart rate monitors are more designed for working out.


    Thanks so much to everyone for coming back to me on this :-) I'll stick to my 1,400 a day and hope for some better results!
  • CillitBang
    CillitBang Posts: 33 Member
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    Use this calculator http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ to work out your BMR and TDEE, then set a realistic calorie goal based on that. You can adjust that, depending on what you burn while doing cardio using your HRM.


    Thank you. According to this, I should be eating 1,700 and that's probably right enough as I eat my exercise calories back.
  • m0ll3pprz
    m0ll3pprz Posts: 193 Member
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    I switched my calorie intake to 1700 a while back and I'm doing great! I don't see a lot of movement on the scale currently but my body is reshaping itself! I bet you will do great now that you've upped your calories. Give it at least 3 weeks and I bet you will be happily surprised. Just remember, TDEE already incorporates your exercise cals so you wouldn't "eat back" those calories! Good luck!

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