Accurately tracking calories burned during exercise?

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GC527
GC527 Posts: 272 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello all! I am wanting to purchase something to help me better track the calories I actually burn while working out. I have heard of HRM's and such but I don't know what to buy. Any suggestions? My exercise routine is typically brisk walking, stationary biking, elliptical, strength training, yoga, Pilates and I am just starting to get into kick boxing. I know MFP is notorious for being a bit too generous with calories burned and I'd like to track my progress as accurately as possible.

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  • raindawg
    raindawg Posts: 348 Member
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    After years of exercising I finally broke down and got an HRM. I got a Polar FT7. It had good reviews. I like it, no complaints here. I was surprised that it showed I was burning 100 more calories on a 30 minute cardio session than the equipment and MFP was giving me credit for.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    so once you've finally figured out how to track the 30 mins of each day that you spend exercising, what are you going to use to guess what you burn the other 23.5 hours?
  • ninajeanette2
    ninajeanette2 Posts: 2
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    I d like something to track my calories I use too but I dont want to pay high amounts for it so if anyone can help me out too, its would be great ????
  • jsensenbach0613
    jsensenbach0613 Posts: 11 Member
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    I bought the PolarFT4 on amazon about 2 weeks ago, and I am in love. It only cost me about 65 dollars or so and I had it within a few days. Upon wearing it I realized that I was totally off on my calorie calculations before it. It takes age, weight, height, and sex into consideration. Unfortunately it's only accurate for exercise so it can't be worn all day. For something like that i'd look into the fitbit or something.
  • GC527
    GC527 Posts: 272 Member
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    Well I have a regular step tracker for my daily tasks to help me reach 12000 steps a day. But, I am most interested in my workouts and how they are progressing with my heart rate and calories burned. Some days after I work out really hard I am starving and I have a feeling I am underestimating my calories exerted and not taking in enough quality protein and such to keep me going. I'd just like to be as accurate as possible with how I am treating my body. I weigh and measure my food and meet my macros so on the nutrition part I am good for the goals I have set (though they may need to change), I just want to make sure the same goes for exercising.
  • SKME2013
    SKME2013 Posts: 704 Member
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    I bought the PolarFT4 on amazon about 2 weeks ago, and I am in love. It only cost me about 65 dollars or so and I had it within a few days. Upon wearing it I realized that I was totally off on my calorie calculations before it. It takes age, weight, height, and sex into consideration. Unfortunately it's only accurate for exercise so it can't be worn all day. For something like that i'd look into the fitbit or something.

    You can actually wear the heart rate strap all day if you like. I have the Polar RCX5 and you can create a new sport activity, such as "daily caloric expenditure" and then wear the strap for 24 hours.

    Alternatively something such as the fitbit One is an activity tracker. If you wear it for a couple of weeks you can average your daily calorie burns to get a better idea of your TDEE. Keep in mind though the result is just an approximation. The best available result is still a heart rate monitor with strap.

    Stef.
  • ChristineRoze
    ChristineRoze Posts: 212 Member
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    I bought the PolarFT4 on amazon about 2 weeks ago, and I am in love. It only cost me about 65 dollars or so and I had it within a few days. Upon wearing it I realized that I was totally off on my calorie calculations before it. It takes age, weight, height, and sex into consideration. Unfortunately it's only accurate for exercise so it can't be worn all day. For something like that i'd look into the fitbit or something.

    You can actually wear the heart rate strap all day if you like. I have the Polar RCX5 and you can create a new sport activity, such as "daily caloric expenditure" and then wear the strap for 24 hours.

    Alternatively something such as the fitbit One is an activity tracker. If you wear it for a couple of weeks you can average your daily calorie burns to get a better idea of your TDEE. Keep in mind though the result is just an approximation. The best available result is still a heart rate monitor with strap.

    Stef.

    Wow i did not know that, i am going to look into that because i have a very active job and i am very curious to see how much i am burning while at work!
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
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    I bought the PolarFT4 on amazon about 2 weeks ago, and I am in love. It only cost me about 65 dollars or so and I had it within a few days. Upon wearing it I realized that I was totally off on my calorie calculations before it. It takes age, weight, height, and sex into consideration. Unfortunately it's only accurate for exercise so it can't be worn all day. For something like that i'd look into the fitbit or something.

    You can actually wear the heart rate strap all day if you like. I have the Polar RCX5 and you can create a new sport activity, such as "daily caloric expenditure" and then wear the strap for 24 hours.

    Alternatively something such as the fitbit One is an activity tracker. If you wear it for a couple of weeks you can average your daily calorie burns to get a better idea of your TDEE. Keep in mind though the result is just an approximation. The best available result is still a heart rate monitor with strap.

    Stef.

    You can wear the strap all day but you won't get an accurate measurement. The formulae used by HRMs don't support it. What they are meant for, and programmed to do, is use known correlations between caloric burn and heart rate during specific cardio activities .... nothing more, nothing less.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    I bought the PolarFT4 on amazon about 2 weeks ago, and I am in love. It only cost me about 65 dollars or so and I had it within a few days. Upon wearing it I realized that I was totally off on my calorie calculations before it. It takes age, weight, height, and sex into consideration. Unfortunately it's only accurate for exercise so it can't be worn all day. For something like that i'd look into the fitbit or something.

    You can actually wear the heart rate strap all day if you like. I have the Polar RCX5 and you can create a new sport activity, such as "daily caloric expenditure" and then wear the strap for 24 hours.

    Alternatively something such as the fitbit One is an activity tracker. If you wear it for a couple of weeks you can average your daily calorie burns to get a better idea of your TDEE. Keep in mind though the result is just an approximation. The best available result is still a heart rate monitor with strap.

    Stef.

    You can wear the strap all day but you won't get an accurate measurement. The formulae used by HRMs don't support it. What they are meant for, and programmed to do, is use known correlations between caloric burn and heart rate during specific cardio activities .... nothing more, nothing less.

    This.
    You will get an inflated number wearing the HRM all day. The calorie estimation formula is based on moderate intensity steady state cardio. It is not accurate for low intensity.


    A good blog to check out
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/the-real-facts-about-hrms-and-calories-what-you-need-to-know-before-purchasing-an-hrm-or-using-one-21472
  • bellabananas
    bellabananas Posts: 20 Member
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    Bodymedia has a product called Link that tracks your calorie burn throughout the day. I bought myself one for Xmas and I love it. It's actually tested and proven to be accurate (unless the trackers that use steps to estimate burn) and it's actually a medical grade device. I have mine connected to mfp so I track my intake here and it shows me how much my calorie deficit really is. It also tracks sleep and steps.

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