Polar ft4 shock

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higgins8283801
higgins8283801 Posts: 844 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Good lord. I've been calculating my burn too high. I got a polar ft4 and today was my first workout. Before, mfp said I burned 332, elliptical said I burned 415. My polar said I burned 275!! So I added minutes until I got to 300, to at least feel better about the workout.

How frustrating. I eat back calories too, so since I'm losing at a steady clip, I must have been counting calories right at least.

The polar left me feeling a little bummed after my workout today.

Anyone else get hrm shock at first?

Replies

  • carolinaem
    carolinaem Posts: 58 Member
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    I am a huge fan of my Polar ft4, but I know what you mean! I had always heard that the machines were very inaccurate, so it was interesting to see what my actual burn was. I love it for classes when there is no way to measure otherwise!
  • potluck965
    potluck965 Posts: 529 Member
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    Yeah, a good heart rate monitor is a real slap upside the head.

    But, now you have some better intel you can refine your plan. Don't be bummed.
  • jakicooke
    jakicooke Posts: 149 Member
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    ha ha yeah it is a bum when you look at HRM calories compare to MFP.

    but just think you have been losing at a steady rate with the information you had before just think how much better you can do now you have something that is far more accurate

    keep up the good work! :bigsmile:
  • higgins8283801
    higgins8283801 Posts: 844 Member
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    I'm really curious about turbo jam. I do those Tuesday and Thursdays, and MFP always calculates it at 275 burned. So I'm wondering what my HRM will say. You're right though, I have lost a pound or pound and a half every week (minus the first week's 4lb lost) and that is with using MFP calorie burned calculator. I'm obviously doing right with my diet, and diet is the key to weight loss anyway..
  • JoshNorris79
    JoshNorris79 Posts: 20 Member
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    YES! I am with you entirely. I just got this polar ft4 on Saturday, and while i knew i may be overestimating based on MFP calculations, it was giving me 2 times the calories burned! What a depressing wakeup call. i've been losing steadily too, but apparently i need to not eat all my calories back. i'll tell you what though, 200 calories burned feels a lot harder now!
  • jpapp13
    jpapp13 Posts: 73 Member
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    Yep to everything posted.
    By a rule though I wasn't eating back calories or a very minimal amount as I read the burns were calculated to high, that or i'd look up the Met Calculator and log that way.

    Now that I'm at my goal weight, it takes either more time or a stronger effort to burn cals, either way I don't worry about it and just log it and make sure I meet my calorie goals.. the only angsty moment is after I run a HM and everyone else can afford to eat a meal of huge .. : (
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    As long as you've been losing weight at a good pace I wouldn't be too bummed. I mean, you could have been trying to figure out why you couldn't lose anything.....
  • numinousnymph
    numinousnymph Posts: 249 Member
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    oh yeah, for sure. before i got my polar i was relying on what the machines said. i even put my weight in 15 lbs lower on the machine 'cause i knew they overestimate. but according to what my polar says, the machines show almost double the burn that my polar shows. i was shocked too, but also made sense as to why i had pretty much plateaued. i definitely was disappointed and frustrated that it'd take me twice as much time to burn the amount of calories i wanted to...it takes me much longer at the gym now (unless i work myself SUPER hard, but i really can't sustain doing that). but, that's the way it is and the price we pay for lowering my body weight!
  • andreamaym
    andreamaym Posts: 179 Member
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    My Polar FT4 actually gave me a higher calorie burn than MFP had. But I was entering all of my home workout videos as "Aerobics" so maybe that wasn't the best choice? Regardless, I love my HRM. I don't know what I did without it!
  • Bazzaware
    Bazzaware Posts: 16 Member
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    I use my FT80 to check my calories burnt during my cycle rides. The calculations on MFP are only really a guide and can't take into account other variables like hills or wind for example when cycling. Or in my case pulling a 5 year old along on a tow-a-long bike. :wink:

    HRM are very good for giving you a better guide on how hard you are really working. If you can load your data up on the internet you can also see the load you have built up and use that to know when you should be pushing harder or doing gentle exercise.

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