Disappointed!! HRM vs Machine Calories

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Replies

  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
    This is the exact topic I was wondering about. I had logged a 4.4 mile hike I had done as 440 calories burned, but in reality, we were out bird watching/hiking over a 3.5 hour period in which we walked 4.4 miles.. My "normal" caloric burn if was at home or work would be 70 to 90 calories per hour = 280 calories, so was the 4.4 miles of walking only worth 440 - 280 = 160 calories? Not a lot of benefit for a good walk!

    Yes, because if it took you that long to cover that distance then you were going real slow for parts of it and stopping frequently, so you never had your heart rate elevated to an aerobic state for any length of time, therefore it was barely exercise. You do get credit for getting out there and enjoying your day, but you don't get to eat back a ton of extra calories for it. The 160 extra is probably about right.
  • jane77
    jane77 Posts: 489
    ? backing out maintainance calories what about the new and mystery of the after burn calories won't this new thought change what you would really need to back out?
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member


    Do you by any chance hold onto the treadmill when you incline walk???????????

    That absolutely wipes out calorie count!!!

    Of course the treadmill won't know whether you're holding on or not.

    If you do hold on, read this...
    http://walking.about.com/od/treadmillworkouts/a/treadmillhold.htm
    ... and stop it! :wink:

    GREAT link!
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
    ? backing out maintainance calories what about the new and mystery of the after burn calories won't this new thought change what you would really need to back out?

    If you are weight lifting (heavy) then yes, you WILL burn more at rest with increased muscle mass, but for cardio, you are right back to where you started within minutes of finishing your workout. In fact, the more "in shape" you are, the quicker your HR should return to its resting rate.
  • backinthenines
    backinthenines Posts: 1,083 Member


    Do you by any chance hold onto the treadmill when you incline walk???????????

    That absolutely wipes out calorie count!!!

    Of course the treadmill won't know whether you're holding on or not.

    If you do hold on, read this...
    http://walking.about.com/od/treadmillworkouts/a/treadmillhold.htm
    ... and stop it! :wink:

    GREAT link!

    It is isn't it. I'd love to print some copies and hand them to some people at my gym... :huh:
  • Lizzgeorge77
    Lizzgeorge77 Posts: 52 Member
    I just figured this out today and it makes total sense! I've been plugging in every calorie burned onto MFP without deducting what I would have been burning anyway just lying around. If you insert the number your HRM gives you directly into MFP, then you are over-counting the calories burned - because the HRM (and the machines for that matter) are givign you the TOTAL calories you burned while working out - not the net amount burned above and beyond what you would have burned sitting on the couch. So if you burn 60 calories an hour at rest (which is already incorporated into MFP data for each day), then you should always deduct 60 calories for every hour you work out before reporting burned calories.
  • FlashBang
    FlashBang Posts: 136
    I just reconcile all the numbers with my scale.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    ? backing out maintainance calories what about the new and mystery of the after burn calories won't this new thought change what you would really need to back out?

    With strength training you could probably get away with not backing them out as the after burn is much higher than with cardio. With Cardio the after burn is small and short.
  • jantenor
    jantenor Posts: 3 Member
    Ok then - no more birdwatching for me!!! I definately felt like I walked 4.4 miles! Now I want to try that route again with my heart rate monitor on and see how many calories above normal it was. I've always had the philosophy that walking 3 miles is walking 3 miles. If you do it in an hour it's the same amount of "work" as doing it in 2 hours. In Physics the definition of mechanical work is the amount of energy transferred by a force acting through a distance. It doesn't have anything to do with time. Your body is the force. Energy would be the calories burned.
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