Accuracy of gym machines calorie burn

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OrangeBabelfish
OrangeBabelfish Posts: 67 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi everyone,

Despite being able to have lost a little of weight earlier in the year (very slow, unfortunately) I have come back from a holiday heavier than I started, and seemingly on a never ending plateau (5 weeks and counting).

The calories on the machines in the gym seem way out of whack - I don't believe I burn those. So I use the MFP ones as a guide, because they are in general about 10-15% less than what the machines say.

However, despite exercising much more in the last few weeks (averaging out at at least 30mins per day) I am seemingly not losing anything. A HRM is no option for me, I have POTS and my heart rate, even when I am not doing much, is easily up at the 190 despite me not pushing hard.

How do I accurately track how many calories I am burning on the machine and then how should I aim for a calorie target to eat? 1200 with 500 burns isn't even getting me anywhere :(

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  • LupaBC
    LupaBC Posts: 7 Member
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    The accuracy of gym machine is greatly improved when you enter your height and weight as well. Maybe concentrate on improving your strength by doing some weights instead of using cardio as your main exercise. Building more muscles will automatically burn more calories, although slower, and you don't have to force yourself too much. Start with a low weight and something like 3 sets of 10 reps and slowly increase the weights. It's what I am doing and I am slowly losing weight by building more muscle but eating the same amount (calorie wise) as before.
    I'm on about 1,500 calories a day and always try to keep to that.

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