Eliptical calories

Walterj
Walterj Posts: 41 Member
edited September 26 in Health and Weight Loss
after a hour the machine said I burned 250 calories, i go to enter it here it's telling me 1000, who do i trust?

Replies

  • LG2789
    LG2789 Posts: 20
    250 seems low for an hour. generally, those machines should be estimate around 100 calories every 10 minutes...
  • theresnoeggs
    theresnoeggs Posts: 188 Member
    Get a HRM. Treadmill and elliptical, I usually always burn way more than both the machine counts..... But a bit less than MFP.
  • xstealth12x
    xstealth12x Posts: 43 Member
    Yikes, a lot of that depends on how hard you were going. I'd be inclined to trust your machine over what's in here. Did you pre-progam anything into the machine (ie. Weight, age, etc.)?
  • anubis609
    anubis609 Posts: 3,966 Member
    Between MFP and the machine, go with the machine. If you wanna get a better accurate estimate of calories burned, the suggestions of investing in a HRM [preferably one with a chest strap] will soon be coming after this one.

    EDIT: Derp. Just read posts prior to mine. There you have it. HRM FTW.
  • Hanna82
    Hanna82 Posts: 138 Member
    after a hour the machine said I burned 250 calories, i go to enter it here it's telling me 1000, who do i trust?

    It's going to vary on the effort you're putting into the elliptical but if you're doing a decent pace with a resistance of at least 5 then you should be doing around 100ish calories per 10 minutes. However I've seen people on those machines who don't even work up a sweat after an hour on it because they're barely moving. So i know it's possible to have that number of calories after an hour. You just need to determine what you feel is right and estimate.
  • ccx2
    ccx2 Posts: 1
    Again depends on intensity. For me (female, 41, 125#) I average about 550 calories per hour. I'd guess between 450-600 for most but you have to get your HR up. No slackers. At least 145 HR for the whole effort.
  • tolleirrigon
    tolleirrigon Posts: 59
    250 on the machine seems low, how fast were you going.
  • 1horsetown
    1horsetown Posts: 247 Member
    I'm a 43 yr old female. My elliptical has tension settings that run from 1 -16. 1 there's no resistance at all, 16 I have to stand with both feet on the same foot pad to get them to move. I warm up on 6 and workout at 7. My HRM says 45 minutes is good for 366 calories and 30 is good for 206. The calorie thingy on the elliptical read 85 for 45 minutes and 48 for 30 minutes.

    The elliptical sat unused for a while after I got it because I just couldn't see working that hard to only burn 48 calories.

    Buy a HRM with a chest strap and stop the guessing.

    1Horsetown
  • Walterj
    Walterj Posts: 41 Member
    I didn't enter any stats just set the resistance, I kept my heartrate around 120 for the hour, although I was using the machines heart rate monitor, I will look into one of theose HRM things, thanks!
  • olyrose
    olyrose Posts: 569 Member
    MFP always has higher estimates than the machines do, when I enter my weight/age. I would not go by MFP.
  • cupotee
    cupotee Posts: 181 Member
    Somewhere in between i think. For me, an hour on the elliptical on moderate pace is around 380, and I'm 125lbs. 1000 seems incredibly high though..
  • Agglaki
    Agglaki Posts: 105
    Not entering details is a big no no, the machine wont be able to give anywhere near an accurate read out.

    Furthermore, depending on the program being used (I assume it has various programs) you will burn at different rates.

    I usually mix between a weight loss, cardio, interval and strength training program each week. Each gives a different calorie read out and each works the body differently.

    HRM is the only way to get the best reading for you, but even then they are not entirely accurate. Just the best of a bad bunch of guesses :)
  • Andithin
    Andithin Posts: 8
    I say average the two numbers you have [(250+1000)/2]- you end up getting 625 calories burned which is about right for a medium intensity work out. I can usually burn 720 calories in an hour when i work pretty hard so about 600 calories would be a pretty good guess. Your elliptical calorie counter may be broken, they can get screwed up if gets used to much, or if it goes off the info of weight and age then those numbers might not be your exact ones.

    I have a home elliptical so let me know if you need anymore info, I'm good with technical stuff. I wish you luck my friend.
  • robertf57
    robertf57 Posts: 560 Member
    120/hr is not very much work. I suspect the machine is closer to the truth
  • potluck965
    potluck965 Posts: 529 Member
    Now this isn't true for all machines, I'm sure, but I measured my machine against my HRM with just the quick start program, nothing entered in the way of info. Even at that, the machine was very close to the HRM.

    However, the numbers for elliptical here at MFP were way off. They read many more calories than they ought to have. I know it is just an estimate, but for some activities the numbers seem much more spot on than others.

    If it really will make a difference, like you are still strenuously trying to lose, you should invest in a HRM. It is still an estimate but it is tailored more to your actual body than the others.
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