Accurate calorie burn? Help! :S
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MirandaKeeler
Posts: 23 Member
I don't have a heart rate monitor (Expensive for a college bill-paying budget). I use machines for my workouts, and I was wondering what the best way to tell how accurate the calorie burn amount is, because I think it's wrong. I don't want to be over estimating my calories burned. I'll give you an example. I worked out on an elliptical today for one hour. (Switching between moderate and high effort) It said Average speed: 5.13 MPH, Average heart rate: 168, Calories burned: 840. That calorie count seems high to me. What do you think? Any great devices to use?
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Replies
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bump cause I am interested to know as well.0
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There are some decent websites out there that will give you a more accurate calorie count. I am 5'4", 174, and an elliptical burns roughly 7 calories a minute for me, depending on how fast i go, of course.
Mfp and gym machines tend to have overly high calorie burns, and ellipticals are some of the worst offenders. If you can't find any websites that seem a bit more accurate, try inputting the time you were on the elliptical into mfp, then cutting the calorie burn in half.
You could also set your activity level on mfp to include your exercise, then log exercise as 1 calorie burned so you aren't doubling up your calorie consumption but you are still getting an accurate exercise log.
ETA: these are the things i do, and I've lost around 44 lbs. Here's the website i use to calculate calories burned: caloriesburnedhq.com0 -
Thanks for the input!
I thought there was something fishy about those machines. :P0 -
*bump* ;D0
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Just enter 50-75% of the calorie burn and judge how accurate it is by weight loss
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MirandaKeeler wrote: »I don't have a heart rate monitor (Expensive for a college bill-paying budget). I use machines for my workouts, and I was wondering what the best way to tell how accurate the calorie burn amount is, because I think it's wrong. I don't want to be over estimating my calories burned. I'll give you an example. I worked out on an elliptical today for one hour. (Switching between moderate and high effort) It said Average speed: 5.13 MPH, Average heart rate: 168, Calories burned: 840. That calorie count seems high to me. What do you think? Any great devices to use?
As for that I'm 5'8, 165lbs and 12 minutes on the elliptical at resistance 17 out of 25 at around 7km/h gives me 100 calories as per my HRM ...so for an hour I would imagine allowing about 4-500 calories
Which is in line with the eat back 50-75% calories0 -
Awesome. Thanks so much!0
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MirandaKeeler wrote: »II worked out on an elliptical today for one hour. (Switching between moderate and high effort) It said Average speed: 5.13 MPH, Average heart rate: 168, Calories burned: 840. That calorie count seems high to me. What do you think? Any great devices to use?
Yes, that is extremely high.
That speed on an elliptical will be roughly equivalent to walking ~3.5mph. So you can estimate your burn as...
3.5 * 0.35 * body weight in pounds
So if you're 150 pounds -> ~180 calories.0 -
The machines are high. They include your RMR in the calories burned - the calories you'd burn if you were sitting on your couch instead of exercising. MFP gives you your RMR in your daily calories. Counting them in your exercise calories is getting them twice. Also, machines don't know how efficient you are at your workout - you can burn more or less based on your form and your fitness level. I've found taking 75% of the calories burned works for me, but it's a bit of trial and error. Start at 50% and work your way up if you need to.0
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MirandaKeeler wrote: »II worked out on an elliptical today for one hour. (Switching between moderate and high effort) It said Average speed: 5.13 MPH, Average heart rate: 168, Calories burned: 840. That calorie count seems high to me. What do you think? Any great devices to use?
Yes, that is extremely high.
That speed on an elliptical will be roughly equivalent to walking ~3.5mph. So you can estimate your burn as...
3.5 * 0.35 * body weight in pounds
So if you're 150 pounds -> ~180 calories.
That's not accounting for resistance or incline...
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Ok. Awesome! Thanks again.
As far as the resistance/incline- I did have it on 15 out of 25 resistance. 180 calories seems a little low for an hour and how hard I worked.0 -
crystalflame wrote: »MirandaKeeler wrote: »II worked out on an elliptical today for one hour. (Switching between moderate and high effort) It said Average speed: 5.13 MPH, Average heart rate: 168, Calories burned: 840. That calorie count seems high to me. What do you think? Any great devices to use?
Yes, that is extremely high.
That speed on an elliptical will be roughly equivalent to walking ~3.5mph. So you can estimate your burn as...
3.5 * 0.35 * body weight in pounds
So if you're 150 pounds -> ~180 calories.
That's not accounting for resistance or incline...
It doesn't have to.
All you really need to know is how far you can run in the same time period. If you can't run for that long, then walking will do.
That sets the upper bound, and you can safely know that your actual burn will not be higher than that.
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Great to hear. I appreciate everyone's input!
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crystalflame wrote: »MirandaKeeler wrote: »II worked out on an elliptical today for one hour. (Switching between moderate and high effort) It said Average speed: 5.13 MPH, Average heart rate: 168, Calories burned: 840. That calorie count seems high to me. What do you think? Any great devices to use?
Yes, that is extremely high.
That speed on an elliptical will be roughly equivalent to walking ~3.5mph. So you can estimate your burn as...
3.5 * 0.35 * body weight in pounds
So if you're 150 pounds -> ~180 calories.
That's not accounting for resistance or incline...
It doesn't have to.
All you really need to know is how far you can run in the same time period. If you can't run for that long, then walking will do.
That sets the upper bound, and you can safely know that your actual burn will not be higher than that.
Sorry, I don't get that. Wouldn't that calculation give you the lower bound, and increasing resistance give you an increase in calories the way walking up an incline would? If two people go the same speed for the same distance but one is at zero resistance and one is at full, they aren't going to burn the same number of calories.0 -
It's not calibrate to your particulars see http://www.soleellipticalguide.com/common-mistakes-people-make-when-using-an-elliptical/
Heart rate monitor has it's place but don't confuse with what it does with correlations to energy expenditures that is also calibrated to someone else. See 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
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crystalflame wrote: »crystalflame wrote: »MirandaKeeler wrote: »II worked out on an elliptical today for one hour. (Switching between moderate and high effort) It said Average speed: 5.13 MPH, Average heart rate: 168, Calories burned: 840. That calorie count seems high to me. What do you think? Any great devices to use?
Yes, that is extremely high.
That speed on an elliptical will be roughly equivalent to walking ~3.5mph. So you can estimate your burn as...
3.5 * 0.35 * body weight in pounds
So if you're 150 pounds -> ~180 calories.
That's not accounting for resistance or incline...
It doesn't have to.
All you really need to know is how far you can run in the same time period. If you can't run for that long, then walking will do.
That sets the upper bound, and you can safely know that your actual burn will not be higher than that.
Sorry, I don't get that. Wouldn't that calculation give you the lower bound, and increasing resistance give you an increase in calories the way walking up an incline would? If two people go the same speed for the same distance but one is at zero resistance and one is at full, they aren't going to burn the same number of calories.
Running is basically the best calorie-burner out there in terms of matched effort. So whatever effort you are putting in on the elliptical--which would be affected by resistance and incline--duplicate that amount of effort in running. That will give you the upper boundary. I generally figure I burn 50-60% of running calories on the elliptical for the same perceived effort.0 -
I know the machines always give you a high number and that's why I don't pay attention to it. I either use some of those extra calories on an extra snack, or just bank them.0
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cheshirecatastrophe wrote: »crystalflame wrote: »crystalflame wrote: »MirandaKeeler wrote: »II worked out on an elliptical today for one hour. (Switching between moderate and high effort) It said Average speed: 5.13 MPH, Average heart rate: 168, Calories burned: 840. That calorie count seems high to me. What do you think? Any great devices to use?
Yes, that is extremely high.
That speed on an elliptical will be roughly equivalent to walking ~3.5mph. So you can estimate your burn as...
3.5 * 0.35 * body weight in pounds
So if you're 150 pounds -> ~180 calories.
That's not accounting for resistance or incline...
It doesn't have to.
All you really need to know is how far you can run in the same time period. If you can't run for that long, then walking will do.
That sets the upper bound, and you can safely know that your actual burn will not be higher than that.
Sorry, I don't get that. Wouldn't that calculation give you the lower bound, and increasing resistance give you an increase in calories the way walking up an incline would? If two people go the same speed for the same distance but one is at zero resistance and one is at full, they aren't going to burn the same number of calories.
Running is basically the best calorie-burner out there in terms of matched effort. So whatever effort you are putting in on the elliptical--which would be affected by resistance and incline--duplicate that amount of effort in running. That will give you the upper boundary. I generally figure I burn 50-60% of running calories on the elliptical for the same perceived effort.
Actually there was a study that showed it was only slightly higher according to http://www.builtlean.com/2012/04/20/elliptical-vs-treadmill/
"A study by the Medical College of Wisconsin found the average calories burned jogging on a treadmill for one hour was 705 to 866. By comparison, an estimate by Health Status found using an elliptical trainer for one hour will burn approximately 773 calories. Based on these and other similar studies, the treadmill may have a slight advantage in calorie burn, although oftentimes the amount of variance is considered negligible compared to the elliptical.
In terms of fat loss and increased aerobic capacity, another study found that people using a stair climber, treadmill, and elliptical at similar exercise intensities experienced similar physiological changes in 12 a week program."
It's the results that count though eg log half, check weight loss, adjust over time0 -
cheshirecatastrophe wrote: »crystalflame wrote: »crystalflame wrote: »MirandaKeeler wrote: »II worked out on an elliptical today for one hour. (Switching between moderate and high effort) It said Average speed: 5.13 MPH, Average heart rate: 168, Calories burned: 840. That calorie count seems high to me. What do you think? Any great devices to use?
Yes, that is extremely high.
That speed on an elliptical will be roughly equivalent to walking ~3.5mph. So you can estimate your burn as...
3.5 * 0.35 * body weight in pounds
So if you're 150 pounds -> ~180 calories.
That's not accounting for resistance or incline...
It doesn't have to.
All you really need to know is how far you can run in the same time period. If you can't run for that long, then walking will do.
That sets the upper bound, and you can safely know that your actual burn will not be higher than that.
Sorry, I don't get that. Wouldn't that calculation give you the lower bound, and increasing resistance give you an increase in calories the way walking up an incline would? If two people go the same speed for the same distance but one is at zero resistance and one is at full, they aren't going to burn the same number of calories.
Running is basically the best calorie-burner out there in terms of matched effort. So whatever effort you are putting in on the elliptical--which would be affected by resistance and incline--duplicate that amount of effort in running. That will give you the upper boundary. I generally figure I burn 50-60% of running calories on the elliptical for the same perceived effort.
Actually there was a study that showed it was only slightly higher according to http://www.builtlean.com/2012/04/20/elliptical-vs-treadmill/
"A study by the Medical College of Wisconsin found the average calories burned jogging on a treadmill for one hour was 705 to 866. By comparison, an estimate by Health Status found using an elliptical trainer for one hour will burn approximately 773 calories. Based on these and other similar studies, the treadmill may have a slight advantage in calorie burn, although oftentimes the amount of variance is considered negligible compared to the elliptical.
In terms of fat loss and increased aerobic capacity, another study found that people using a stair climber, treadmill, and elliptical at similar exercise intensities experienced similar physiological changes in 12 a week program."
It's the results that count though eg log half, check weight loss, adjust over time
Reeeally. That is SUPER interesting. I wonder if it has something to do with being able to push yourself harder on the elliptical if you are not a trained runner? (That is my experience as a now-runner, previously-not).
Thanks!
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