Elliptical help

tmorelli2
tmorelli2 Posts: 4
edited September 27 in Fitness and Exercise
Help. I am new to this site and have not yet purchased an HRM. I have to confuse myself by reading a thousand reviews before I can commit. But my question relates to the Eliptical machine. Is it really possible to burn 400 to 500 calories after forty or fifty minutes on this machine? This seems high to me. My first few weeks I was enjoying my exercise calories in addition to the 1200 and actually gained. So I stopped eating my exercise calories and didn't eat my 1200, and stayed the same. Now I am eating the full 1200 and doing the elliptical twice a day for 40 minutes and find it hard to believe I am not losing more weight burning 800-900 calories a day. I am also doing upper body free weights which I don't even log, because I am worried I am not really burning that many calories. I do the heart program in the morning and in the evenings, I go between the upper workout and the glutes program. Thank you!

Replies

  • sw33tp3a11
    sw33tp3a11 Posts: 4,646 Member
    Yes you can. I do 20 min of it and i burn 213 calories on it so if u do 40 min u can burn over 400 and also that depends on ur settings.I use 1 to 2 speed. Hope it helped
  • MellowGa
    MellowGa Posts: 1,258 Member
    yes, I did 40 min yesterday...burned 531

    its a great work out
  • red4560
    red4560 Posts: 32
    You must eat at least 1200 calories of food a WITHOUT exercise. So if you exercise you have to eat more. A good protein diet is the way to go! Easy on the carbs though. It'll take a while for body to change to the new routine but you will lose weight!
  • 4jenniferk
    4jenniferk Posts: 307 Member
    I did twenty minutes on the interval setting and burned 209... my average is between 190 and 220 for twenty minutes and again setting and speed have alot to do with it.
  • Missylydia
    Missylydia Posts: 304 Member
    I've no heart rate monitor but the machine at my gym says I'm burning about 200 in 20 min. My personal rule is that as long as I'm working hard enough to be slightly out of breath and sweating, I believe the machine.
    :)
  • JPod279
    JPod279 Posts: 722 Member
    I just did 35 minutes on a machine that asks for my: age & weight and even picks up my HRM. It said I burned almost 500 calories but my HRM, which also takes into consideration I am a male, had me at 375. The machines are usually high. I have a Polar FT4 and I am really liking it so far. It was $90 but you can probably find it cheaper online. I would reccomend getting one so that you can get the most accurate reading. I also wanted mine to calculate what I burned while lifting weights.
  • HotSouthernMess
    HotSouthernMess Posts: 474 Member
    yes it is! i do it for 30 minutes at different speeds/resistance/incline and then a 5 minute cool down on 1 incline and 4 resistance and can burn 540 calories. it all depends. yes, the mfp calculations for exercising can be high...but that seems about the right range.
  • jreckmann
    jreckmann Posts: 1
    Yes you can...sometimes I do 45 min and burn around 650 calories and in a half an hr its about 550...It all depends on how fast and what incline you are doing.
  • yankeefamily05
    yankeefamily05 Posts: 657
    I do it for 30 minutes. Level 4. And I burn between 380-420. Depending on how much energy i have:)
  • mussmom
    mussmom Posts: 362 Member
    Yes-you can burn that many calories. If you aren't losing there are a couple things to look at. Did you just begin working out? I would give yourself 4 or so weeks to let your body adjust to the whole exercise and building muscle concept. Keep eating your calories, but eat good, healthful food that feeds your muscles. You don't want to trick your body into thinking it is starving, therefore not losing weight. Enjoy your elliptical, enjoy the calorie burn, and most importantly enjoy your food! :)
  • mike1911
    mike1911 Posts: 2 Member
    When I use a HRM it shows me about half of the calories i can see on the trainer. The HRM is defenetly much more reliable it depends on your personal fitness how close the trainer is to the "real" burned calories. For 40 minutes the HRM shows me 287 calories. Maybe you can borrow a HRM for checking the accuracy of your trainer.
  • Shamrock40
    Shamrock40 Posts: 264
    How many calories you're burning depends on how much you weigh and how hard you're working (i.e. how hard your heart is pumping.) I weigh over 200 lbs, keep the resistance jacked up to 4, 5 or 6 on the elliptical, and can burn 400 + in 30 minutes. When I go for an hour, I can burn closer to 900 calories.
  • buhller
    buhller Posts: 28 Member
    Keep in mind that MFP builds in a calorie deficit based on your weight loss goal, so netting 1200 calories means you're still not eating everything your body is using. It's important to eat at least most of your exercise calories back (especially if you're burning more than 400-500 a day), because otherwise you will go into starvation mode.

    I had a huge problem with starvation mode for about a month, and couldn't understand why I wasn't losing weight when MFP said I was 500 calories under my goal. It's taken me a while to get my body to agree to let go of weight again, partly because I wasn't giving myself enough nutrition. It's been a huge struggle to get my body to get back into weight loss mode.

    I like to look at it like this: weight loss, which is a little counterintuitive for our bodies, is about negotiating with your body. You want it to shed pounds. It wants assurance that you're going to give it enough to fire on all cylinders. If it doesn't get what it wants, you don't get what you want.

    And yes, while a HRM is more accurate for determining calories burned, the machines at the gym are a decent ballpark. I burn about 11 calories a minute on the elliptical, although I tend to go more for speed than resistance. Others might have different results, based on the intensity, resistance, and incline.

    In short, http://shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com/ is a good place to visit if you're still confused.
  • Buddie616
    Buddie616 Posts: 167 Member
    I have an elliptical! I burn anywhere from 400 to 660 cals epending on the level I workout on! So yes you can burn bunches of calories!
  • KChristie976
    KChristie976 Posts: 150 Member
    Like everyone else said it is very possible. It all depends on the level you have it on and how fast you pedal. I burn between 450 -550 calories and I do it for 40 -45 min. I have the ramp on 9 and the resistance on 8.
  • reenpayne
    reenpayne Posts: 21
    Absolutely!!! I have an elliptical and I do 30 minutes I burn 400 calories. It also depends on the level you have it on. I usually have it on level 3. I also think it depends on what kind of elliptical you have. Just like you don't burn the same amount of calories on different treadmills, it's the same with the elliptical. I love the elliptical!!!!!!
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
    You def can! I do an interval program on the elliptical with the high setting at 11 and the walk setting at 5 and in 33 minutes, I burn between 427 and 443 calories. If your heart rate is higher, like in the fitness zone opposed to the fat burning zone, you will burn more calories.
  • tmorelli2
    tmorelli2 Posts: 4
    Wow, thank you for all the good advice and responses. I am NOW eating higher protein and lower carbs. I am also eating the entire 1200 calories. I am definitely sweating and working at at high capacity. My elliptical prompts me so it can detect my heart rate too. I would be happy if it were off by 25%. But based on your responses, it sounds pretty accurate. I try to burn at least 800 calories a day. But I have only been exercising for five weeks. I have always controlled my weight by starving myself. But once I hit 40, I realized I had to exercise. I am not a fan of it, but hoping it makes the difference. I lost 80 pounds, (including an eight pound baby), with food restriction. The last 20 are going to take some hard work. I did order the polar ft4. Thank you everyone!
This discussion has been closed.

Categories