HRM watch v's machine, both with same chest strap

AH2013
AH2013 Posts: 385 Member
edited October 6 in Fitness and Exercise
For my Christmas this year I got a Polar FT7 HRM looking to find what my exact calories burned were......imagine my massive disappointment to find that I have been logging almost double for my walks with the dog and at least 150-200 extra on my cross trainer for big workouts!!

I have a Nordic Track cross trainer with Polar technology so when I wear my chest strap it picks up my heart rate (same as watch was registering) and tells me calories burned. I was on only for 28 mins tonight and my cross trainer, going by my heart rate, told me I had burned 400 cals, a little more than without the chest strap. However my watch said 270........you've probably heard this so many times but can that be right? If so maybe this is why my weight loss has been so slow................

Replies

  • soccer8s
    soccer8s Posts: 238 Member
    I have found that any machine I'm on will say I'm burning at least 25% more calories than it says....if it says 1,000...I know it isn't more than 750. Some machines are more accurate than others (the ones that I have to put my actual weight in are usually closer, but still at least 10-15% off).

    Now you know....see if the difference is just in the work outs!! Good luck!
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
    could be if you have been eating all your estimated calories....which is why eating all your exercise calories can be tricky. I eat about half my exercise calories or none if I only do weights that day
  • inspiration345
    inspiration345 Posts: 218 Member
    The machine numbers are always overestimated.Sometimes by 50%.Well atleast now you know the real numbers.
  • inspiration345
    inspiration345 Posts: 218 Member
    You know what is worst?You are suppose to subtract atleast 1 cal per minute of exercise from the number you get.That will be your real exercise calories burned.On top of that you add what MFP gives for BMR on the activity level you have other than exercising.
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
    You know what is worst?You are suppose to subtract atleast 1 cal per minute of exercise from the number you get.That will be your real exercise calories burned.On top of that you add what MFP gives for BMR on the activity level you have other than exercising.
    I think you have this backwards.. You take your BMR, divide by 24 to find out how much you burn each hour and then divide that number by 60 to figure out how much you burn each minute. You are then supposed to subtract that number from the HRM calories burned.. not add them back in.

    OP:
    I also have the FT7, and I find it to be lower then the machine estimates. I personally never do the described method above, and have been losing just fine eating what calories my HRM gives me. I always leave a few over anyway to make up for miscalculations.
  • AH2013
    AH2013 Posts: 385 Member
    Thanks all. It was a big disappointment. I never used to eat back all my exercise calories but have done so the last month and a bit and I've barely lost anything. I think I'm going to shake things up in the new year. At least now and I know what I'm really doing! :)
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