ok, really confused now!!!!!

tinnytibbs
tinnytibbs Posts: 53
in Fitness and Exercise
When I started working out, my eliptical was telling me 540 cals burned in 40 mins, this site said close to 1100 i think. I went out and bought a heart rate monitor that also counts calories burned, tried it this morning and had 1313 calories burned in 47 minutes......??????

Whay the heck?

Replies

  • tinnytibbs
    tinnytibbs Posts: 53
    When I started working out, my eliptical was telling me 540 cals burned in 40 mins, this site said close to 1100 i think. I went out and bought a heart rate monitor that also counts calories burned, tried it this morning and had 1313 calories burned in 47 minutes......??????

    Whay the heck?
  • kerrilucko
    kerrilucko Posts: 3,852 Member
    Everyone's body is different. I use a stationary bike A LOT and it always underestimates my calories burned too. Go with what the heart monitor says, its going to be the most accurate :drinker: yay you! thats a TON of calories!
  • rheston
    rheston Posts: 638
    Every calculator out there, including this site, is a general measurement of some value really unknown to everyone else except the person who wrote the program to get the numbers displayed -- and I don't care who "they" are who believe any differently. It's taken me a couple of months to figure out that all of us should only use this sites' statistics, the exercise machines calculator, and the web (BMR, nutrition, etc) as a base from where you are, where you want to go and what you want to do.

    The real key here is to "listen" to your body and let it signal what's happening to it and you will be able to adjust accordingly. This doesn't give you to the answer you were hoping to achieve with your question but I believe, and this is my opinion based on my personal experience and observations of what others have written, you will be able to pick a measurement you think comes close to what you're doing and adjust up or down from there. Enter that information in your daily exercise log only.

    Make your adjustments based on what intensity you really believe you're doing and don't get too hung up on the numbers just your success.
  • nicole0177
    nicole0177 Posts: 377
    is you elipticle the kind that you put your weight in before you start your workout? bc your weight depends how many cals you burn.
  • elliott062907
    elliott062907 Posts: 1,508 Member
    I have figured out that on my exercise equipment at home, I don't count my calories because I can add my bmi and weight. So since my info is on this sire, the calories I burn are more actual....
  • natileebee
    natileebee Posts: 24
    I go with my monitor. The machine is only "guessing" (in my mind). Your monitor knows exactly what's going on. Just make sure you put all your stats in correctly and change them as you drop weight. I noticed mine was calculating weird at one point and remembered I had not changed my weight in it since I'd bought it. Once I put the new weight in, everything evened out. The more you use the monitor, the more you will notice what "your normal" calorie burn is.
  • lizard9800
    lizard9800 Posts: 474 Member
    Everything is relative and is very dependent on your fitness level. The faster you go on the elliptical the more calories the machine will say you burned regardless of your heart rate. On this site you just enter "elliptical" and don't have a choice of speed so it is generalizing. Your HRM is based on your actual fitness level which determines your heart rate. The more weight you lose and the better in shape you become will lower the amount of calories you burn durning exercise and you will have to exercise harder or longer. I am lucky to burn 300 calories on my elliptical in 30 minutes, but I bet 3 months ago I was burning more like 500. Good luck, and have fun with the HRM. I love mine!
  • tinnytibbs
    tinnytibbs Posts: 53
    thank you everyone...i'll take all the info and run with it!...no pun intended!
  • greekgyrl02
    greekgyrl02 Posts: 123
    its adding in what your body burns just to keep running throughout the day

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