Do you count calories burned if...

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rayahmarie333
rayahmarie333 Posts: 15 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
they're not burned within your target heart rate "zone"? I wear a heart rate monitor w/ a chest strap when I exercise. It tells me my target heart rate "zone" to keep my heart rate in when exercising, which is based on my age, weight, etc. Sometimes I do exercises that raise my heart rate higher than my resting heart rate but not high enough to be in my target zone. Is it ok to count those calories as 'calories burned' even if they're not burned within the 'zone'? I'm asking because I know we burn calories naturally just by existing, but to lose weight, we're supposed to keep a heart rate within a 'zone' to burn calories for weight loss (at least that's what I've heard and read). Thanks in advance for your responses. :smile:

Replies

  • xuashe
    xuashe Posts: 46
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    A calorie burned is a calorie burned, IMO.
  • christy_frank
    christy_frank Posts: 680 Member
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    Yes. I count all the calories my HRM says that I burned.
  • Rebroland
    Rebroland Posts: 92 Member
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    Yes. I count all the calories my HRM says that I burned.

    Agreed.
  • dragonbug300
    dragonbug300 Posts: 760 Member
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    Short answer: Yes.

    Longer answer: HRM is not a perfect tool. If you don't reach the target heart rate 'zone' you'll just need to exercise longer to burn the same number of calories. You're still exercising, and that's what counts.
    Side-note, if you're not pushing yourself in your workouts, progress will be slower. But progress is still progress. Count the calories burned.
  • taxidermist15
    taxidermist15 Posts: 677 Member
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    I dont count all my caloie burned. On your HRM is gross calories bunred, I count my Net alories burned.

    The HRM oesnt take into account the calories you would be burning sitting on your *kitten*, rather than exercising. so your actullly bunring just a lil less than what your hrm says,
  • imjessly
    imjessly Posts: 140 Member
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    I count them all, but i then subtract my TDEE for that time period.

    Lets assume my TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is 2000 calories eg, how much you normally burn during the day
    = roughly 83 calories an hour

    so lets say my HRM says i burn 300 calories in 30 mins

    My 'exercise calories' are 300 - 41.5 = 258.5 exercise calories
  • jolarocknrolla
    jolarocknrolla Posts: 236 Member
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    to lose weight, we're supposed to keep a heart rate within a 'zone' to burn calories for weight loss (at least that's what I've heard and read).

    What?? What am i even reading?

    Some people think there is an optimal "zone" perhaps, but it's not like you won't lose weight otherwise. All that junk, in my humble opinion, is bro-science and bull****. Did someone at a gym tell you this? Perhaps a PT? They are notorious for this bunk. For weightloss cals burned are cals burned. the kind of exercise you should do is based on your fitness goals (stamina or muscle building for example) but for just weightloss? JUST MOVE.
  • Pedal_Pusher
    Pedal_Pusher Posts: 1,166 Member
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    Yes.
  • AJ_Pete
    AJ_Pete Posts: 863 Member
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    I count them all, but i then subtract my TDEE for that time period.

    Lets assume my TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is 2000 calories eg, how much you normally burn during the day
    = roughly 83 calories an hour

    so lets say my HRM says i burn 300 calories in 30 mins

    My 'exercise calories' are 300 - 41.5 = 258.5 exercise calories

    EXACTLY! Smarts, you have them.
  • EnchantedEvening
    EnchantedEvening Posts: 671 Member
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    I subtract whatever my BMR would have been for that hour, since I would have burned those calories even if I'd been sleeping or sitting.

    Let's say my BMR is 2400. That means I burn 100 calories per hour just by existing and breathing. So if I burn 800 calories in one hour according to my HRM, I enter 700 on MFP. 700 (exercise) + 100 (BMR) = 800 (HRM)

    Does that help? :)
  • SL22268
    SL22268 Posts: 59 Member
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    Yes. I count all the calories my HRM says that I burned.

    Me too!
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    Do yourself a favour and forget zones. The so-called "fat burning zone' is not the optimal place to be to lose weight (and improve cardiovascular health). While it is true that you burn a higher proportion of calories from fat you burn a significantly lower amount of calories than you do by exercising at a higher intensity (and you're still burning calories from fat).

    The other reason to ignore the zones many HRMs and exercise machines use is that they're simply not accurate. They're based on using 220 - your age as MaxHR which is not a terribly accurate way of determining this number.

    Go by perceived effort, you find you get much better results.
  • FitLink
    FitLink Posts: 1,317 Member
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    they're not burned within your target heart rate "zone"? I wear a heart rate monitor w/ a chest strap when I exercise. It tells me my target heart rate "zone" to keep my heart rate in when exercising, which is based on my age, weight, etc. Sometimes I do exercises that raise my heart rate higher than my resting heart rate but not high enough to be in my target zone. Is it ok to count those calories as 'calories burned' even if they're not burned within the 'zone'? I'm asking because I know we burn calories naturally just by existing, but to lose weight, we're supposed to keep a heart rate within a 'zone' to burn calories for weight loss (at least that's what I've heard and read). Thanks in advance for your responses. :smile:

    If they're burned, they're burned. If you were in a coma they'd still feed you because you'd still burn your BMR, even though you'd never exceed your resting heart rate. Your heart rate might be associated with a higher rate of burn, but it doesn't matter what your heart rate was when a calorie was burned. Burned is burned.

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