Health News Blog
How Many Calories Did You REALLY Burn?
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After a workout, many people refer to the handy display on the treadmill, elliptical, etc. to see how many calories they burned. It kind of makes you feel good to know that you burned “300” calories that day, doesn't it? Well, you may want to think twice about these numbers and their accuracy.Take the treadmill, for example. If you hold on to the bars, you can cut the 'number of calories burned' on the display by half. Also, different companies use different formulas to calculate what the average person should burn. So, if this treadmill says you burned 250 calories, another may tell you 300. It's also important to keep in mind that the numbers given are estimates of what the “average” person would burn at that work load. The truth is that two people with the same height, weight and gender, and fitness level can burn a different amount of calories. There simply isn't a definite answer.
So, what can we take from this? Don't depend on the numbers and focus on your goals instead. If you want to burn more calories, add more time to your routine or increase the intensity. The actual number doesn't matter. You will feel and see the difference.. regardless of what the display says!
Eunice, DTR, CPT-ACE
Nutrition Specialist
“There are no shortcuts to any place worth going”
Labels: exercise
Comment by 
said... - February 25, 2008 9:39 PM
The numbers alot of machines kick out i feel are accurate, if i give a bad work out my numbers are not the same as if i go all out, so you get what you put in. ss
Comment by said... - February 27, 2008 4:40 PM
This is true. After reading many articles, it is important to remember that your heart rate, weight, age, and gender have everything to do with calories burned during exercise. I went out and picked up a heart rate monitor at a local sporting goods store, cost me about $100. It comes with a watch and waist band. This way I have the most accurate calories burned for my body. It's also convenient because I became an outdoor runner. Now, I will always know what I burned, with or without the gym. After comparing...the treadmill numbers are always lies!
Comment by said... - March 9, 2008 1:16 PM
I bought a Polar Heart Rate monitor with a calorie counter function. The problem with this is that the monitor only starts to calculate calories burned when your heart rate goes above 100 bpm. This is silly; because, even on my warm-ups (when my heart rate isn't above 100) I burn calories; however, the heart rate monitor says I haven't.
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