By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close
sethnintendo on 08 March 2013
Edit Thread
Netyaroze said:
sethnintendo said:

I don't get this part...

"For example, if a 175 lbs man exercises for a half hour at a moderate pace, he will burn around 270 total calories…according to his machine. For an accurate count, he’d need to subtract around 40 calories from the 270 for the calories he used just by being alive for the half hour."

Why would you need to subtract 40 calories from the 270 for being alive? Wouldn't being alive burn calories instead of add calories. It isn't like he just ate a couple of nuts while working out.  edit- I suppose I get it now.  The machine is adding 40 calories to the overall work out due to him being alive?  So the work out burned 230 and being alive burned 40 calories...  Big deal.

Simple. You would have burnt those cals anyway. But people are assuming wow I burned 270 Cal more through the workout because the machine said so. But infact those cals were not burned additionally to the BMR. People on diets will mess up their calorie counting (if they do it). Or some people think 1 hour on the machine thats 540 Cal now I can eat this 500 Cal product additionally to my daily foodintake and I will still have a 40 Cal deficit and lose weight longterm. But they actually have a 40 Cal surplus due to not knowing that the calculation accounts for your BMR too.

Yea, I see how it could throw some people off.  I just can never get into the total calorie counting mode nor would I ever want to.  First I would assume perhaps that my daily intake would be around 2,500 (because I am a big guy).  Sure I sometimes look how much calories are in food but I usually just try to do it the "right" way through controlling portion sizes and eating actually healthy food.  I just started working out again and I do enjoy using the eliptical machines.  I am going to rotate between cardio and weight lifting.  I guess I'll take some of this to heart and just subtract about 50-100 calories from what the machine says to get a more accurate total.  I already had the mentality that the totals are inflated a little / not accurate.