Calories burnt

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Outback Annie

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I have recently bought an exercise bike with the moving arms so I workout upper and lower body too.

The bike has a monitor that read all the usual speed, distance cycled, time and calories. I've never used a bike with a monitor before but it seems to show a lot of calories burnt in a short time. Would it be correct to burn 250 calories in 20 minutes of quite brisk (for me) cycling (about 10 MPH) or is the monitor being overly generous showing amount of calories burnt in that time?
 
Does sound a bit generous, do you know the force your working against? preferably in kiloponds or kilograms, that way i could easily work out your caloric expenditure through a few equations.
 
So, you're burning 750 an hour. That could be quite reasonable if you are reasonably decent shape already. Also, if you are a bigger person rather than a smaller person, that could make some difference. You would expect a larger person to burn more Calories/hour than a smaller person. I am able to burn (according to the monitor) about 1000 Cal/hour on average on my rower (specifically, 400 Cal in 24 minutes) but I'm also about 190 pounds, so I should be able to work against more resistance for a given rowing rate. That's pretty much an all out effort for me, too.

10 mph doesn't sound very fast to me though for 750 Cal/hour. I'm guessing you have the resistance up pretty high, right? CV machines like rowers and bikes calculate Calories/hour based on mechanical work, which is speed times resistance. If you could double your speed and resistance is the same, you should double your Calories burned. Likewise, if you could double your resistance without changing your speed, you should double your Calories burned.
 
Thanks Matt and Subdude for your replies.

I'm new here so I guess I should have posted more info.

I'm 50, 5' 4" and now weigh 155lbs. I was 185lbs (yeah I know - YIKES!!) 3 months ago but have successfully lost 30 pounds so far and weight is still going down thankfully.

I put on a lot of weight whilst living and traveling around in a motorhome for 3 years. Now I'm in a house again and have room to move around (unlike in a motorhome where you just have to pretty much stay in one place) and I now have an exercise room.

I realise losing the weight is a lifestyle change and not just a fad diet so I've made the necessary "realistic for me" changes to my diet and exercise program. I cook and eat healthier but occasionally allow myself my favourite treats in moderation.

My main source of exercise is the treadmill as it seems to be what I am most comfortable using for long periods. Also I want to build up my stamina and endurance for hiking and kayaking in the spring and summer. I also realise that I needed to work other muscle groups so I bought the exercise bike with the moving arms.

My main goal right now is still to burn calories and lose weight then when I've reached my goal weight of somewhere around 120 to 130 pounds (I'm not overzealous or sure to the very exact pound but somewhere in that range) I will readjust my exercise and eating program to maintain the weight and not lose anymore. I'm not trying to be a model (I am a realist) and I can live with a few extra vanity pounds but I do want to be a reasonably healthy weight for my height and age group.

As I'm still a good 30 to 35 pounds overweight I find it difficult to use the exercise bike at it's high resistance levels at this early stage of using it so I have it set to minimal resistance to start with and I try to peddle at what I consider fast but still comfortable enough so as not to give myself a heart attack. :eek: As I get used to the machine I will gradually build up my resistance and speed and time spent on it as I did with the treadmill.

I was just unsure about these monitors. I don't count each and every calorie intake or burnt off but I do try to "guesstimate' both intake and calories burnt. I've read this isn't good to be so wishy washy with my "numbers" but if I had to calculate every number taken in and out I wouldn't bother at all so I'm doing what best works for me all around.

If I allow myself an occasional but rare chocolate treat (such as an Easter egg for Easter recently) I will walk, cycle or use the stepper more in order to burn off those extra calories. This way I tell myself I can have the treat but it will cost me in sweat. :rolleyes: This is how I'm losing the weight and keeping it off.

Seems to be working for me so I'll stay with it unless somebody tells me I'm doing something really wrong or harmful here.

Sorry this is so long winded but I wanted to give as much info as possible.

My main reason for putting this post in this forum was to ask about the bike monitor cause if the bike really does burn so many more calories than the treadmill as the monitor states then I might spend more time on it and less on the treadmill. It seems to make my heart work harder so I can only use it at few minute intervals until I get used to it.
 
Great, lifestyle change is key - no fad diets.

Great you got access to what you have at home to!

You might want to have a look at these two links
 
Thanks Matt,

Those links confirmed that I'm doing things right for myself. I felt the way I was losing was right cause it seems to be working for me.

As a matter of fact that's how I'm exercising. Less time on a machine but much more often throughout the day rather than intense longer sessions regimented at a certain time and day.

Also being half Greek I do cook Mediterranean style using olive oil and lemon juice too. I'm eating much smaller meals but more often and working out after food intake so I'm getting the energy I need to work out but also working off what I eat. :)

Thanks and cheers

Ann
 
Thanks Matt,

Seems like common sense to me. Moderation. :)
 
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