Article of the Day: Exercise: the Anti-Aging Shield This article is a must read, especially if you are having a hard time convincing someone in your life exercise is important!
Last week we discussed how the calorie readouts on cardio machines are not always accurate. So how can you figure out how many calories your latest sweat session burned?? You have a couple of different options.
Option #1 Invest in a heart rate monitor. These can run you anywhere from $100 to $500. Even the basic $100 version monitors caloric expenditure. The
Polar Heart Rate monitors determine caloric expenditure based on specific personal information. When you first use the monitor, it will ask you to input your gender and body weight. A polar developed feature, known as OwnCal, uses the required information to choose the correct regression equation based on gender. The internal part of the monitor then chooses the correct equation and, based on your workout intensity, determines the number of calories you burned.
Option #2 Purchase a calorie management system such as the
Bodybugg for around $199. The bodybugg is an armband that uses a series of sensors to find caloric expenditure. These sensors monitor motion, physical exertion, the amount of heat being dissipated from the body, Galvanic Skin Response, and skin temperature. The bodybugg uses these readings along with the individuals personal characteristics (age, sex, weight, height) to figure out how many calories the individual is burning. The Bodybugg is designed to track your total caloric expenditure throughout the entire day. The company suggests you wear the bodybugg at all times, minus when you are in the shower. It also comes with an online program (which you have to purchase for $9.95 a month) that tracks your food intake and compares it to how many calories you burn.
Option #3 Estimate based on your weight. There are hundreds of websites with calorie calculators that estimate caloric expenditure based on your weight, choice of activity, and duration of exercise. These are actually fairly accurate once they are adjusted for weight. Between these two websites, you should be able to find out how many calories you burned doing just about any activity!
HealthStatus.com
SparkPeople.com
Hopefully, one of these three options will work for you!!
Yours truly,
Lauren G.
Question of the Day: Do you currently keep track of how many calories you burn while exercising, and if so how?
I used to track my calories in workouts, but due to my past became too obsessive and it wasn't healthy. I think the bodybugg or gowearfit tools were the most accurate at it though. This was a great post!
ReplyDeleteI completely understand. I am bad about setting a specific calorie goal in my head and feeling like I have to meet it every day. Every once in a while, I make myself put the heart rate monitor away for a few days so I don't get too addicted. Thanks for the info on the bodybugg!
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