The Student Room Group

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Reply 20
Original post by coney
Fair enough, can't really speak for her if she enjoys it or not.

I'm not saying the figures from the machine, I'm saying the figures from her heart rate monitor. While holding everything constant would be the best way to do it, if she's correctly put in her resting HR, max HR, height and weight then while the figures may not be totally accurate, as a rough estimate of calories burnt they're a lot better than 'useless'.


It is still only a rough estimate - you can't generally input your lean mass or EPOC or in general enter the effect on your metabolism of the exercise undertaken. Your heart rate won't tell you the full story of calories burned.

On the other hand - by weighing yourself, you can work out pretty exactly your maintenance calories.

No point in trying to get all technical for the sake of it when the easy and obvious method is more valid.
Reply 21
hah, I eat over 2000 and burn less than 200. ~oh well~
Reply 22
Original post by Mark85
It is still only a rough estimate - you can't generally input your lean mass or EPOC or in general enter the effect on your metabolism of the exercise undertaken. Your heart rate won't tell you the full story of calories burned.

On the other hand - by weighing yourself, you can work out pretty exactly your maintenance calories.

No point in trying to get all technical for the sake of it when the easy and obvious method is more valid.


All I was saying was it was useful as a rough estimate- if the amount of exercise you do varies due to free time, the number of hours you work in a non-sedentary job, or anything else, I wouldn't say its particularly easy to keep everything constant for a couple of weeks, then adjust that and keep it constant again.
Reply 23
Original post by LauraRMCF
I workout at a crossramp of 13 and a resistance of 9 for an hour or so and am dripping sweat afterwards.

The only thing is, I get pretty bad headaches every time I workout and it lasts all day which I'm thinking is probably the fact that I'm not eating as much as I should. This morning I had about 300 calories for breakfast; fruit salad, a yogurt and cheese string lol. I went to Starbucks after my workout today, ordered a Skinny Vanilla Latte as I usually do but noticed that I felt pretty nauseous afterwards. This was about two hours after my workout.

If I was to eat 1600 calories, would you say it's still to little or just enough?


If you are on the calories and exercise regime you claim, you should be rapidly losing weight. Your BMI may be currently in the healthy range, but you haven't got much of a buffer there and BMI targets are for adults- adolescent girls should be a bit higher to be healthy.

The main concerns with eating disorders are whether you are going to get so thin you die of heart problems. It doesn't sound like you are there yet (if the info you are providing is accurate) but do bear in mind rapid or excessive weight loss is incredibly dangerous. The second concern is whether you are still having your periods. Loss of those could result in long term fertility and severe long term bone problems - i mean broken hips, foot micro-fractures, which tends to be a big problem for these people as they do lots of exercise!

Remember, low weight alters your mind to want to be even thinner: in the 40s they took lots of perfectly normal men and fed them 1000kcal per day (less than they need) to see what would happen. After a few weeks, they all developed bizarre obsessions with food and exercise and lots of them became anorexic! Low weight causes obsessions with food and dysmorphic body image.

The evidence suggests saying this makes no difference but i'll say it anyway: you are currently a healthy body weight and its highly doubtful your self-image is anything like what other people see. You should increase your calorie intake to avoid losing further weight and getting yourself into a really messy situation - eating disorders are terrible diseases.
Original post by Mark85
Does anyone enjoy it though or do they just do it to lose weight?

That was my point - finding a more fun activity is probably a more sustainable habit. If people really enjoy that machine then fair dinkum. Never seen or heard of sports people using them though....



They clearly aren't really targeted towards the professional sportsperson market though are they? The average gym-goer isn't looking for athlete level intensity, and I think cross trainers are perfect for enabling the unfit to initially go at a good intensity for longer than they could go on say a treadmill. It's more satisfying and consistent and helps people build up to intense treadmill workouts which may seem daunting at first.

I also do HIIT on cross trainers with very high resistance so they aren't useless and I find them more fun than doing HIIT on a treadmill.

OP, you need to figure out your TDEE combine that with exercise and eat a couple hundred calories under it. Google it for various formulae but as some have already said it's more a case of trial and error, eat different amounts to see what works for you (initially eating more may make you gain because your body isn't used to it but it should level out in the end if you're persistent - there's no need to eat less than you actually can to lose weight).
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by nexttime
If you are on the calories and exercise regime you claim, you should be rapidly losing weight. Your BMI may be currently in the healthy range, but you haven't got much of a buffer there and BMI targets are for adults- adolescent girls should be a bit higher to be healthy.

The main concerns with eating disorders are whether you are going to get so thin you die of heart problems. It doesn't sound like you are there yet (if the info you are providing is accurate) but do bear in mind rapid or excessive weight loss is incredibly dangerous. The second concern is whether you are still having your periods. Loss of those could result in long term fertility and severe long term bone problems - i mean broken hips, foot micro-fractures, which tends to be a big problem for these people as they do lots of exercise!

Remember, low weight alters your mind to want to be even thinner: in the 40s they took lots of perfectly normal men and fed them 1000kcal per day (less than they need) to see what would happen. After a few weeks, they all developed bizarre obsessions with food and exercise and lots of them became anorexic! Low weight causes obsessions with food and dysmorphic body image.

The evidence suggests saying this makes no difference but i'll say it anyway: you are currently a healthy body weight and its highly doubtful your self-image is anything like what other people see. You should increase your calorie intake to avoid losing further weight and getting yourself into a really messy situation - eating disorders are terrible diseases.


I agree completely which is why I said disordered eating habits rather than eating disorder. :smile:
Reply 26
Original post by twelvepenguinbugs
They clearly aren't really targeted towards the professional sportsperson market though are they?


I didn't say only professional sports people - I meant gym users who go to the gym to increase fitness for a sport. Not many of them use cross trainers.

Original post by twelvepenguinbugs

The average gym-goer isn't looking for athlete level intensity, and I think cross trainers are perfect for enabling the unfit to initially go at a good intensity for longer than they could go on say a treadmill. It's more satisfying and consistent and helps people build up to intense treadmill workouts which may seem daunting at first.


I don't think it does enable that - it is just that people exert less energy on them so they can do that longer than run.

Original post by twelvepenguinbugs

I also do HIIT on cross trainers with very high resistance so they aren't useless and I find them more fun than doing HIIT on a treadmill.


To be fair - you can't even attempt HIIT on most treadmills since most only go upto 20km/hr max
Original post by Mark85
I didn't say only professional sports people - I meant gym users who go to the gym to increase fitness for a sport. Not many of them use cross trainers.



I don't think it does enable that - it is just that people exert less energy on them so they can do that longer than run.



To be fair - you can't even attempt HIIT on most treadmills since most only go upto 20km/hr max


Sorry by 'sports people' i assumed you meant professionals, and yes you do exert less energy but you can do it more consistently and it feels more rewarding as some people enjoy the feeling actually being able to complete a consistently intense cardio workout - it's better than giving up on a treadmill after five minutes! And as for the last thing, that's just an elitist attitude, of course you can do HIIT on any regular treadmill because 'high intensity' is subjective. For most people going at 12kmph on an incline is extremely high intensity!
Reply 28
Original post by twelvepenguinbugs
Sorry by 'sports people' i assumed you meant professionals, and yes you do exert less energy but you can do it more consistently and it feels more rewarding as some people enjoy the feeling actually being able to complete a consistently intense cardio workout - it's better than giving up on a treadmill after five minutes!


You could just go at a slower pace on a treadmill or do intervals. At least you are getting better at something more relevant to sports, fun activities and everyday life.

I don't know why you assumed the only alternative was a treadmill anyway - you could do other forms of cardio even in a gym such as gym classes or sports like squash or badminton. You could also go outside and play a sport or go walking/running/hill climbing etc.

My main point was that it is a bit depressing for a young person to be working away like a hamster on a wheel on a boring gym machine for so long and that if as the OP mentioned, you want sustainable weight management rather than a cycle of gaining and losing - you would be better finding a hobby for life rather than doing a 'chore' like forcing yourself to do an hour on the elliptical. I would wager that the OP would lose weight, burn out and eventually ditch the sessions. Maybe some people enjoy and will do it three times a week for the rest of their lives but they are in the minority. It is much more common to get pleasure out of running or a sport and keep that up for long periods of your life.

My secondary point was basically that most people do the elliptical as an easy choice because they feel they would rather sustain an hour of mediocre work rather than build up slowly to doing some decent exercise.

I am not knocking doing light exercise but I reckon I get more out of an hours brisk walk than I would off an elliptical and the former is much more pleasant.


Original post by twelvepenguinbugs

And as for the last thing, that's just an elitist attitude, of course you can do HIIT on any regular treadmill because 'high intensity' is subjective. For most people going at 12kmph on an incline is extremely high intensity!


Not at all - HIIT normally refers to working at upwards of 95% of your all out sprint pace...

20km/hr is 4km/hr slower than a 15 second 100m which is something even relatively unfit people can normally manage.

Then you have the issue of slowing and increasing the belt speed taking time.

You can do interval training on a treadmill easily but HIIT is very difficult to do.
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by Mark85
You could just go at a slower pace on a treadmill or do intervals. At least you are getting better at something more relevant to sports, fun activities and everyday life.

I don't know why you assumed the only alternative was a treadmill anyway - you could do other forms of cardio even in a gym such as gym classes or sports like squash or badminton. You could also go outside and play a sport or go walking/running/hill climbing etc.

My main point was that it is a bit depressing for a young person to be working away like a hamster on a wheel on a boring gym machine for so long and that if as the OP mentioned, you want sustainable weight management rather than a cycle of gaining and losing - you would be better finding a hobby for life rather than doing a 'chore' like forcing yourself to do an hour on the elliptical. I would wager that the OP would lose weight, burn out and eventually ditch the sessions. Maybe some people enjoy and will do it three times a week for the rest of their lives but they are in the minority. It is much more common to get pleasure out of running or a sport and keep that up for long periods of your life.

My secondary point was basically that most people do the elliptical as an easy choice because they feel they would rather sustain an hour of mediocre work rather than build up slowly to doing some decent exercise.

I am not knocking doing light exercise but I reckon I get more out of an hours brisk walk than I would off an elliptical and the former is much more pleasant.

Not at all - HIIT normally refers to working at upwards of 95% of your all out sprint pace...

20km/hr is 4km/hr slower than a 15 second 100m which is something even relatively unfit people can normally manage.

Then you have the issue of slowing and increasing the belt speed taking time.

You can do interval training on a treadmill easily but HIIT is very difficult to do.


Never assumed treadmill was the only alternative just the most common example.

I know it may be hard to believe but elliptical machines are my favourite in the gym and a lot of my friends would agree (not to generalise but maybe it's a more female thing as I mostly see women using it in my gym?) It gets results, speaking from personal experience, and it's fun to just go on it listen to music/watch tv and not worry about falling off as you would on a treadmill. For beginners/people getting into fitness it's ideal and very satisfying, more so than a 'brisk walk' which would leave most people underwhelmed after an hour. I get the impression you have a good level of fitness already, probably better than a large majority of the population so what's right/enjoyable for you may not apply to most. There always seems to be this mass generalisation that as a nation if we all took up some form of sport we'd all be happy and healthy, but the truth is many people including myself detest the idea of organised sport and have never got on well with it. I doubt I'm in the minority either because if it were so preferable gyms wouldn't be packed to the brim from 5pm onwards as individual exercise fits into most people's preferences and lifestyles.

And about the HIIT thing maybe this is just a question of terminology, I didn't realise there was a specific definition. I could never go on a treadmill at 18kmph on an incline when I do 'interval training' and I find 15kmph sprints way more than enough on a decent incline. I was under the impression HIIT was mostly done on an incline anyway, in which case it'd be impossible for the majority of people to reach 95% of their regular flat ground sprint pace? Point is you can do very high intensity incline sprints and then a cool down on most treadmills which is what I meant, the rest is just technicalities of definition.
Reply 30
Original post by twelvepenguinbugs

I know it may be hard to believe but elliptical machines are my favourite in the gym and a lot of my friends would agree (not to generalise but maybe it's a more female thing as I mostly see women using it in my gym?) It gets results, speaking from personal experience, and it's fun to just go on it listen to music/watch tv and not worry about falling off as you would on a treadmill.


Fair enough if some people actually enjoy it - it just seems like most use them because they don't want to actually put the effort in to get fit but still want to feel like they are doing something. A lot of women and men don't want to break sweat - if they want to lose weight, they just wanna starve themselves and do hamster wheel stuff to use up energy.

Original post by twelvepenguinbugs

For beginners/people getting into fitness it's ideal and very satisfying, more so than a 'brisk walk' which would leave most people underwhelmed after an hour.


Well, when I say a brisk walk - I am talking about 8-8.5km/hr on an undulating route. An hour of that leaves me feeling invigorated.

Original post by twelvepenguinbugs

I get the impression you have a good level of fitness already, probably better than a large majority of the population so what's right/enjoyable for you may not apply to most.


No, I am relatively unfit but would rather do exercise that is either fun or makes me better at something fun or useful.

Original post by twelvepenguinbugs

There always seems to be this mass generalisation that as a nation if we all took up some form of sport we'd all be happy and healthy, but the truth is many people including myself detest the idea of organised sport and have never got on well with it. I doubt I'm in the minority either because if it were so preferable gyms wouldn't be packed to the brim from 5pm onwards as individual exercise fits into most people's preferences and lifestyles.


Well the benefits of organized activity in general are clear; there is the social aspect it is more likely to be an activity that is fun and is sustainable to keep up in the long term. It doesn't have to be a sport - it could be a gym class or a dance class or an arrangement with friends etc.

Original post by twelvepenguinbugs

And about the HIIT thing maybe this is just a question of terminology, I didn't realise there was a specific definition.


Well, normally HIIT means sprint intervals i.e. all out intervals.

Theoretically, HIIT is possible on a treadmill but in most cases is wildly impractical since even if you get a treadmill that goes fast enough and has a high enough incline etc. - the belt speed and incline level generally changes too slowly to do it properly. You could jump on and off the belt but with an incline involved - that becomes too difficult.
Reply 31
No-one uses the eliptial because they enjoy it. For example - would people still use it and enjoy it if it meant they wouldn't burn any calories atall, or as many calories? No. People use it because it's the quickest way to lose calories, hence why people on diets (mostly women) are always seen on them...men don't diet as much and as such aren't seen on them in the gym as much. It also barely improves your fitness atall, back when I was only using the eliptical (up to an hour) I could still barely run at a high speed for more than 5-10 minutes.

Running and the bike is so much more fun and so much better for improving your stamina and overall fitness. Personally prefer outdoors running and the stationary bike and don't pay attention to the calories I burn anymore, simply the intensity, km done and time now because exercise should be more than just burning calories. Just my opinion.
Reply 32
Calculate your TDEE using this http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ . This is your body's expenditure for daily tasks. You should be eating your TDEE -10% to burn fat.
Reply 33
Original post by Mark85
You could just go at a slower pace on a treadmill or do intervals. At least you are getting better at something more relevant to sports, fun activities and everyday life.

I don't know why you assumed the only alternative was a treadmill anyway - you could do other forms of cardio even in a gym such as gym classes or sports like squash or badminton. You could also go outside and play a sport or go walking/running/hill climbing etc.

My main point was that it is a bit depressing for a young person to be working away like a hamster on a wheel on a boring gym machine for so long and that if as the OP mentioned, you want sustainable weight management rather than a cycle of gaining and losing - you would be better finding a hobby for life rather than doing a 'chore' like forcing yourself to do an hour on the elliptical. I would wager that the OP would lose weight, burn out and eventually ditch the sessions. Maybe some people enjoy and will do it three times a week for the rest of their lives but they are in the minority. It is much more common to get pleasure out of running or a sport and keep that up for long periods of your life.

My secondary point was basically that most people do the elliptical as an easy choice because they feel they would rather sustain an hour of mediocre work rather than build up slowly to doing some decent exercise.

I am not knocking doing light exercise but I reckon I get more out of an hours brisk walk than I would off an elliptical and the former is much more pleasant.




Not at all - HIIT normally refers to working at upwards of 95% of your all out sprint pace...

20km/hr is 4km/hr slower than a 15 second 100m which is something even relatively unfit people can normally manage.

Then you have the issue of slowing and increasing the belt speed taking time.

You can do interval training on a treadmill easily but HIIT is very difficult to do.


ive been doing between 1 - 2hrs per day (sometimes split AM/PM) on the elliptical for the past 3 months and have lost 16lbs. I stick the ipad over the screen and watch Netflix. I have one main meal a day with yogurts and fruit whenever I feel like it. Never felt better, no chance of going into starvation mode and less food obsessed. The elliptical is like a hamster wheel and that is exactly what I like about it as it is now part of my daily routine, no impact and mindlessly repetitive...
When you say you are burning 600-700 kcal that isn't the total amount of calories you are burning in that day, it is solely the amount you are burning just from cardio, you'd probably burn another 900-1200 kcal just from your normal non-intensive daily routine such as walking about a bit, sleeping, resting, showering/bathing, all these calories add up and really if you're burning 600-750 a day in cardio (which is good!) then you should be eating more calories, but as long as you have a balanced diet and eat 3 meals a day you should lose weight quickly, if that is what you are intending then you're on track, but if you're not looking to lose weight balance out you intake with the calories you burn each day.

http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc this is a very useful website for getting a rough estimate of how many calories you burn each day, scroll through and key in how many minutes you do each exercise (even include brushing your teeth; it all adds up!) and you'l get a rough estimate, as long as you're not eating under 700 kcal or so of your daily intake of kcal then that is healthy, just make sure you do not starve yourself, it is a bad approach, you will just lose muscle mass and body fluids. :smile:

Good luck!
I'm now confused with all these calorie calculators etc, does 1,400 calories roughly burnt in a 10 or so k run in an hour sound right or way off? I used that calculator in the previous post....
Reply 36
Original post by robo donkey
I'm now confused with all these calorie calculators etc, does 1,400 calories roughly burnt in a 10 or so k run in an hour sound right or way off? I used that calculator in the previous post....


That sounds high. But maybe if you're really fast.
Reply 37
Original post by LauraRMCF
I workout at a crossramp of 13 and a resistance of 9 for an hour or so and am dripping sweat afterwards.

The only thing is, I get pretty bad headaches every time I workout and it lasts all day which I'm thinking is probably the fact that I'm not eating as much as I should. This morning I had about 300 calories for breakfast; fruit salad, a yogurt and cheese string lol. I went to Starbucks after my workout today, ordered a Skinny Vanilla Latte as I usually do but noticed that I felt pretty nauseous afterwards. This was about two hours after my workout.

If I was to eat 1600 calories, would you say it's still to little or just enough?

Drink a litre of cold water after a workout and during a workout, that works for me. I reckon the headaches are because of dehydration. I do what you do in circa 20 mins. Exercise bike it and burn 250 calories in 20 mins and it absolutely kills.

You burn a lot of calories though.
Original post by robo donkey
I'm now confused with all these calorie calculators etc, does 1,400 calories roughly burnt in a 10 or so k run in an hour sound right or way off? I used that calculator in the previous post....


I burn ~300 (I think) doing a 5k, so it sounds off. I'd say between 600-800 is more likely :smile:
I don't trust those calculators, unless it means the overall calorie burn from having an elevated calorie burning rate or something instead of just the pure run itself or something, thanks though, I thought it seemed reet too high