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Old 07-12-11, 08:10 AM  
stacydan
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: East Texas
Why am I burning less calories?

I used to burn 700-800 calories in an hour and a half zumba class, now I'm only burning about 350 and if the class is only an hour, I'll only burn about 200-250. I thought something was wrong with my Polar F11 but when I'm on the treadmill, the calories burned is comparable, even though I feel like I'm working out really hard. I lost alot of weight last year, but since the beginning of the year maybe only about 10 pounds since I am trying to maintain now and I was burning alot of calories earlier this year.

Any thoughts as to what is going on? It is discouraging and now when I'm through with zumba I feel like I have to do 30 minutes on the treadmill just to get a total calorie burned in the 400-500 range.

Thanks for your help!

Stacy
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Old 07-12-11, 08:22 AM  
PeakFitness
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Southern USA
When you weigh less you burn less calories.
As you get used to an activity, you get more efficient at it and wouldn't burn as many calories.
That's all I can think of.
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Old 07-12-11, 08:45 AM  
Sophie
 
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HR monitors aren't reliable for measuring calorie burn; all they measure is your HR and calculate calorie expenditure from a formula.

That said, as you become more fit, your overall work capacity increases, and that will still expend calories. How that actually relates to your (possibly lower) heart rate due to increased fitness is highly variable. If you're still working hard, it's quite likely you're still expending as much energy.

I'm in a rush right now, but hopefully neatski or KathAL can come along and point you to several HR threads covering this.
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Old 07-12-11, 08:53 AM  
vplan
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Stamford, CT
Quote:
Originally Posted by stacydan View Post
I used to burn 700-800 calories in an hour and a half zumba class, now I'm only burning about 350 and if the class is only an hour, I'll only burn about 200-250. I thought something was wrong with my Polar F11 but when I'm on the treadmill, the calories burned is comparable, even though I feel like I'm working out really hard. I lost alot of weight last year, but since the beginning of the year maybe only about 10 pounds since I am trying to maintain now and I was burning alot of calories earlier this year.

Any thoughts as to what is going on? It is discouraging and now when I'm through with zumba I feel like I have to do 30 minutes on the treadmill just to get a total calorie burned in the 400-500 range.

Thanks for your help!

Stacy
700-800 calories doesn't sound right. I never believed in those claims burning 1000 calories an hour. If you are fit to do such workouts then you never burn that much, becuase your body is very efficient at this point. I can imagine to burn such calories for 400 lbs person but I don't believe they would ever last that long either. I came to the conclusion that relying on exercise for burning calories instead of healthy life style leads to more disappointment and might lead to overtraining.
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Old 07-12-11, 09:20 AM  
KathAL79
 
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Yeah, I wouldn't put much stock in your HRM's calorie burn estimate. The key word there is estimate, and often those things overestimate. I roughly halve the calorie burn number I get from my HRM (I get numbers like 700, too, and I suspect they're much more like 350); that's how much I think of its accuracy.

The HRM itself could have something going on. Mine recently started giving me different numbers than I had been getting; first the battery was dying, and then the chest strap seems to be going. So check those. Plus you can get interference from other HRMs and cardio equipment. Maybe the person next to you is wearing one that's causing yours to give you different feedback.

I also notice that when I'm not feeling as well or not getting as much sleep or am warmer to begin the workout (whether because it's hotter out or because I've done something beforehand) my HR and thus calorie burn count go up more quickly, too, everything else being pretty much equal. So maybe you're just more rested on class days, or maybe the Zumba studio's a few degree cooler, too.

But if your HRM is still good and none of those other types of factors are factors, it's very possible that you're fitter. In that case, congratulations, and keep up the good work!
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Old 07-12-11, 09:43 AM  
neatski
 
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What Sophie and Kath said
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Old 07-12-11, 10:17 AM  
susan p
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I routinely burn about 500 calories an hour doing Zumba, about the same as running; I don't think 700-800 is at all out of line for a 90 minute class.

I do suspect something is malfunctioning, though. Yeah, you burn less calories when you weigh less, and you burn less calories when you're more fit (therefore more efficient.) But the difference would not likely be THAT big or that sudden.

You might need to get your battery changed. My HRM starts getting weirdly intermittent results when it needs a battery (rather than just going black suddenly.)

The calorie burn is just an estimate; nevertheless, it should remain fairly consistent (or change slowly over time in a predictible way.) It isn't absolute but it should be relatively stable.
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Old 07-12-11, 10:25 AM  
Debbie S.
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Susan, I agree. The calorie burn for a 90 minute workout is definitely not out of line.

Weighing less and your body becoming more efficient during a particular workout does lower the amount of calories burned during a workout, but I think what you are experiencing right now is too much of a change, so it could be your heart rate monitor.

If you are worried that you are burning less calories now, try switching up your workouts. I'm a huge believer in cross-training.
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Old 07-12-11, 10:57 AM  
Kathryn
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As your fitness improves, your HR for a specific activity will not get as high, and since that's what a HR monitor bases it's calorie burn calculations on, it will show a lower calorie burn.

I learned something quite interesting about HR at a racewalking clinic I attended: the standard "220-age" maximum HR calculation (which is what most heartrate monitors and gym equipment is based on) is off for most people. It was developed based on 50 non-exercising cardiac patients (and based on their peak HR during testing, NOT their actual max HR.)

We did lactate threshhold workouts to get a better estimate of our max HR. I'm 54, but for machines and my HR monitor, I have to put in 39, which is my max HR based on the 220-age calc. An 80-year-old guy who was there had to use 29 years old!
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Old 07-12-11, 11:00 AM  
ellaenchanted
 
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Originally Posted by Kathryn View Post
I have to put in 39, which is my max HR based on the 220-age calc. An 80-year-old guy who was there had to use 29 years old!


Wow! You two are awesome!

Also, judging by your avatar, you look 39 to me.
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