So You Want To Burn Calories Do You?

Boss Man · Post by **Boss Man** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 7:10 pm

Ever heard or read something like this.

I burned 300 calories before on a Treadmill.

How do you know?

The little display said so.

Good for you. A glorified calculator with a Star Trek, Captain Kirk style look, managed to initiate a Vulcan Mind Meld, on your Gastrointestinal tract, and gleaned this information, following a conversation with your Intestines, in Intestian English.

Earth to Mother ship. Mothership to Earth here, come in Earth. Earth to Mothership, so you think you burned 300 calories on a Treadmill, yeah good luck with that.

Right let's get back to the ethos of these smoke and mirrors readings.

Example.

A Treadmill, set up onto a level 3 interval setting, programmed for 20 minutes at around 4mph.

You get a calories burned reading, which means nothing.

In order to quantify that reading as accurate, you would need to set a Treadmill up like that again, different make or model, same setting, either 1-2 days later, and then repeat the experiment every 1-2 days, for about 2-3 weeks, with differing Treadmill models.

This creates a slew of problems.

1. How do you get access to all those differing models of Treadmill? Unless you're part of an ongoing scientific experiment, you probably can't.

2. What did you consume before you used the Treadmill?

Examples, Bowl of Cereal, Chicken and Veggies, Banana, 1/2 a Gatorade drink.

3. When did you consume the food and / or drink?

30 minutes before, 40 minutes before, 1 hr, 10 minutes before?

Did you have any retained waste matter in your system, altering your power to weight ratio slightly?

Alternatively did you consume nothing, in which case did you go to the toilet, again affecting power to weight ratio, dependant on the answer you give?

4. How much did what you consume weigh? A Chicken and Veggies meal, will weigh more than 1/2 a Gatorade, and have a different Carb / calorie release mechanism, meaning what you weigh afterwards, and how quickly that alters based on the digestion rate of what you consumed, will affect the reading, even if it's just 0.2 calories.

5. Assuming you are part of an ongoing scientifc experiment, and can access many differing Treadmills over a 2-3 week period, are the readings going to stay the same?

Probably not, as you could weigh even as little 0.5 lbs more or less by the 10th day, even if you run at the same time each day. Even if you don't, you might have a slightly lower Fat level, and slightly higher muscle level, or vice versa, affecting power to weight ratio slightly, depending on how your physiology altered.

6. Are you stressed a lot? Do you store Abdominal Fat from increased Cortisol production, at the same time, potentially breaking down Amino Acids in your diet, potentially altering muscle Levels, and therefore power to weight ratio a little.

7. Do you maintain a consistant, regular water intake? How does this contribute to your overall weight, and therefore power to weight ratio, or if you don't keep water intake consistant, how does that affect possible retention and power to weight ratio?

8. Do you have a high Salt intake? Does this cause increased water retention, affecting power to weight ratio, and contributing to something like Edema?

9. Are you on any medications, that might increase or decrease Weight?

10. Do you have any Metabolism issues, possibly relating to things like Thyroid, Parathyroid and Gastrointestinal Tract activity, governing things like Bone density, Fat levels and muscle mass?

11. If you drink Alcohol or sugary carbonated drinks, do you potentially store Fat from caloric conversion, drinking such things? Bearing in mind you will affect Fat levels in some way, on days where you drink, more, less, or not at all, owing to the inconsistant caloric intake from such drinks, unless of course you drink exactly the same drink(s), in the same quantity every day, still affecting Fat Levels, daily caloric intake, and power to weight ratio.

12. Do you walk or Cycle, to the place where the apparatus is, or get a bus or Car, and do you do one of those all the time, or a mixture of all three? Bearing in mind any prior activity could affect weight slightly, from reduced Fat and / or water, as opposed to using Combustion power and being sedentary, which long-term could affect a future reading.

So do you still think you burned a specific number of calories, because a little glorified calculator said you did?

swanso5 · Post by **swanso5** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 4:56 am

thank god for the bossman

Christopheel · Post by **Christopheel** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 5:31 am

lol yes this little article is really handful.

HOUSTON TEXAN · Post by **HOUSTON TEXAN** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 9:33 am

Yeah I enjoy this. That's why I always laugh at cardio bunnies

SarahPT · Post by **SarahPT** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 3:09 pm

Very very good information! Those readouts are not accurate. Waste of time to worry about what it says.

But Houstan Texan, I wonder why you say you laugh at "cardio bunnies?" Laugh at someone exercising and doing something healthy for themselves? Just because the calorie reader is not accurate? Some people really enjoy cardio and enjoy working to make their heart and lungs stronger. As an endurance athletes, the people hoisting around heavy weights in a gym have very different goals than me, but I don't think that's anything to laugh at. I'm not tryng to be rude, I just don't understand where you're coming from.

Boss Man · Post by **Boss Man** » Thu Oct 30, 2008 9:16 am

I think he's referring to people who think lots of Cardio loses weight. A common misaprehension amongst some people, mainly I think women, who are perhaps skeptical or afraid to use weights.

Of course he may say something different.

SarahPT · Post by **SarahPT** » Thu Oct 30, 2008 4:09 pm

Oh I know, I thought that at first, but it had nothing to do with your post so it didn't make sense.

vamp · Post by **vamp** » Thu Oct 30, 2008 4:14 pm

Cardio Bunnies, lol, Our one trainer preaches that the only way to lose fat is cardio. Every person he gets ahold of ends up doing hours of cardio, crappy machines for weights with high reps and low weights, and maybe some lightweight dumbbell curls and kickbacks for those flabby armed people. These are definately not what I would call bunnies, lol.

Why are so many trainers (swanso excluded!) big on machines and put down free weights so much like they are bad for you?

I think people like the calorie number so much because for so many its proof that they did work, lol. The comment I treadmilled for 5 kms today doesn't sound as good to them as I burned 500 calories on the treadmill today.

What used to be the buzz years ago was jogging for so much time or so many miles a day, now its turned into calories in such a time. Its become a bragging right, proof of working out and a feel good number for people. If they only realized it means squat!

Cheers

swanso5 · Post by **swanso5** » Thu Oct 30, 2008 6:55 pm

just to add -

intense cardio (some people actually do it) causes a metabolism shift so you actually burn calories after the session...the machine has told you that you used 500cal's for the 15min HIIT session but in neality it can be 9 x that number....now you're looking for muscle gain but wait a minute you've just increased your metabolism and calorific needs but your food is still the same...uh-oh you've lost muscle

this works the opposite way too...aiming for wt loss, you think you've burned 500cals again so you "eat" accordingly but again you'll expend more cal's afterwards so all of a sudden you're exercising far too much for the 2 salads you have a day and uh-oh...muscle loss again

oh and why don't people count wt sessions in their calorie counting?

Boopster · Post by **Boopster** » Thu Oct 30, 2008 8:28 pm

Weight training is a major misconception for most of the people (men and women). I have been training at local gym for about 5 years now and I see the same individuals sticking to a cardio routine with no weights whatsover. They wonder why nothing is happening. How come I'm burning so many calories and I see no change??? Women make comments like I don't want to be big and bulky. female friends...that will not happen. Women are not designed to have the bulk that men do, not without some outside help. And the trainers try to focus on the weights, but time and time again, the members choose the easy way. It's much easier to walk on treadmill for 45 minutes than to put a weight lifting program together and add 20 minutes of high intesity cardio, and mix in a good diet. It takes discipline and yes hard work, but a little goes a long way. This one girl at the gym spends hours on the elliptical and treadmill, and bitches about no results.....weights girl....weights! Very frustrating.

vamp · Post by **vamp** » Fri Oct 31, 2008 8:29 am

agreed it is frustrating boopster, Got a few of them at gym. They are getting a good lung and heart workout, but I swear they haven't dropped a pound in a month, or even a fraction of an inch somewhere. Poor souls, it takes everything I got some days not to hit their emergency stop and pull out there headphones and yell in their ears "Now that you've wasted the last year trying to lose the fat do you really want to now?"

Instead I just shake head. You can only lead them to water......

Cheers

Boss Man · Post by **Boss Man** » Fri Oct 31, 2008 10:29 am

I concluded once some people must be under the impression, there are six types of Macronutrients.

Proteins, Carbohydrates, Fats, Alcohol, Chocolate and Salad.

Also it seems for some, that unless you eat at least 2 salads a day, you will never lose any real weight, because salads have some kind of magical thermogenic effect, but you need at least 2 a day, because it's like a lot of medications, where you need more than one pill a day or they don't work, I think some people believe that about Salads. I.E. more Salads are better, and are the most important part of the persons regime.

Frenchmaid1969 · Post by **Frenchmaid1969** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 10:40 am

Boss Man wrote:I think he's referring to people who think lots of Cardio loses weight. A common misaprehension amongst some people, mainly I think women, who are perhaps skeptical or afraid to use weights.

Of course he may say something different.

HUM.. OK I ALWAYS TAUGHT THAT IN ORDER TO LOOSE WEIGHT YOU NEED TO DO CARDIO...!!! Men oh men ... i am lost with all that stuff....

So should you do cardio or not...like biking, shipping rope?

Boopster · Post by **Boopster** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 12:16 pm

Weight train= 3 days a week
Cardio= 3 days a week

cassiegose · Post by **cassiegose** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 12:50 pm

And not long slow cardio either... INTENSE cardio. If you must do long slow cardio save it for one day a week and do the intense cardio the other 2 days.

Hey what ever happened to Vamp?