How many calories have I burned?
It’s a common question among all fitness enthusiasts, primarily when they work out on a treadmill.
Tracking the number of calories lost is essential if you are trying to cut down some weight.
One pound equals 3 500 calories. So, without knowing the calorie loss, you cannot judge the weight you have burnt. But the question is, how accurate are the treadmill calorie counters?
Factors That Affect Calorie Loss on a Treadmill
The amount of calories you can lose per kilometre depends upon a lot of factors. Let’s discuss them in detail.
Weight: Are you overweight or obese? Then you will lose more weight per kilometre. Do you know why? Because muscles of your body are working extra to move, which means you are burning more calories.
Stride length: Cadence and stride length are the two factors that decide your walking or running speed. The former is how you take your steps, and the latter is the length of your steps. Long strides need more energy, which means you can lose a high amount of calories. But running with a long stride is a less efficient way to work out because it might not allow you to cover much distance.
On the other hand, you can conserve energy and run further with shorter strides. However, it will help if you increase the cadence to reach high speeds. Choose any of the ways, and you will lose at least 100 to 150 calories per kilometre.
Intensity: If your heart and lungs are working harder during a workout, it means you are losing more calories. Your body seeks more oxygen while you are practising intense physical activities. So, you can keep track of your breathing and heart rate to know how good is your workout.
Speed: Cover more distance in less time, and you will enjoy dual benefits. You will burn a lot of calories due to the intensity of your exercise and lose them simply by breathing. In other words, you will lose more calories by running at high speeds.
Incline: We all know walking or running on slopes and hills is comparatively more challenging than doing these activities on a parallel surface. Take stairs to the fourth floor and come back to the parking lot without taking the lift to understand what we mean.
A treadmill with an incline function gives you the same facility because you lift your body above the ground, not only taking steps forward. Hence, you will burn more calories per kilometre depending upon the incline level, workout program and other factors.
Support rails: You will burn less calorie if you take the help of treadmill rails while walking, jogging or running.
Are Treadmill Calories Accurate?
We don’t think that the answer will be either yes or no because it depends upon the treadmill. Any of the fitness machines can show the lost calories only after knowing your weight. So, if there is an option to enter the weight in your treadmill, its calories loss output will be accurate.
You can use a formula for calories burned on treadmill. However, instead of doing all the hard work, you can try this treadmill calorie burn calculator, which uses your weight, speed, and distance covered to generate the amount of calorie loss. It’s one of the best calorie burn calculators you can find online.
Don’t lose hope
If a treadmill does not know your weight, its calorie counter will not be accurate. But does it mean that the displayed calorie loss is useless? No, because the numbers still indicate the hard work you are putting in to complete the running session.
For instance, if you jog for 60 minutes and the treadmill states, you have lost 600 calories. But, the next day, you run fast for 30 minutes, and the calorie loss is still 600 calories. It shows that you have applied the same efforts to complete both routines.
Do not think calories while working out. We know it’s interesting to see a high amount of calorie loss on the treadmill, but do you know what’s more exciting? The weigh scale.
Weigh yourself after every seven days. You can do it in the morning after leaving bed. A calorie counter can give you an idea about everyday calorie loss, but a weight scale is the moment of truth. So, work out regularly, follow a healthy diet, and you will get positive results.
FAQs
How does the treadmill calculate calories?
A treadmill uses an LCD or LED to show you the calorie loss calculated by an internal computer chip. This chip uses mathematical calculations, which includes your weight, speed and distance covered.
How many calories am I burning on a treadmill?
A treadmill is one of the best fitness machines for weight management. Regular workouts on a running machine tone your body and help you to build muscles. You can burn around 700 to 1000 calories per hour on a treadmill. The exact number depends upon your weight, speed, intensity, and distance covered.
What is the exercise that burns the most calories?
Running is the best way to lose maximum calories. Apart from that, you can try stationery bicycling and swimming to burn a high amount of calories.
How accurate are calorie counters on Fitbit?
Fitbit Charge 2 is the most accurate fitness tracker available in the UK market. Its error rate is somewhere around 25 per cent.
How accurate is iFit calories burned?
iFit fitness trackers can let you know the calorie loss and steps taken, wherein both of these measurements are accurate.
Final talk
You can shed a lot of calories by building your workout time. You might not be able to last long on a treadmill in the initial days, but keep trying and push your body limits to achieve more. After few weeks of training, you can efficiently run for 30 minutes or more than that.
Slowly, you will notice considerable weight loss, especially if you are regularly working out and following a strict diet plan. Plus, regular exercising will boost your confidence, and you will start feeling more positive in life.