It didn't seem like the calorie counter in my new heart rate monitor would be useful - just another frill. But it is useful - in showing the total calories burned, it tells me how hard I worked, giving a better measure of my exercise level. This tells me how well I did in meeting my goal for that day - recovery, hard, or maintenance - helping me to plan the next day.
For more effective weight control, dieters can compare calories burned to calories taken in.
Teri and I got DB 500 monitors; we used them together for the first time on 02/05/05. We bicycled the same distance at the same speed.
Similar amounts of calories were used: hers, about 1390, and mine, 1340. Where this gets interesting, is that she rode at a heart rate of about 135 beats/minute and I was at about 100. That indicates she was working harder, so I assumed she would burn a lot more calories. But no, laws of physics say it takes about the same amount of energy to cover a given distance at a given speed; she just wasn't as effective at generating the energy.
Where this gets ugly, is that an unfit, overweight or injured person may not have the strength to generate enough energy to burn the calories needed to lose or control, their weight. So they must focus on and diet and lifestyle changes. As the exercise habit is learned, fitness improves. With improving fitness, more exercise can be accomplished, ultimately allowing intense exercisers to eat all they want - a dieter's delight!
What is REALLY ugly, is that my birthday is around the corner. As I age, I can no longer do the workouts that I once did. Fewer calories are burned. My weight creeps up. I cannot exercise enough. I must eat less to control weight.
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