So, my mom bought a treadmill with lots of bells and whistles. She lives behind me so all I have to do is walk through the backyard and through the gate and instant gym!Sort of. Anyway, I walked for 21 minutes mostly at an incline of 2.5 at a 3.0 - 3.5 mph. I was sweating, huffing and really feeling proud of myself. That is until I logged it on fitday and it said I burned 98 calories. How can something feel so beneficial and really work me over and be so little benefit? Is it really worth it? What am I getting besides sweaty, tired and a loss of 98 calories? I mean there is the sense of accomplishment of not dropping dead, but seriously, what's the point?

Sorry I am whining, it just seems like I did it for nothing.

Focus on the positives. In a short 20 minutes you burned off a snack. Almost 100 calories is not shabby in that short of time. Get a Heart Rate Monitor that calculates calories based on your personal stats. It may have been a little more. Also think about how much your cardiovascuar system is luvin u right now. :-) Hang in there and before u know it you will be burning 300 cals.

Pretty soon you will be able to do more and more and will love it. Hang in there! You are getting healthier, getting more oxygen, getting the blood moving, sweating out the toxins, etc. I know I started out walking 15 minutes about 2 months ago, now I can do 40 minutes and ran 3 minutes today. It does make a difference, give it time. You can do this!

Don't even think of exercise in terms of "calories burned." Think of it as something that you are doing for yourself to make you stronger-- part of the whole new lifestyle.

The more you do, the more your body will tone and shape and the better you'll feel. Before you know it, you'll be doing way more than you thought possible.

I know for myself I don't generally enjoy working out. But I finally found a workout that I enjoyed and it doesn't feel as painful. It is also nice when you can slowly notice yourself doing more and more.

I find that Fitday's exercise estimates are off.

If you have a heart rate monitor, that is a better estimate of calories burned.

HTH!
A.

You know....I wonder how accurate the Fitday is. I've heard of other people using this as well. I have used another calculator for awhile. I actually heard about it from another 3FC forum.
http://www.primusweb.com/fitnesspartner/calculat.htm

Try this out. It will go by time and weight...there are a huge list of activities for that time alottment. Well...even if it doesn't come out accurate, I'm sure it will make you feel better!!

Thanks ladies. Actually, the treadmill did say I burned 165 calories when I checked my heart rate. Fitday just didn't agree with the treadmill I guess. Oh well, I guess it doesn't matter. Thanks for the perspective ladies- that I am doing this for health not to "burn calories" necessarily. I just feel defeated sometimes because exercising while fat and out of shape is not fun!!!

I would try not to focus so much on the calorie burn. You are doing something good for your body and building your stamina. As you increase your frequency/regularity of exercise, you'll find you're able to do more and for longer.

I'd also suggest mixing it up so you're not always on the treadmill - that will help with boredom. There are plenty of exercise DVDs out there - some cable providers even have them on demand. Or try listening to music or an audiobook while on the treadmill.

Focus on the positives and pretty soon you'll be amazed at the improvements!

Yeah Keep at it. Soon your 21 minutes will be 45 minutes and a lot more calories. YES absolutely 98 calories is worth it.

Remember also calculators are estimates and vary GREATLY depending on your weight. Does fitday estimate calories based on your weight? I can't remember since it was long ago I was on fitday(use just sparkpeople now) but exercise burn varies based on ones weight.

PLUS it may burn 98 calories in that 21 minutes but the lean muscle you gain from working out will burn more even when you are back home sitting.

I agree mix it up. If you can get an exercise bike to add in there or even those blocks with peddles you can get at Target/Walmart fairly inexpensive. When I have a gym membership that is what I do instead of 45 minutes on one machine I move around. I usually start with 15 on treadmill and slow down and switch to "spinning" for another 15-30 or I may even do elliptical. So the variety was nice and kept me going.

Yep, another here who says ignore the calories. I'm finding now that that the less you weigh the fewer calories you burn and if I was focused on calorie burn it would be disheartening. My girlfriend and I each have a computer on our bikes. We rode the same path together at the same time. She burned 950 calories and I burned 638...if we believe it's accurate.

I focus on numbers like milage, time spent, and heart rate. When I first started running, my HR shot up to the 180's easily. Today at my peak, my HR was 119. To me, that's very impressive.

It's flat out amazing, shockingly amazing, how quickly our bodies adapt to the exercise we make them endure.

I am glad you asked. You burned some calories and also got:

* improved overall fitness
* reduced low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol)
* Increased high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (the "good" cholesterol)
* Low blood pressure
* Reduced risk of heart disease
* Reduced risk of type 2 diabetes

Whilst I understand your discouragement, I totally agree with the comments above that suggest focusing less on calorie burn from exercise, and more on the other excellent benefits that exercise gives you.

If all you do is eat fewer calories, sure, you will lose weight. But being a normal weight doesn't mean having a great (or even good) body, and being fit. People of a healthy weight for their height can have not-so-great physiques if there is no well-built muscle there to give them great shape and posture. People of normal weight can and will get sweaty and out of breath if they are unfit. People of normal weight can have problems with high cholesterol, even if they aren't at all fat.

By engaging in regular exercise as well as healthy eating, you manage to lose excess fat on your body, and build a great physique, posture, and level of fitness that you would not achieve through calorie restriction and weight loss alone. That's why I think you shouldn't be discouraged if you find that your estimated calories burned through a particular exercise doesn't seem terribly high - there are just so many other benefits that exercise can, exclusively, give to you.

Thank you Cheryl. I am a Type 2 Diabetic and one of my goals is to have it 100% under control so that I no longer need to take medication. I also have high blood pressure and would love to be off that medication as well. I still have young children and it makes me feel horrible that at age 38 I have these medications to take daily. Ugh! I will continue to challenge myself with exercise and I will ignore the calories burned and instead focus on the benefits I can't immediately see.

Oh, definitely! My favorite aspect of exercise!!

In three months time:
I brought my BP down from 155/105 to 116/65.
My resting HR came down from 85 to 46.
My blood sugar came down from 104 to 86.

And that was just the first 45 pounds! I don't know what has happened to my blood sugar since then and I need to have my cholesterol rechecked because it was bad.

THAT is what the point was. Seriously, that is the point. My DH recently took himself off his BP meds due to exercise.