I know there are few questions around here comparing the treadmill and other equipment with the Ellipticals.

The reason I am asking is because I would like to know if anybody here lost a lot of weight *predominantly using Ellipticals for weight loss*.

I was using the treadmill for walking predominantly but a knee injury has stopped me from using them and resort to the Elliptical machine. I have only worked out thrice so far in the Ellipticals. The first 2 times I thought they were easier to work out than the treadmill and thus would not believe the calories burnt summary at the end of the workout -- but today I increased the resistance and the timing and I had a challenging workout. But for a 45 min workout at level 6, (and RPM around 40 - 42), the machine gave a ridiculously high number for calories burnt so I just took 50% of that number for actual calories burnt and am pretty happy with the number.

Have any of you used the ellipticals for your primary workout equipment and lost a lot of weight in it? What resistance level/duration and strides per minute do you go on it?

Yes, I know someone who has used the ellipticals to lose all of her weight (135lbs) she has also kept it off... She does weight training and eats clean too...

Oh, wow! 135 pounds! I'm amazed! Thanks, I feel very encouraged about Ellipticals now.

Can't say I have, personally, but I do use it in my routine...and I've noticed every elliptical is different. Some of them aren't very challenging for me, where some of them are (there's 4 or 5 different models at my gym). Sometimes I do a steady cardio workout. Sometimes I do intervals on the elliptical. Sometimes I squat while on it, sometimes I go backwards. There's a lot of ways to use it and incorporate it into a cardio routine. Just make sure you're continually challenged - and personally I think the best way to do that is to watch your heart rate, not the "calories burned."

My primary exercise for about a year was the elliptical (I've recently added strength training and the stationary bike, I sometimes use the treadmill, and I'm always doing activities outside), and I have lost weight, but I'm doing other things in combination... Are doing anything aside from this, such as paying attention to what and how much you eat?

I have both an elliptical and a treadmill. FWIW, according to my heart rate monitor I burn approximately 600 calories if I run for an hour and approximately 500 if I use the elliptical for an hour (with a resistance level of 5 and ramp angle of 30). That's pretty darn close.

Jen

Nonameslob and Jen, thanks for the reply.

Nonameslob, yes I am doing quite some other things too - mainly diet. I have been dieting pretty seriously since the beginning of my weight loss journey. And, though I am not doing a lot of other activities, I should add in that twice a week I am doing Pilates and everyday after the Elliptical workout, do some weight lifting (through the use of machines) for 10 min. I have so far lost 26 lbs, but I was doing treadmill walking all this time and just now switched over to the ellipticals.

I do feel challenged and am sweaty all over at the ellipticals. I suppose that is a true indicator of calories being burnt. (The heart rate climbs up to about 163 bpm so..). When considering the heartrate alone, it seems to be the ellipticals are even better than treadmill because the highest I could go on the treadmill was 3.5 mph and for this speed, my heart rate only went as high as 145 bpm.

Jen, I think I should also get a heart rate monitor. After a completely sweaty 45 min at the elliptical, I am cutting the calorie burnt summary by 1/2 and not feeling to happy about the resultant number. By the way, what is the ramp angle in the elliptical? The elliptical I use at the gym only has level, workout type, weight, duration, and RPM (resistance per minute or strides per minute) settings. I am curious to know what is the ramp angle and what is its significance.

My elliptical has a ramp on it, so not only can you adjust the resistance, but you can adjust the ramp angle so it's like moving uphill...

It's right that exercising on elliptical machine make you feel less burn when compare with other machines. But in fact, it's not different. Elliptical provides smooth and continuous motion of entire body that make you exercise easier and longer. It's not matter that what machine you exercise, it's matter that how long you workout on it.

I think as long as you get your heart rate up and sweat a little you'l loose weight. Ellipticals are smooth with out jarring of your joints but you're also supporting your own weight so it's good for bone density.