Exercising for general health is obviously beneficial. However, the distinction should be made between general exercise and weight loss exercise. This is because the activities that you perform for weight reduction need to be calculated as precisely as possible for their calorie burn rate.
Everybody burns more calories through physical activity. But, the quantity burned by an individual will be determined by factors such as the person's size, age, gender and whether the activity was an aerobic exercise or strength training. Also, the length of time spent on the activity and the intensity level must be taken into account, as well.
Generally, there are a couple of ways you can measure the amount of calories you are losing through exercise. You can buy one of the fancy new gadgets on the market that calculate everything for you or you can plug some data into any number of online calculators for an estimate of what your body is consuming and burning off.
The newer devices are quite good and accurate. They can also be expensive if you opt for the most precise models. Some of the more comprehensive models I reviewed went for upwards of $200. The best ones are small enough to be worn on your arm or wrist and can monitor not only movement, but also body heat and moisture, log the calories you burn while sleeping and everything else one may want to know about their calorie count. You can then keep track of all this information on your computer or smart phone. These are wonderful for a detailed analysis of a weight loss exercise and overall calorie management. And, some models communicate with other devices to track important information such as heart rate.
Besides cost, these electronics do have some other downsides. You may have to build a database with your diet plan on some of the more sophisticated models, especially if you prepare most of your meals at home. And you will need to upload info to your computer and log your results. But, once you have it set up, you are good to go.
The other way to go is manage your calories by charting and estimating, to the best of your ability, based on numerical graphs and research or using one of the online calculators. With these, you simply input your personal information regarding gender, weight, height, etc., your diet and exercise routine. Many of these are free and are quite good as long as you put in accurate data. No sense fibbing. The machine really doesn't care. However, you need to be meticulous about the process.
Honestly, I really want one of those sweet little gizmos. But, I'm just too much of a tight wad. And, I've gotten into a habit of keeping up with everything on one of the online methods everyday. Well, most days.
No doubt, some of the whiz bang burn calorie counters can be more accurate and convenient than the alternatives. On the flip side, they can be expensive and somewhat cumbersome to initially set up. Either method of measurement will work. That is, either will work to the extent that you use them. A $200 monitor isn't much good if you go for a five mile run and don't wear it. Conversely, what good is a free calculator if you don't take the time to input your data?
Knowing how many calories you are burning from your workout is really important from the standpoint of weight loss exercise. The key is to be consistent using whichever method you prefer.
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