None of those devices are perfectly accurate, but they can get you close. Taylor says she's a fan of the Polar heart-rate monitor since chest-strap monitors (like Polar) tend to be more accurate than trackers you wear on your wrist. This is typically based on your heart rate and other personal information you entered into the device settings when you set it up (like your weight, age and sex). Most fitness trackers, including the Fitbit, Apple Watch and Whoop, will tell you your calorie burn for each workout. How to track calorie burn when you exercise Heart rate-based fitness trackers and monitors are tools for determining your calorie burn. "Every body is different, which is why it is super important to work with certified professionals to personalize a program for you, monitor your program, make suggestions as you go and make alterations if needed," Taylor says. For example, a man who weighs 200 pounds is going to burn more calories doing the same workout as a woman who weighs 130 pounds. Remember, the number of calories you burn in a workout depends on your weight, sex, age and many other factors, but this number is a good starting place. She recommends burning 2,000 calories per week by exercising, and then trimming 1,500 calories a week from your diet, which breaks down to about 214 fewer calories per day.Ī general rule is to aim to burn 400 to 500 calories, five days a week during your workouts. One pound equals 3,500 calories, and you can split up how you create that deficit.
Once you have the total calories you burn at rest and eat in a week (multiply your BMR by 7 and calorie intake by 7) you can adjust your calorie intake and workouts so that you're burning about 2,000 calories a week, which is the goal that Taylor gives most clients.Īccording to Taylor, aiming to lose 1 to 2 pounds each week is a healthy goal.
Then factor in how many calories you're eating per day.
To do this, you should take into account your basal metabolic rate, which is the number of calories your body burns at rest. If your goal is to lose weight and you're tracking calories, then you have to burn more calories than you consume, creating a deficit. How many calories should you burn to lose weight?