How the machine calories calculator works
Why displays drift high
Three stacked reasons: (1) the default-weight problem — machines that never asked your weight compute for a 68 kg reference person, overreading for anyone heavier by the weight ratio, and underreading at low weights; (2) gross-not-net math — displays count the resting baseline you were burning anyway; (3) mechanical optimism — manufacturers benchmark against flattering studies, and validation work (the classic Stanford machine comparison among others) consistently finds 15–40% overestimation, worst on ellipticals.
How the correction works
The calculator applies an evidence-informed factor per machine type, adjusts for the weight question (a machine that used its default gets rescaled to your actual weight), and subtracts the resting baseline for a net figure. The output is the number you could defend with a metabolic cart, within the usual ±15%.
What to do with the honest number
- Compare sessions, not bites: the value of burn numbers is relative — this week vs last, session vs session. One consistent method (ours, or the machine's, but not both) keeps comparisons meaningful.
- Do not eat it back 1:1 unless weight gain is the goal — eating 100% of exercise burn erases the deficit exercise created; the standard advice is to count 0–50% of the honest number as food.
- Watch heart rate, trust the trend: HR is the honest effort signal within your own history; calories are the budgeting layer on top.