#2 You’re Overestimating Calories Burned from Exercise
We’ve all seen the “calories burned” readout on the various cardio machines at the gym and been imbued with a tremendous sense of accomplishment at how many calories were burned.
But, here’s a dirty little secret most people don’t know -- that number on the readout is wildly inaccurate. More often than not, the number on the cardio machine is much higher than the actual number of calories burned.
This can lead individuals to consume a higher amount of calories during the day under the belief that they’ve actually been burning more calories than they actually have, which can lead to weight loss plateaus.
Furthermore, many people tend to lean on the handles or arm rest of treadmills or ellipticals which actually reduces how much of your body weight you’re having to move through space, utlitally decreasing how many calories you’re actually burning.
The takeaway here is to take the number of calories burned that the cardio machine tells you with a huge grain of salt. Those readouts are based on empirical formulas based on a large population of individuals. It merely provides an estimate, no more, no less.