The weight loss 'wall' - keep banging my head :-/

[Miranda]

http://www.livestrong.com/article/49...rate-monitors/

This is a link above that should go to a short article about HRM accuracy & depending how you set them.

One of the best general ways I have found to set them is by working the max HR number "backwards", which closest resembles your PE (perceived exersion).

OK, so when you are at your "jogging with a friend" intensity, i.e. sweating, working, but at a steady sustainable pace, and enough wind left over to chat a short sentenance, i.e. "how was your day?", that's about 75% of your MHR. So...

Take that number of BPM as your HR and DIVIDE by 0.75 (i.e. 75%) and use THAT number as your "max HR" in the manual override setting in your monitor.

***my Polar is a F6... it's...OK (right side button)...scroll up, settings...user...view user extra settings...HR Max...<<<this is where you override the max "stock number", i.e. 220-your age is "stock set"

I found this suggestion of calculating backwards from a Spinning instructor forum I use for support. And I think tho it's simple, it's pretty close/good.

I field tested it road cycling once when I was sprinting on a hill to escape a chasing dog. By the time I escaped I was truly near my Max...i.e. seeings black spots, nausea, ready to pass out literally. Since I use a Garmin outside, I was able to pinpoint my heart rate on the route with the dog chasing and look at the number. That number as my max ties out with my 75% backwards equation. Hope this makes sense.

Sooooooo... I concurr that I think your calories are overestimated. Alot of people make that mistake. Over-eat based upon calorie burn over-estimation. I usually ask "is your monitor set correctly? Or when was the last time you re-checked your current fitness level against the last time you re-set it?"

Hope this helps!

p.s. IF the gym spin bike has a computer that picks up HRMs, the "stock settings" for calorie burn was set for a 150lbs male approx age 30s...if memory serves me right from when one of my gym's I taught at had them (was Spinning bike brand)...thus you can see the inaccuracy assumptions right there

[WindingRoad]

Thanks Miranda! OK the dog story just made me LOL! About a year or so ago I did manually set my HR Max and VO2 on my F6 and had good reading after that. I think since the strap battery has been dying the readings were progressively getting crazier until it was showing me at over 200 BPM. I recently bought a new Polar F7 and oddly it doesn't seem to have the ability to manually set those things BUT it's also giving me very realistic calorie burns so go figure, maybe they improved something? All I want to know is my calories is that too much to ask :-O No seriously, I feel at least so far the new F7 is giving pretty good readings, they aren't way off from treadmills or even MyFitnessPal's website which before they were way off. The new F7 also has the ability to change the friggin' battery yourself thank goodness.

[Miranda]

Thanks Miranda! OK the dog story just made me LOL! About a year or so ago I did manually set my HR Max and VO2 on my F6 and had good reading after that. I think since the strap battery has been dying the readings were progressively getting crazier until it was showing me at over 200 BPM. I recently bought a new Polar F7 and oddly it doesn't seem to have the ability to manually set those things BUT it's also giving me very realistic calorie burns so go figure, maybe they improved something? All I want to know is my calories is that too much to ask :-O No seriously, I feel at least so far the new F7 is giving pretty good readings, they aren't way off from treadmills or even MyFitnessPal's website which before they were way off. The new F7 also has the ability to change the friggin' battery yourself thank goodness.

YW Glad it was of some help! Ya, I know, I just sent my F6 in to get serviced and the battery changed. Hmm, there outta be a way to override if you needed to. I have emailed and called the place where I sent mine to for service. It was from a Polar web site. This place was in Ann Arbor, MI (800)-742-4478. But, it sounds like it's still working ok with the new one. It's SO hard to get those pounds off! I'm struggling with some of my own *sigh*. Good Luck!

[WindingRoad]

I would have kept my old F6 but I spilled gasoline on it last summer and ever since the face has been badly pitted. I buffed a bunch of it out but then my LCDs started burning out too. I am a little surprised they didn't have the override on the new model. I wonder why they opted not to do that. Don't feel alone, I'm still struggling too. I quit weighing, it is just driving me nuts it fluctuates so much I am now just going by size and clothes.