Congratulations!!! on adding workouts to your daily routine. I agree the calories on the equipment varies for individuals depending on the incline of the machine and speed. I experienced this same thing and decided to invest in a HEART RATE MONITOR. You enter your personal information (example:age,weight,height ect) and it calculates, your total workout time, Avg HR, MAX HR and Total Calories Burned. Cardio is an excellent way to burn fat. Make sure you do workouts you enjoy. When you get use to a certain machine or a particular workout you need to push yourself a little harder to keep seeing results. INTERVAL TRAINING is a great way to keep your heart rate up. Keep up the good work.