Could my calorie tracker be inaccurate?

[Mischaruns]

I wear my Apple Watch everyday. It calculates my burnt calories based of my height, weight and heart rate but I have a low resting heart rate (44 bpm). When I’m running (for an hour) it’s saying I’m burning around 700 calories but that seems way too high, same as with when I got cycling (hour and quarter) it’s saying around 900 calories. Could the results be affected by my low heart rate or are they more accurate than I think?

[IndigoBlue61]

Good evening Mischaruns

I’m afraid I don’t understand how these modern gadgets calculate calories burnt, hopefully some else will come along and explain it.

I do know that most weight loss experts agree that getting the eating under control is the most effective way to lose weight, “you can’t out run a bad diet” as the saying goes, which reflects the difficulties in accurately calculating fat loss through exercise.

Sorry I can’t be more help

Anna

[Mischaruns in reply to IndigoBlue61]

Thank you for the advice. I can’t wrap my head around these calorie counters either

[IndigoBlue61 in reply to Mischaruns]

Are you following the 12 Week Plan Mischaruns ? Did you calculate your daily calorie target using the nhs BMI checker? It asks for your activity level and allows for this in the target range it suggests

Anna

[Mischaruns in reply to IndigoBlue61]

No, I haven’t yet. I certainly will check that out though. Thank you!

[James40Cheshire]

I have no idea how they work exactly, but what I do know is that they are a good indication of calories burnt rather than totally accurate. Your weight, heart rate and what the device thinks you are doing (either because you tell it or what it detects) are all factors it uses to estimate the calories burnt from my experience . My fitbit thinks that I am cycling when I mow the lawn which always gives me a chuckle!

The calorie estimate from your device is great for monitoring your activity day to day or week to week, but not for estimating what you should be eating.

[Zaney-boo]

I know that when I run on the tread mill for 10 mins I burn around 100-110 calories.. and a bike uses a lot less, as the bike helps the inertia (so I would say that’s about right)

[debth 2lbs]

I think you should realise that these gadgets are in their infancy and not 100 % accurate but are great for a guide. Saying that make sure it’s slightly further up your wrist than a watch to get accurate heart reading. Burning calories is based on the info you have already given it weight height etc and how much it thinks you are moving

[baronblaze]

I think different watches use slightly different algorithms to calculate calories. I also have a low resting heart rate of around 40 bpm. At one time i used 2 watches a garmin (which had no heart rate monitor) and a basis peak which did. The basis peak always calculated my calorie output as substantially below the garmin by at least 50%. No watches can accurately calculate calories used as people expend different amounts doing the same activity. I would estimate that 700 calories for a one hour run is very low unless you are a stick insect or your pace was very low.

runnersworld.com/tools/calo...