How accurate are the exercise calories?
mathiar86
Posts: 26 Member
Just went for a long hike today and the Fitbit told me I did ~1000 worth of calories burned. X number of minutes in HR zones etc.
is that an accurate estimate or is this likely to be too high? I'm using it with MFP and the extra calories show I need to eat a lot more. But if it's overestimating I may end up eating a lot more than I should be?
is that an accurate estimate or is this likely to be too high? I'm using it with MFP and the extra calories show I need to eat a lot more. But if it's overestimating I may end up eating a lot more than I should be?
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Replies
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Everything is an estimate and Fitbit's estimate - based on your steps and your heart rate - is likely to be much more accurate than any other way of estimating the calories burned on your hike.
Only time will tell whether your Fitbit is accurate for you. Some people find it is almost exactly right, others find that it underestimates calories burned and some of us find that it overestimates a little. To really get a handle on this, you need to give it at least a month and try to log your food very accurately during that time. Then you can look at your calories in vs. calories out (conveniently found on your Fitbit profile page) and do the math.
You want to make sure you don't create too much of a deficit over the long term. It can permanently affect your ability to burn calories and make it harder to maintain your desired weight. So, eat back a big chunk, at least, of those hiking calories.0
