How accurate do you find the calories burned data from your fitness tracker/HR monitor?

ErinMichelle31

Hello,

I recently purchased the Garmin Vivofit2, which I'm very happy with so far because of how seamlessly it has integrated with my myfitnesspal account. I was wondering what other people's experiences have been with the calorie counter when using the heart rate monitor. My preferred method of cardio is the elliptical because I have some joint pain that makes running somewhat painful. When I enter my height and weight into the elliptical, it gives me a reading of about 300 calories burned every 30 minutes. The Vivofit2 gave me a reading of 320 calories for 45 minutes. I'm inclined to trust the Vivofit2 over the machine, but I was wondering what other people's experiences were with these devices. Do you find their data regarding the number of calories you have burned to be generally accurate? Any input is greatly appreciated!

NorthCascades

I've been doing some testing to find that out. Here are the results of three tests, the first is of a Garmin Edge 800, the second two of a Garmin Fenix 3 HR, both using a chest strap (Garmin HRM-RUN). I'm testing against a power meter (Garmin Vector 2).

Test 1:
11.3 mile "steady state" bike ride, 55 minutes, 538 feet elevation gain, 147 bpm, 150 w, 493 measured calories, HRM estimated 704 calories, that's 43 % over

Test 2:
Warm up: 11:53, 125 bpm, 120 w, 85 kilo-Joules, 115 calories estimated from HR (35 % over)
HIIT: 10:48, ~160 bpm, ~450 w, 118 kilo-Joules, 145 calories estimated from HR (23 % over)
Cool down: 9:37, 129 bpm, 100 w, 57 kilo-Joules, 77 calories estimated from HR (35 % over)

Test 3:
36.5 mile "steady state" bike ride, 2 hours 46 minutes, 127 bpm, 127 w, 1,267 measured calories, 1,241 calories estimated by HRM (spot on)

The last one surprised me. I plan to do more testing until I sell my F3.

TeaBea

Activity trackers are fancy pedometers. They estimate step based activity best. HR monitors are best when used to estimate steady state cardio calories. Different individuals, different exercise types, different models - comments and opinions will be all over the map.

I would absolutely trust your device more than the machine. The machine sounds high and may be including your BMR calories also (the calories you would have burned in that time frame doing nothing). Start with the smaller number.....test that over time and you will get a good feel for your device.

MelanieCN77

FWIW the gym machines and my Apple Watch always report either the exact same or within 1 bpm of each other. Using the calorie burn data from the AW I've lost 40lbs without any confusion over activity burns.

TavistockToad

I have a garmin forerunner 225 and have found the calories to be pretty accurate against bodyweight in pounds x 0.63 x distance in miles

cwolfman13

My Garmin 500 bike computer with HRM seems to be accurate enough if I deducted the calories I would have expended during that same time doing nothing.

TimothyFish

cwolfman13 wrote: »

My Garmin 500 bike computer with HRM seems to be accurate enough if I deducted the calories I would have expended during that same time doing nothing.

That seems to be my experience as well, but I haven't been tracking my calories very closely. It just seems like the calories I leave on the table are slightly over what I would've burned during the time I ride my bike and I've been losing gradually.