Discrepancies between fitness apps

claritea1

Hi all, I eventually want to get a heart rate monitor, but for now I am recording my walks and hikes on fitness apps. After trying several, I have found two that have all the features I want (map, calories burned, altitude changes, steps, miles, graphs, etc). These are Map my Hike by Under Armor and an app called Walkmeter. Walkmeter has been giving me trouble by pausing mid-hike which is just unacceptable. So I am currently sold on Map my Hike, but worry about discrepancies of calories burned between the apps.

For example, I am female, 5’4” , 175lbs. I did a Hike the other day on wooded trails, some smaller hills with a couple medium ones thrown in. I hiked 3.49 miles in one hour and 6 minutes. Walkmeter registered 305 cal whereas Map my Hike says 687!! Huge difference!!

Another day I walked a flat paved loop around and around at the park. I walked for 1 hr and 10 minutes. Walkmeter says 305 cal (yes same as 1 hr hike) whereas Map my Hike says 395. So closer, but still nearly a 100 cal difference.

Another wooded hike 46 minutes, 2.07 miles. Walkmeter: 191, Map my Hike: 480.

Anyway, I know no app can possibly be exact, but as accurate as possible is what I’m looking for. Anyone know which sounds most accurate? Thanks!

100_PROOF_

Those apps also give me ridiculously high amounts of calories burnt.
When I compare them to my HRM, it's a huge difference. I uninstalled all of them because they where worthless as far as judging calories burnt.
With that being said though, everything will really be an estimate to some degree. It takes trial and error for some to really be able to accurately judge how many calories they may have burnt.
Same goes for gym machines. It's really a shot in the dark with them so I pay them no mind.
I see a lot of people over estimating calories burnt and then wondering why they aren't losing weight

GetFit0767

Remember, calories burned can't be directly measured easily. Therefore, any app (e.g., MFP, MapMy..., etc.) or machine (e.g., treadmill, bike, hr monitor, elliptical, etc.) is only going to give you an estimate based on some algorithm (formula).

Heart rate monitors are only a fairly good estimate for steady state cardio exercises. From my research, they are pretty good for a calorie estimate if you are doing cardio at a rate to induce 60-85% of your max heart rate (or 40-75% VO2 Max). See this article for a good explanation: MFP Article by Azdak .

Cardio machines (e.g., elliptical) use some formula that the manufacturer provides. The assumption is that they use some formula based on items such as weight, resistance / level, incline, speed, etc., to calculate an estimated calorie intake. I haven't seen a machine that takes into account gender.

Apps (e.g., MFP, MapMy..., etc.) also use some formula. It appears that most of them use a formula based on exercise type, age, weight, sex, and time to estimate a calorie burn. They may also use heart rate if it is either entered or tracked using a linked HRM. For example, I know MapMy doesn't use heart rate but the polar apps (Polar Flow / Polar Beat) do.

As you can see, no matter which method you use to estimate calories, it is still just an estimate based on some algorithm (formula). It only provides an estimate based the inputs and resulting in an average that a person may be burning. I haven't seen one that takes into account fitness levels or anything that is specifically tuned to an individual which has an impact on burns.

Therefore, my thought is that as long as you use a consistent method to track your exercise, whether machine, app, etc., you can get to the end result that you want. My suggestion, would be to pick one of the ways and track your exercise, then adjust your calorie intakes (more easily estimated or measured) and amount of exercise to get the result you want. For example, if you find that you aren't losing weight with the intake and exercise you are tracking, then either reduce intake or increase exercise.

jjpptt2

Ultimately, the number you get is just an estimate. Whether you get it from an app, from MFP, from an HRM, or where ever else... there's no guarantee one is going to be any more accurate than another.

So pick the one that you like using the most - the one that is most reliable or has the best interface or has the best reporting or has the best social component or whatever else, and go with it. But then be consistent and use that 1 source for calorie burns. Log them, monitor things over time, and adjust as needed. Unfortunately it's part of the process for most of us since this whole weight loss thing is far from an exact science.

If you're worried that the numbers are too high, that's fine... being a little conservative probably isn't a bad thing. Many people on log and/or eat back half the calories given them from exercise.

MeanderingMammal

claritea1 wrote: »

Hi all, I eventually want to get a heart rate monitor, but for now I am recording my walks and hikes on fitness apps. After trying several, I have found two that have all the features I want (map, calories burned, altitude changes, steps, miles, graphs, etc). These are Map my Hike by Under Armor and an app called Walkmeter. Walkmeter has been giving me trouble by pausing mid-hike which is just unacceptable. So I am currently sold on Map my Hike, but worry about discrepancies of calories burned between the apps.

For example, I am female, 5’4” , 175lbs. I did a Hike the other day on wooded trails, some smaller hills with a couple medium ones thrown in. I hiked 3.49 miles in one hour and 6 minutes. Walkmeter registered 305 cal whereas Map my Hike says 687!! Huge difference!!

Another day I walked a flat paved loop around and around at the park. I walked for 1 hr and 10 minutes. Walkmeter says 305 cal (yes same as 1 hr hike) whereas Map my Hike says 395. So closer, but still nearly a 100 cal difference.

Another wooded hike 46 minutes, 2.07 miles. Walkmeter: 191, Map my Hike: 480.

Anyway, I know no app can possibly be exact, but as accurate as possible is what I’m looking for. Anyone know which sounds most accurate? Thanks!

You might want to establish whether Walkmeter accounts for elevation in the calorie estimate. The figures for both are high, but Walkmeter is closer, from a "no elevation" perspective. Even with elevation MapMyHike seems ridiculously high.

At your weight, something like 55 cals per mile without elevation, so with steep climbing you might get 80 cals per mile.

Fwiw an HRM would give you a very inaccurate estimate as the relationship between HR and calories in lower range is quite poor.