Difference between FT7 reading and pedometer

AroraSumita

I just got my polar FT7 yesterday and today went for walk wearing it. I walked for one and half hours . Had pedometer application also open on my iPhone . Pedometer reading said I burnt 290 calories and FT7 displayed 599 kcal....

I confused... How can the diff be so huge!? How to know which is accurate?...

Athena53

I'd trust the Polar because the heart rate is probably a more accurate indicator of how fast you're burning calories. Having said that, sometimes I get crazy readings on the FT7. I once had it stick at 119 during an entire workout (nearly an hour), and it will also go from 114 to 135 in 30 seconds. Either I've got cardiac arrythmia, or it's a little messed up. If the heart rate readouts you're getting seem reasonable, though, I'd trust the FT7.

AroraSumita

Thanks for your input... If FT7 is correct- then I have been logging my exercise incorrectly for past 8 months! Sad...

theos_human

First off- love my Polar watch- I get so frustrated if I forget to bring it to a workout!

I find I also burn more on my FT4 than what fitness pal has me logging, or what the machines at the gym say.

That being said, you might want to look into the Gross vs. Net calories burned. The HRM measures gross calories. For instance- if you went for a 60 minute walk, and the FT7 said you burned 400 calories, most people would log 400 calories. But we forget to think about the calories we would burn in that same time period if we weren't being active (part of our body's natural processes, your TDEE). If you would have burned 50 calories in that hour doing nothing, then your net calories would be 350.

I hope that makes sense! Enjoy your walks- I still find it too chilly here to walk for 1.5 hours outside (Southern Ontario)!