MapMyWalk etc. apps and calorie estimations....

Windi38

So, I've been using the MapMyWalk and MapMyRide and MapMyHike apps on my Evo, and really like the ease of use and the ability to see where I've been and how many miles etc. The only thing I'm not thrilled about is the over estimation of calories. It seems like no matter if it's an app, or at the gym on the treadmill or even here on mfp, calories are seriously over estimated!

I bought a heart rate monitor over a year ago and was shocked at how different the actual calories used was compared to the estimated count.

Like today, I went on a bike ride around my neighborhood. Ended up bicycling about 7.4 miles, averaging about 12-13mph. I was out for almost 35 minutes. My heart rate monitor had me down for 262 calories when I pulled in the driveway. My average heart rate was in the 150-160 range...I got as low as 130s and as high as 175 briefly. I had started the MapMyRide app so I could see how far I'd gone and my average mph on the bike. It had me down for 570 calories!!! Seriously?? That's a 300 calorie difference!

On the treadmill/elliptical etc at the gym, my actual vs the estimated is usually over a 100 calories for the 15 minutes or so I'm on there.

It's no wonder we have so much trouble losing weight! Between that and consistently UNDER estimating our calorie intake, it's a struggle!!

llkilgore

MapMyRun used to be fairly accurate for me until they changed their algorithm last summer. Now it's way too high.

Windi38

MapMyRun used to be fairly accurate for me until they changed their algorithm last summer. Now it's way too high.

that's interesting. I use the MapMyWalk for my nightly dog walks in the neighborhood, and it is too high as well. It has me easily at over a hundred calories with a simple 30 minute or so walk, and last time I used my hrm during a walk, I barely burned 60, because my heart rate never got over 110-120 range. I think it spiked at 138 once, but was normally around 110. That's NOT going to burn over a hundred calories!!