Which is the correct amount of calories burned to use in my fitness log?

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Anna334
Anna334 Posts: 28 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I use a polar watch which has a heart monitor and today it said I burned 600 calories for walking one hour. When I tried to put walking in the my fitness app it says for one hour of walking it is only half that amount 270. Which one should I used to log my total calories burned for the exercise portion of the log?

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  • snorris1983
    snorris1983 Posts: 24 Member
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    I would trust your watch as it has the heart rate monitor so it actually says what you burn whereas the fitnesspal one is generic. Each person burns different amounts depending on their fitness level.
    I just have a Fitbit but want to upgrade to the hr so I get a more accurate reading.
    I think when you input the walking as an exercise you can change the calories burned anyway to match your watch
  • Anna334
    Anna334 Posts: 28 Member
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    Thanks! I also think my heart rate monitor is a more accurate reading :)
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,481 Member
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    It does sound like a lot to be honest! Plus lots of outside factors can influence your heart rate, like temperature for example. Mind telling us a bit more? How heavy are you and how tall? How far did you walk in this one hour and were there any hills/mountains along the way?

    To give you an idea, slow running for half an hour for me results in about 200-250kcal, though I'm not particularly tall nor heavy. To get anywhere near 500kcal per hour walking I'd probably need to walk faster than what is still considered comfortable fast walking.
  • MakePeasNotWar
    MakePeasNotWar Posts: 1,329 Member
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    A typical 400 lb person would burn 510 calories by walking for an hour, so unless you are considerably heavier than 400 lbs, there is no way the Polar estimate is accurate. Yes, fitness levels can cause slight variation, but not the difference between 270 and 600.

    A heart rate monitor does not measure calorie burn. It measures heart rate and though it is sometimes useful in estimating calorie burn, there are many other factors that affect HR but not calories burned (like stress, heat, medications, etc.)
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    Unless you are a very fast walker (as in, faster than the average runner), or an extremely obese person, there is no way you burned anything close 600 by walking one hour. Even the 270 sounds too much.
  • Anna334
    Anna334 Posts: 28 Member
    edited June 2015
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    I have a fast heart rate because I am on medication that speeds my heart rate up fast. My heart rate today avg 150 Plus and I was walking slow because of this issue. Trust me it is hard for me to walk like this but I push myself to move. I will be seeing my doctor soon and I will tell her about my rapid heart concerns.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    The cheaper HRM's, even Polar, can easily inflate calorie burns too.

    Especially when starting out with exercise and out of shape.

    The cheaper models of Polar assume that your Fitness level (VO2max) is good (age/gender) if your BMI (weight/height) is good.
    And opposite too.
    And if the HRmax value is wrong for you (220-age), then you could be getting an inflated calories burn.

    If treadmill access - just test yours.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/774337/how-to-test-hrm-for-how-accurate-calorie-burn-is

    MFP database entry was assuming level walking at exactly the speed you selected. If that all matches, it's a good estimate, better than HRM actually.
    Did you select correctly, and really do that pace the entire time you entered?

    And don't assume the HRM is more accurate merely because it's different.
    That is faulty logic.
    Could also be said the database entry was different, therefore it must be more accurate, and it knows your weight and the actual pace you were going.
  • MakePeasNotWar
    MakePeasNotWar Posts: 1,329 Member
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    Anna334 wrote: »
    I have a fast heart rate because I am on medication that speeds my heart rate up fast. My heart rate today avg 150 Plus and I was walking slow because of this issue. Trust me it is hard for me to walk like this but I push myself to move. I will be seeing my doctor soon and I will tell her about my rapid heart concerns.

    If your meds are affecting your heart rate, it's not a good way to estimate your calorie burn. I take Concerta, and if I used my HR to estimate my exercise calories I'd be eating at least twice as much as I burn. For walking and running, the algorithms used to estimate calories burned have proven to be very accurate, as long as weight, incline, load, and speed data are entered correctly.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    Anna334 wrote: »
    I have a fast heart rate because I am on medication that speeds my heart rate up fast. My heart rate today avg 150 Plus and I was walking slow because of this issue. Trust me it is hard for me to walk like this but I push myself to move. I will be seeing my doctor soon and I will tell her about my rapid heart concerns.

    Then ignore completely the heart rate monitor for calculating calories burned. When walking, basically your weight and the total distance covered affect how many calories you burn.

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