Map my walk

AmandaIsherwood2
AmandaIsherwood2 Posts: 22 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Can anyone help. Is map my walk accurate, I've just walked 5 miles in 55 minutes and it say I burned over 700 calories. Sure that's too much.
Thanks in advance

Replies

  • Clarewho
    Clarewho Posts: 494 Member
    Well it obviously depends on your weight, which I don't know, but I'd say that sounds high. Put it this way, if I could burn that many through walking, I wouldn't run :lol: Most apps/machines will over estimate calories burned, the general consensus is eat only a proportion back and see how reality compares to your expectations over the next few weeks - then you can increase or decrease the amount you're eating back if you have scope. Hope that helps :smile:
  • AmandaIsherwood2
    AmandaIsherwood2 Posts: 22 Member
    Yes that's great thanks. Xxx
  • Rocknut53
    Rocknut53 Posts: 1,794 Member
    Another user recommended this for my question about how accurate MapMyHike is. Turns out the numbers are similar. I don't eat back all that insane amount of calories it says I burn on a 2-3 hour steep hike, just in case the numbers are inflated. http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs.html
  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,578 Member
    I usually take about half of what Map My Walk or any app says. Sometimes less.
  • AmandaIsherwood2
    AmandaIsherwood2 Posts: 22 Member
    Rocknut53 wrote: »
    Another user recommended this for my question about how accurate MapMyHike is. Turns out the numbers are similar. I don't eat back all that insane amount of calories it says I burn on a 2-3 hour steep hike, just in case the numbers are inflated. http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs.html

    Thanks, using this worked out to about 300 cals so will put that done. Xx
  • WKenL
    WKenL Posts: 64 Member
    First of all, 5 mph is a phenomenal walking pace! Good for you!

    As for the app, that sounds really off. At my weight, and at closer to 4 mph, I walk about 100 calories/mile. I would definitely check the profile settings and see if there's something inaccurate there. If you have something, it might not be a bad idea to use a second device to get another opinion, and even average the two. I've used a heart rate monitor at the same time as Map My Run and gotten completely different numbers.
  • eddiesmith1
    eddiesmith1 Posts: 1,550 Member
    You need to ensure the App has accurate info , still they always seem on the high side but as an example using map my fitness walking just over 10km yesterday in 96 minutes (9.6 min per km which is a good pace) weight 208 lb i got 960 calories. spark online gives me 656 and I've seen others as high as 1400. I just eat back at 50% most days. Versus running if the distance is the same the burn is about the same as far as i can tell. but you can run 10km a lot faster then 96 minutes ;) it's harder on knees etc. When you are starting out or older walking is the way to go and build up to a run as you get fitter (If I tried to run 10 k right now I'd be in a morgue)
  • Tweaking_Time
    Tweaking_Time Posts: 733 Member
    edited March 2016
    To muddy the waters a little, my apps tend to underestimate my calorie burns. If you want accurate, you will have to use a chest-strap HRM.

    But who cares about the accuracy...I am stoked to see that you walked for 55 minutes at a great pace. Congrats on that! Keep moving!

  • Rocknut53
    Rocknut53 Posts: 1,794 Member
    Tweaking_Time wrote: »
    To muddy the waters a little, my apps tend to underestimate my calorie burns. If you want accurate, you will have to use a chest-strap HRM.

    But who cares about the accuracy...I am stoked to see that you walked for 55 minutes at a great pace. Congrats on that! Keep moving!

    I agree!
  • markrgeary1
    markrgeary1 Posts: 853 Member
    I used it last summer. It seemed accurate in that my numbers looked right for the amount of weight I lost, BUT. It's very hilly where we live, very hilly. Mapmywalk was telling me that I was on these leisurely strolls while I was really huffing and puffing on the hills! Leisurely stroll my a $$.

    So while the numbers worked I believe it was totally an accident. My guess is Mapmywalk is off by 50%. YMMV.
  • JuneGem6471
    JuneGem6471 Posts: 1,001 Member
    I has been pretty close with what I get on the treadmill
  • AmandaIsherwood2
    AmandaIsherwood2 Posts: 22 Member
    I total forgot I was wearing a pedometer, ive walked 14000 steps today, and it says that's 930 cals burned for my weight, not sure how accurate anything is. I'm gonna eat my total calories allowed and any burnt today I wont use. xxx
  • thereshegoesagain
    thereshegoesagain Posts: 1,056 Member
    I'm 5'6 160 lbs and walk at 4 mph. I burn about 100 calories a mile.
  • sarabushby
    sarabushby Posts: 784 Member
    Are you sure it was 5mi not 5km that you covered in 55mins as that pace would be considered by most people at least a jog if not a run. Not that I in any way want to put down your achievement but just suggesting an error in the distance measurement / GPS tracking would explain why the calories are so high as it effectively considers that you 'ran' or at least 'jogged' for 55mins. That speed would be 8.78kph, our gym treadmills show 3kph as walk, 6kph as jog, 9kph as run. I struggle to 'walk' faster than around 6-6.5kph on the treadmill before needing to break into a jog.

    Regardless the distance covered though you still had a great workout so please please don't take this as negative, only suggesting a possible explanation.
  • AmazonMayan
    AmazonMayan Posts: 1,168 Member
    Sometimes that app is really close to what my HRM says I burned and other times it's very wrong - by like 1,000 over on our last hike. As soon as I saw the number I knew I hadn't exerted enough energy for all that - but that knowledge is based on tracking other times. It was 26k steps on hilly, rocky terrain :|

    I love the app just to see the map of where I've gone and where I am and how far to go. I don't even pause it now if we stop to rest or take in the views. (But I do pause the polar! Lol)
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    AmandaIsherwood2 wrote: »
    I total forgot I was wearing a pedometer, ive walked 14000 steps today, and it says that's 930 cals burned for my weight, not sure how accurate anything is. I'm gonna eat my total calories allowed and any burnt today I wont use. xxx

    @Amandalsherwood2 You should eat back around 50-75% of your exercise calories.

    If you don't eat any back long-term, you risk serious health problems.
  • AmandaIsherwood2
    AmandaIsherwood2 Posts: 22 Member
    Thank you all for the great advice. I've purchased a hrm so will try both devices and see how I get on. Xx
  • robertw486
    robertw486 Posts: 2,399 Member
    If you really want to be accurate, cross reference any app, HRM, or any other device to figure out if it's close. I think the link @Rocknut53 posted was the one I provided in another thread, where I suggested that I found MapMyAnything often estimated high. But when he compared his hike, it was giving him a fairly solid calorie burn.

    Different weights, apps, devices, and even at times the phones they run on can skew results one way or another. Add in app updates, possible major changes to app algorithms, etc, as well as how often the user updates their weight info.


    Since I never want to have to weigh my food intake, I've done a lot of digging to nail down realistic calorie burn. And even then, I trust no single source as being really accurate, with only a few (usually expensive) options. But with some searching, I think we can get reasonably close.

    So far, the app I have the most faith in overall for calorie burns is Runkeeper. But it's still high on some things, including walking IMO. But as with the example I say with Rocknut53, your mileage may vary.

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