Don´t get fouled by your apps calorie calculator

thomasewards
thomasewards Posts: 23 Member
edited December 3 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi,

We who struggle to make a lighter version of ourselves often use various kind of apps helping us keeping track of our achievements. This is good and in many times crucial for us to get going.
However, using these apps have a thumb rule, the more data you provide it with the more accurate the result gets.
I would like to demonstrate the huge differens in how Endomondo calculate calories with and without a HR-meter.
This is not Endomondos "fault", it´s just way to much guessing for to be accurate using the data it has at hand.

The two images are from yesterday morning and this morning, exactly the same distance but please note the differens in calculates calories burned.

I write this based on my own experience and that is: Faulty achievements can be devastating for a working weight loos as my eating disorder give me incentive to use up all eared calories. If this value then is wrong it might, in worst case, even make You gain weight.

Just have this in mind, it might make the differens for You? <3

The lower value (646) is from today With HR-meter subsequently the higher value (977) is from yesterday Without HR-meter.

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Replies

  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,681 Member
    When it comes to cycling, I use the formula 100 cal for every 5 km. So, cycling 18.73 km would therefore burn about 375 calories.
  • thomasewards
    thomasewards Posts: 23 Member
    ...that makes in even worse....thanks for input!
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,681 Member
    I'll just add that I log my exercise manually into MFP. When I cycle, I choose the option "Bicycling 16-19 km/h" ... it's the 'light cycling' option, and I choose it whether I feel like I've done a really intense ride or not. When I select that option, MFP does a little calculation and gives me the number of calories I've burned according to MFP's formulas.

    Interestingly ... that number of calories MFP says is pretty close to my 100 cal for every 5 km formula. :)

    Maybe some days I burn more ... but then again, maybe some days I miscalculate how much I'm consuming. Maybe that sandwich wasn't 300 cal ... maybe it was 400 cal. So I figure it all works out in the end.

    And I've successfully lost weight using those numbers.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    The first rule when using devices is never 100% trust devices. I get what you are saying and I hope the people relying on such devices for 100% accuracy are following the MFP rule of "eat back a portion of exercise, etc."

    GARMIN for example provides clear bylines called "Activity Tracking Accuracy": "Activity trackers are intended to be tools to provide you with information to encourage healthy and active lifestyle. They relay on sensors to track movement and other metrics. The data and information provided by these devices are intended to be a close estimation of your activity and metrics tracked, but may be completely inaccurate.. etc..."

    So not matter the device, no matter heart monitor used or not, MFP exercise calculation, cardio computer output, etc.. everything is an estimate. One must use the data to trend their weight, trend their activity/exercise progression etc as they use the devices as simple tool.
  • thomasewards
    thomasewards Posts: 23 Member
    edited September 2016
    Machka9 wrote: »
    When it comes to cycling, I use the formula 100 cal for every 5 km. So, cycling 18.73 km would therefore burn about 375 calories.

    What speed do you average when calculating calories burned?
    In km/h I usually average around 26 km/h when I commute.
    It differs sooo much when I check different websites, most of them say around 650 and one say what you wrote.

    I understand that calculating calories is far from exact science but when it differs that much one start to wonder if it is of any use at all?
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,681 Member
    thomasewards wrote: »
    Machka9 wrote: »
    When it comes to cycling, I use the formula 100 cal for every 5 km. So, cycling 18.73 km would therefore burn about 375 calories.

    What speed do you average when calculating calories burned?
    In km/h I usually average around 26 km/h when I commute.
    It differs sooo much when I check different websites, most of them say around 650 and one say what you wrote.

    I understand that calculating calories is far from exact science but when it differs that much one start to wonder if it is of any use at all?

    I live in a very hilly area so my speed depends on whether I'm going up, down or flat. When I enter my information into MFP, I say that I'm averaging 19 km/h even if I cycle faster than that.

    Personally, I have found that under-estimating my exercise a bit worked for me to lose the weight I wanted to lose. :)
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