Charge HR - how reliable is calorie tracking?
ErikElgerot
Posts: 92 Member
I got a Charge HR about two months ago and have been using it since, combined with logging here on MFP.
What I'm wondering, how accurate is the Charge HR's calorie burn estimates? The main reason I'm wondering is that while logging everything, my reports indicate that by my intake and expendeture, I spend about 2k calories less per day than I use on average, yet my weight has been essentially static for the last two months. Just trying to figure out if the error is with the Fitbit, with body, or with both/something else.
What I'm wondering, how accurate is the Charge HR's calorie burn estimates? The main reason I'm wondering is that while logging everything, my reports indicate that by my intake and expendeture, I spend about 2k calories less per day than I use on average, yet my weight has been essentially static for the last two months. Just trying to figure out if the error is with the Fitbit, with body, or with both/something else.
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It really depends on several factors.
For average healthy body doing average daily activity and average workouts (whatever that means) - it has great chance of accuracy.
Start going over the range of whatever average is - and your results can be way off.
For instance - daily activity is best measured by steps and distance for calorie burn - not HR.
HR-based calorie burn loses accuracy under the exercise level.
But if you have times during the day doing walking or movements that really isn't exercise level - but your HR is way up there for either lack of fitness, medical, or medicine reasons - the device will think you are exercising and use those calculations.
And generally give you inflated calorie burn.
If you are doing workouts that are not best use of HR-based calorie calculations - then it'll be off.
HR-based is only valid for steady-state aerobic cardio, same HR for 2-5 min.
Farther you get from that - the more inflated the calorie burn.
So like intervals and lifting.
If only 15 min 3 x weekly - no big whoop.
If 45 min x 6 weekly - big whoop.
Since the intake is of course the other side of this equation - you'll want to confirm it's as accurate as can be.
Is everything you eat and logged by weight, not volume?
Calories is per gram, not tablespoon or cup, which is merely on labels for convenience, not accuracy.
Only liquids is by volume.
Did you lose anything at first attempting that 2K deficit - because that's rather extreme.
Body will adapt to that by slowing down, first your daily activity, then metabolism.
But - it could never prevent weight loss - sadly it would include muscle mass along with some fat.
And body in that state will likely also be super stressed, and cause water weight gain from increased cortisol. Upwards of 20 lbs.
Even if truly losing 2 lbs weekly, it could take 10 weeks of gaining water before it actually starts showing up.
Are inches changing in several measured spots?
Could indicate that last bit is happening - in which case get accurate with logging - and keep it at a 1K deficit max.1 -
Thanks for the response.
Some more info, as much as I can give: For my stats and history - I'm 36 years old (in case age matters) and 190cm tall (6'3"). When I started with MFP on March 5th this year, I weighed in at 188.8kg (416.2lbs).
I then lost at a fairly steady pace until September 5th, when I was at 157.7kg (347.7lbs) - at this point, I had done this through pretty much purely calorie, no exercise at all to speak of. Through August, my average caloric intake was around 1500, but I also felt that this wasn't healthy for me in the long run, and I was feeling pretty tired.
After an early (and failed, since I kinda chickened out on it) attempt to up my calories to a healthier level and hit my calculated TDEE, I settled in at a somewhat healthier average of about 2200 or so a day. I currently weigh in at 157.2kg (as of this morning - this past week has mostly been spent just above 158), and have been fairly steady in the 157-160 range for the last two months, after a month of heavier fluctuations during my attempted metabolic reset.
I've also started training since early September, which was around the same time I got my Fitbit. I do HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts - aka historical fencing with rapier and longsword) 2-3 times a week, for two hours per session. During most of this time my pulse is fairly steady in the fat burn zone, but it may not be what you'd call a constant aerobic training as it has bursts of heavier activity and such.
I also do some lighter stuff, like table tennis for 30-ish minutes at work a few times per week, but that probably wouldn't affect burn too much.
For other measurements, I try to measure neck, hit and waist semi-regularly. While this is dropping, it's not doing so at much of a rate, and I honestly don't have much of a comparison.
If it helps, my neck was 47cm at the end of August and currently 46cm. Hips have gone from 133 to 128, and waist from 143 to 140. But this is also self measuring, so it may well be imperfect since especially waist would probably change a fair bit with posture, even if I try to stand in the same way with each measure.
As for intake - I do measure by weight. Though occasionally I have to eat out, in which case I know it won't be too accurate as one has to eyeball it, but I try to always round up at least.
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