Garmin Connect- Accurate calorie burn?

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DivaDreamer77
DivaDreamer77 Posts: 76 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey! My husband gave me the Garmin Connect for Christmas since I've been running so much. (yay he supports it!) haha

I used it to track my steps today, which added the calorie burn to my day.

Usually, C25K app says I burn about 180 calories (give-or-take) with their 30-minute program. The Garmin Connect says, however, that I burned 400 calories today!

Which is more accurate? Is that really what I'm burning??

Replies

  • ROBOTFOOD
    ROBOTFOOD Posts: 5,527 Member
    edited December 2017
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    Mine tends to overestimate. I usually subtract 20% if I’m trying to track. For Garmin. Only other app I use is Strava.
  • DivaDreamer77
    DivaDreamer77 Posts: 76 Member
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    Bah well, either way, I still eat the same. But I like to have a better idea of what calories I *actually* need to consume once I reach my goal weight to maintain.
  • ROBOTFOOD
    ROBOTFOOD Posts: 5,527 Member
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    Most accurate way is to use a heart rate monitor while you exercise. If that’s not an option for you, I’d go with the lower reading (180). If you find yourself loosing too much weight, add 3-5% on top of that until you reach maintenance. If gaining, do the opposite. Could take a few weeks to get dialed.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
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    The most accurate way to guess is 1/3 your body weight in pounds per mile walked and 2/3 per mile ran.

    Garmin Connect is a web app, it shows you the exercise you've done, and other things. But what those exercises looking like and what numbers you get depend on what specific hardware you're using. It can be all over the map.
  • tmoneyag99
    tmoneyag99 Posts: 480 Member
    edited December 2017
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    You probably need to make sure you turn off Move IQ is turned off on Garmin Connect. It basically double counts your workout and steps.

    But yeah lately Garmin has been jacking with their software taking away the best features and their calorie burn has been WAY off. It's why Im about to switch. I'm pissed as hell that I have purchased 3 watches in the last 1.5 years hand have had the bands break outside of warranty only to find the software constantly updating and the calculations are crap.

    Peace garmin.
  • Bry_Fitness70
    Bry_Fitness70 Posts: 2,480 Member
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    Garmin Connect is the universal app that most Garmin fitness trackers link with - what is your specific product and does it have a heart rate monitor?
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
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    tmoneyag99 wrote: »
    You probably need to make sure you turn off Move IQ is turned off on Garmin Connect. It basically double counts your workout and steps.

    This seems to just be a problem with the Vivosmart HR. I had the issue and moving to a Vivoactive HR fixed it for me. My burn was pretty accurate, based on my weight loss.

    I picked up a Fenix 3 hr yesterday so time will tell with it.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    DivaDreamer77 wrote: »
    Which is more accurate? Is that really what I'm burning??

    Connect is the app that's c0mmon to all of the Garmin personal devices.

    The behaviour depends on the model, but most of the current ones take several days to stabilise. That said, I do find that my Garmin overestimates, largely a result of the always-on HR.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
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    Tacklewasher wrote: »
    tmoneyag99 wrote: »
    You probably need to make sure you turn off Move IQ is turned off on Garmin Connect. It basically double counts your workout and steps.

    This seems to just be a problem with the Vivosmart HR. I had the issue and moving to a Vivoactive HR fixed it for me. My burn was pretty accurate, based on my weight loss.

    I picked up a Fenix 3 hr yesterday so time will tell with it.

    That behavior has never happened with my Fenix watches. It's nice to leave Move IQ on so you can see what's going on in the "today" charts online.
  • DivaDreamer77
    DivaDreamer77 Posts: 76 Member
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    Today seems more accurate. And Yes mine does have a heart rate monitor. So far I'm very pleased with it, but I've only had it for a few days

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