Do you trust your fitness tracker's"calories burned"?

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alexmose
alexmose Posts: 792 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi Guys,

I have an Apple Watch Series 2 and I am wondering how accurate you are finding this watch and other fitness trackers. How do you track your own calories burned?
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Replies

  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
    edited January 2019
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    I don't wear mine any more, but when I did... yes, I trusted it. Otherwise, why wear it? Both my old fitbit and my old garmin gave me numbers that seemed reasonable on the surface, and proved to be close enough based on how I track/log.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    i use a Garmin for running, and MFP for everything else (which is usually walking/stationary bike/weights)

    never had fitness tracker, though i have used my Garmin occasionally to look at my step count.

    mainly wanted to tag this thread as i never understand why people say their tracker is inaccurate but continue to use it? maybe someone will tell me!
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,962 Member
    edited January 2019
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    Just use it for a while and you'll know. That's really the only way to find out.

    The device uses a standard/average algorithm that is going to be fairly close for most people.

    Your own collected data trumps a device every time so collect your data and then adjust if necessary. For instance, the numbers I get from devices and online calculators are off by a few hundred calories per day according to my digital food scale and my own data collection.
  • MonkeyMel21
    MonkeyMel21 Posts: 2,388 Member
    edited January 2019
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    I trust it for my cardio workouts (which are treadmill and/or outside jogging). The calories burned are always quite a bit lower than what the machine gives me (which I know are usually way too high for people of my fitness level).

    I do not "trust" it for strength training sessions but I've been doing this long enough to know better. Like, yesterday I did some basic lifts with dumbbells and some core work with 4x30 seconds of jump rope interspersed between some things. It gave me 205 calories burned for 35 minutes. I put in 100 calories in to MFP, I know that's at least way more accurate than the 205 the fitness tracker gave me.

    So, to sum it up, I do not blindly follow it. I know the heart rate monitor's strengths (steady state cardio) and weaknesses (anything else), and use my judgement, knowledge, and experience to guide me. I still log all of my workouts to keep track of them for myself. And I do not ever connect the fitness tracker with MFP, just my personal preference to keep them separate.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    I trust mine (Garmin Forerunner 920) inasmuch as I compare it to the known formula for net calories expended running (.63 x weight in lbs x distance in miles) and use a power meter on my bike.
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
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    To be clear...

    OP, are you talking about wearing it all day and looking at your total calories burned throughout the day, or are you talking about calories burned over shorter periods of time during workouts?
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
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    cmriverside wrote: »
    Just use it for a while and you'll know. That's really the only way to find out.

    The device uses a standard/average algorithm that is going to be fairly close for most people.

    Your own collected data trumps a device every time so collect your data and then adjust if necessary. For instance, the numbers I get from devices and online calculators are off by a few hundred calories per day according to my digital food scale and my own data collection.

    I think the bolded is a good point.

    GPS based run tracking (garmin watch and various apps I have tried) have all given me pretty similar results, I imagine they all use pretty similar algorithms.

    I had a fitbit one for a long time (just a pedometer before all the fancy jazz came out) and it seemed pretty spot on since I lost weight as expected using info from that and tracking as accurately as I could. From years with my One I had a decent idea of what I burned on a normal day. I tried a 24/7HR model garmin out about 2 years ago and it was giving me crazy high calorie burns (like 500+ more than I would have expected from my one). Turning of 24/7 HR fixed the issue. I recently got the vivoactive3, which also has HR monitoring, and it seems to be much more accurate, I'm not sure if they just better sorted out the algorithms associated with 24/7 HR monitoring over the past 2 years, or I just got a crap device last time around?

    DC rainmaker has some great reviews on activity trackers and fitness watches but he focuses on the workout and smartwatch functions. And there are tons of tech sites. I rarely see a review on anything that discusses calorie estimate accuracy. If anyone has found someone who reviews gadgets and discusses that aspect please let me know!
  • alexmose
    alexmose Posts: 792 Member
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    jjpptt2 wrote: »
    To be clear...

    OP, are you talking about wearing it all day and looking at your total calories burned throughout the day, or are you talking about calories burned over shorter periods of time during workouts?

    I am talking about both. I do various types of exercise, both steady state and weight lifting. Lately, I teach a lot of classes like bodypump and just have used the "other" workout type one the watch. It gives me around 200 calories for a 55 minute session. MFP would give me 263 for the same amount of time. I would usually just for what my watch says since it has all of my personal info and heart rate updated (but then again, I guess MFP would have that too since I use the Health app). However, since I teach a couple classes per day, this just adds up to maybe 100-150 calorie over/under estimation comparison. This is probably as good as it is going to get maybe?

    I just have been reading reviews that all smartwatches are off by some percentage, which is likely true. I am trying to avoid overeating my exercise calories back right now and I have started maybe leaving a couple hundred calories left in my food diary, but still connecting my workouts from my apple watch to MFP.
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
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    IMO, 200 vs 250 cals for a class is well within what I consider normal/approximate. I wouldn't lose any sleep over that difference under the idea that one is accurate and one isn't. It's kind of a crapshoot either way, especially given the types of workouts you are doing. If your concern is overeating exercise cals, then default to the lower number.

    Ultimately though, what @cmriverside said earlier was correct - use it for a while. Use it consistently. Then monitor your progress. If your actual results are reasonable close to your expected results, then you're right where you should be with things. If it's not, then make a small adjustment and repeat the process.
  • MonkeyMel21
    MonkeyMel21 Posts: 2,388 Member
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    alexmose wrote: »
    jjpptt2 wrote: »
    To be clear...

    OP, are you talking about wearing it all day and looking at your total calories burned throughout the day, or are you talking about calories burned over shorter periods of time during workouts?

    I am talking about both. I do various types of exercise, both steady state and weight lifting. Lately, I teach a lot of classes like bodypump and just have used the "other" workout type one the watch. It gives me around 200 calories for a 55 minute session. MFP would give me 263 for the same amount of time. I would usually just for what my watch says since it has all of my personal info and heart rate updated (but then again, I guess MFP would have that too since I use the Health app). However, since I teach a couple classes per day, this just adds up to maybe 100-150 calorie over/under estimation comparison. This is probably as good as it is going to get maybe?

    I just have been reading reviews that all smartwatches are off by some percentage, which is likely true. I am trying to avoid overeating my exercise calories back right now and I have started maybe leaving a couple hundred calories left in my food diary, but still connecting my workouts from my apple watch to MFP.

    FWIW, a lot of people only eat back half the exercise calories burned, to make up for any discrepancies.

    Personally, I only eat back my exercise calories on special occasions when eating out. I only have a a small deficit though, MFP is set to lose .5 lbs a week. So, if I feel satiated, I'm not concerned about my health being affected by eating under the recommended 1200 calories a day.
  • collectingblues
    collectingblues Posts: 2,541 Member
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    Yes -- my Apple Watch seems to be absolutely on par for me with the active calories -- it matches up almost exactly with my rate of loss and deficit.

    It underestimates my resting calories by about 10 percent.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,398 Member
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    Doesn't work for me as it can't deal with my high workout heartrate. I'm fit mind, I just have a high, genetically determined maxHR. And those things don't seem to be able to deal with that despite setting a custom HR in my fitbit.
  • AudreyJDuke
    AudreyJDuke Posts: 1,092 Member
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    Such great info!
  • 7lenny7
    7lenny7 Posts: 3,493 Member
    edited January 2019
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    My Fitbit Charge seemed to be dead on for me (based on my success at weight loss). I quit using Fitbit because they were constantly breaking.

    Garmin Vivosmart HR is ridiculously off. Tuesday it credited me with 1485 calories for just 9000 steps....I wish! It is also awful at tracking floors climbed. I can get 20 floors just sitting at my desk. @TavistockToad I continue to use it because I don't want to spend the money on another one and from experience I can do the math in my head to know how many calories I've burned. It a POS for calories and floors, but it is accurate for steps, sleep, intensity minutes, and heart rate (particularly resting HR)...things I continue to track.

    My Garmin GPS's (Forerunner 305, 220, and 230) have been spot on for running.
  • whatalazyidiot
    whatalazyidiot Posts: 343 Member
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    I don't trust it 100% (I use a Fitbit), so I eat about 1/2-3/4 of my exercise calories back. Just in case. I have been losing consistently, but not too quickly (not more than 1.5-2 lbs a week), so I assume I found the right method.
  • twatson4936
    twatson4936 Posts: 121 Member
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    I have a Garmin 235 and it kept telling me insane calorie burns and I wasn't losing weight. It was defaulting my max HR to 220-age which for me is 165. It calculated my exercise based on that HR and the zones I exercised in. With it set to such a low number it thought I was killing it and burning more calories than I was. I adjusted the max HR up to a truer value and now a 600 calorie workout is more like 420. Garbage in = Garbage out. :-) I am losing weight now so I think its close.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
    edited January 2019
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    My Fitbit jives pretty close with my real world data...it's a close enough approximation. All you can really do is wear one and use it and compare your real world results to desired results and adjust as necessary.
  • ksavy
    ksavy Posts: 271 Member
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    I have a gear sport and the total for the day is horribly off. I regularly eat about 2000-2100 and it says my daily burn is 1700-1850 a day, yet I am still losing weight.
  • rcp916
    rcp916 Posts: 5 Member
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    I trust my Apple Watch series 3 that being said I don’t eat the extra calories MFP says I gained each day after workouts. I really only trust it for Cardio though. But then again it’s based off your heart rate and the period of time your heart rate is above normal/resting so.... I’m not sure if the series 2 watch tracks your heart rate during exercises or that was an update on the series 3&4?
  • RubyDarling
    RubyDarling Posts: 171 Member
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    I use a chest strap + Polar A300, and I trust it for cardio (but not weights). I don't eat back exercise calories, generally.

    I'm a bit suss on wrist-based measurements, but I'm sure they're accurate enough.

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