Only ~ 70 Active Calories for 10000 steps: Garmin Forerunner 245

Lydia_G_S
Lydia_G_S Posts: 8 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi there,

I recently got a Garmin Forerunner 245 and I have noticed that my calories burned from doing 10000 steps is very low. (This is not tracked activity but just steps accumulated throughout the day)

My stats are:

height: 5.3"
weight: 130lbs
age: 25
resting HR: 46

Is it possible that I really only burn an additional 70 calories for walking 10000 steps compared to not moving all day? Could it be that this value is so low due to my low resting HR (my average HR when walking around is between 65 and 70)? Are there any settings I could change on Garmin to make this more accurate? (I checked the basic settings, height, weight, etc. and they are all correct)

I would very much appreciate your opinions, thank you!

Replies

  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,834 Member
    I'm guessing 'active calories' means active calories as indicated in the Connect app, not the calorie adjustment in MFP?

    It does sound very low, yes. When you say 'recently', how recently did you get your Forerunner? From what I've heard, it can take a while for a fitness tracker to adapt to the person wearing it. Your low heart rate does sound like a probable cause.

    Sometimes the Activity Class in the user settings has been known to skew calorie burn (not my experience, but I've read cases from other people) so you might experiment with that setting.
    Another idea (a long shot I think) is that perhaps your max heart rate is far off the average, so entering your real max HR (if you know it) might have an influence.
  • Lydia_G_S
    Lydia_G_S Posts: 8 Member
    Thanks for your replies! Yes, I did mean active calories in the Garmin Connect app. On MFP, I get even fewer calories (I am set to sedentary with negative adjustment enabled.), so with 10000 steps I only get around 50 extra calories :/

    I got the Forerunner around 4 weeks ago. I will try changing the activity class around a bit (it's currently set at 6, not really sure what this setting is for, to be honest)

    On my harder runs, I did get a max heart rate of around 184 so it shouldn't be too far off the average.

    Thanks again for your input!
  • MarttaHP
    MarttaHP Posts: 68 Member
    I also have a Forerunner 245. I think this model is just generally bad at accounting for any activity outside of purposeful exercise - or else I am at fault, since like you, I also have a very low HR, both at rest and during exercise. :| Once, I did almost four hours of yard work (a non-tracked activity). My HR remained at the same approximate level as when I am walking (usually in the 70s for me), but at the end of the day my Garmin claimed I'd burned almost no additional calories. (I asked about this on the official Garmin forums, but got no replies, so, shrug.)

    I'm not sure the newer models use the activity class setting at all, and instead it's a remnant from the older watches. (I have never found any setting on my watch itself for activity class; I only see it on Garmin Connect.) Here's a thread where another poster said that this is the case: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10495696/garmin-and-tdee-problems
  • Lydia_G_S
    Lydia_G_S Posts: 8 Member
    MarttaHP wrote: »
    I also have a Forerunner 245. I think this model is just generally bad at accounting for any activity outside of purposeful exercise - or else I am at fault, since like you, I also have a very low HR, both at rest and during exercise. :| Once, I did almost four hours of yard work (a non-tracked activity). My HR remained at the same approximate level as when I am walking (usually in the 70s for me), but at the end of the day my Garmin claimed I'd burned almost no additional calories. (I asked about this on the official Garmin forums, but got no replies, so, shrug.)

    I'm not sure the newer models use the activity class setting at all, and instead it's a remnant from the older watches. (I have never found any setting on my watch itself for activity class; I only see it on Garmin Connect.) Here's a thread where another poster said that this is the case: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10495696/garmin-and-tdee-problems

    Thank you, that link is super useful! I guess I will just have to accept that Garmin gives me fewer calories than I think I deserve :D I guess I will keep using it for a couple of weeks and then evaluate whether I am losing weight or maintaining when eating what Garmin suggests. Fingers crossed it's underestimating calories burned so I can eat a bit more then :)
  • QuilterInVA
    QuilterInVA Posts: 672 Member
    Active calories means 50% increase in resting heart rate for 15 minutes or more.
    Normal daily activity is not exercise. Your body has adapted to it and actually burns fewer calories.
  • MarttaHP
    MarttaHP Posts: 68 Member
    That's right, normal daily activity is not exercise. Instead, it's non-exercise activity, which contributes to non-exercise activity thermogenesis, which is the calorie expenditure from everything that is not rest, eating or exercise. According to this article, for sedentary individuals, it's responsible for 6-10% of total daily energy expenditure, but for active individuals it can account for 50% or more. I'd say 10,000 steps a day makes one a fairly active individual, and not taking that additional calorie burn into consideration may lead to undernourishment in the long run.
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,834 Member
    QuilterInVA wrote: »
    Active calories means 50% increase in resting heart rate for 15 minutes or more.
    Normal daily activity is not exercise. Your body has adapted to it and actually burns fewer calories.

    I think you are confusing intensity minutes and active calories.
  • MarttaHP
    MarttaHP Posts: 68 Member
    Lydia_G_S wrote: »
    MarttaHP wrote: »
    I also have a Forerunner 245. I think this model is just generally bad at accounting for any activity outside of purposeful exercise - or else I am at fault, since like you, I also have a very low HR, both at rest and during exercise. :| Once, I did almost four hours of yard work (a non-tracked activity). My HR remained at the same approximate level as when I am walking (usually in the 70s for me), but at the end of the day my Garmin claimed I'd burned almost no additional calories. (I asked about this on the official Garmin forums, but got no replies, so, shrug.)

    I'm not sure the newer models use the activity class setting at all, and instead it's a remnant from the older watches. (I have never found any setting on my watch itself for activity class; I only see it on Garmin Connect.) Here's a thread where another poster said that this is the case: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10495696/garmin-and-tdee-problems

    Thank you, that link is super useful! I guess I will just have to accept that Garmin gives me fewer calories than I think I deserve :D I guess I will keep using it for a couple of weeks and then evaluate whether I am losing weight or maintaining when eating what Garmin suggests. Fingers crossed it's underestimating calories burned so I can eat a bit more then :)

    Seems like you've got the right idea! Just FYI, my Garmin gives me much lower calorie burn from exercise than my old Polar (also with wrist-based HRM) did. I honestly still don't know which one is more accurate. The trouble with estimating your calorie burn using HR is that it's always just an estimate.
  • dewd2
    dewd2 Posts: 2,445 Member
    First thing, HR has little to do with calorie burn. Second, are you doing any exercises like running that also include steps? They won't be double counted (for example I had over 69,000 steps on Saturday and got 0 calories for it since it already counted them in the run activity).

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