Calories in Pacer vs MFP

farzand_ali_goheer
farzand_ali_goheer Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi, I have a query regarding the calories shown in exercise. MFP is getting my step count from IOS health and the number of steps is 11128 and in exercise section of MFP it is giving me only 186 calories. While on the Pacer app, it shows 438. Who to trust now? I have set my activity level to sedentary on both apps. Shall I use pacer to update my calories in MFP for steps instead of iPhone health? I did almost 8KM and in 100 mins. My height 5’5” and current weight is 83.

Replies

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
    These devices don't send over the calories for your exercise, they send an adjustment to reconcile your activity level you selected in MFP to your actual activity level per your device. Even an activity level of sedentary is going to include some movement...typically up to about 5,000 steps so some of those 438 calories are already accounted for by way of your activity level setting. The 186 is just an adjustment to more accurately reflect your actual activity level.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,935 Member
    The numbers aren't going to match up. They may have similar labels, but different meanings.
    ,
    Your calorie adjustment, loosely, is the difference between what MFP expects you to burn (based on your demographic data and activity level in your profile) versus what your activity tracker estimates you actually burned that day. That's at the end of the day: During the day adjustments may include assumptions (about the rest of the day) that turn out to be different by end of day. The adjustment will include steps, exercise, other daily life activity movement the tracker may've "seen".

    An implication is that if your MFP activity level is set higher than your total activity seen by the tracker, you'll get a negative adjustment (if you have negative adjustments enabled in MFP), even on a day with exercise or steps in it. If your MFP activity level results in a close-to-real calorie needs estimate, you may see a positive or negative adjustment, but it's unlikely to match the tracker's exercise calorie number.

    I don't use Pacer, so I can't speak to its definitions, but in quite a few trackers/apps, a standalone exercise calories number will be gross calories, i.e., include BMR/RMR, the number of calories that you would've burned in the exercise time period if you'd just been sitting around. The adjustment is more like net calories, i.e., just the amount extra burned from movement (on top of RMR/BMR, on top of MFP's activity calorie expectations given your profile data).

    I hope that makes sense.

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