Unearned exercise calories

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135by60
135by60 Posts: 21 Member
edited May 2023 in Getting Started
I have MFP connected to my Garmin Vivo Sq and I'm not sure what's going on but ... I sat all day working at the computer, then went clothes and food shopping for about 3 hours. I was walking sedately/normally (when I was walking) not brisk or anything. I wasn't walking the entire time as I was shopping so I stopped lots looking at clothes and such and reading food labels. I then came home and other than doing some meal prep, I didn't do a whole lot. I didn't even hit 5000 steps for the day.

My Vivo says I had 19 mins of moderate intensity and 8 minutes of vigorous intensity (which count as x2 intensity minutes) for a total of 35 intensity minutes. As a result, MFP gave me a calorie adjustment of 771 calories!!. Ummm... what? If I could actually burn 770 calories with 35 minutes of shopping, I'd be shopping everyday!

Something is obviously not right but I can't figure out what. Anyone have any ideas? I have no intention of eating my exercise calories back as I do only moderate walking 4 times a week currently so I won't be wolfing down an extra 770 calories, but I don't like it messing with my numbers.

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  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,350 Member
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    The issue is most likely with your Vivo, not MFP.

    In Garmin Connect, how many active calories did you have that day?
    I'm going to guess (based on those intensity minutes) that your heart rate might have been elevated while shopping, making your Vivo believe you were doing more strenuous activity than you were actually doing. You can check your HR graph to see if that's the case?

    I can certainly say that my own heart rate is higher while shopping then just regular walking (more stressful?).

    While 700 is probably inflated, shopping is more strenuous than just sitting at a desk, so a few hundred sounds about right to me.

  • 135by60
    135by60 Posts: 21 Member
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    Yes, thank you, I did figure out that it had to do with my heart rate. How Garmin thinks 35 minutes of moderate intensity equals 771 calories burned is beyond me!
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,350 Member
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    The thing is: Garmin didn't give you those calories based on only those 35 intensity minutes, but based on those full 3 hours. Even when your heart rate wasn't high enough to trigger intensity minutes, it could certainly trigger a higher estimated calorie burn.

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