Steps are 22,000 but iPhone says it’s 200 calories burnt?

equidivine
equidivine Posts: 101 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Does anyone know why the steps counter on the iPhone states iv burnt such a low calories?

On average I do like 10,000 steps and it normally says 100 calories, total I done 22,000 and iv burnt 200 calories,

Thanks

Replies

  • herringboxes
    herringboxes Posts: 259 Member
    edited September 2023
    Your iPhone looks not only at the number of steps taken but also other factors such as whether you walked on a flat surface, uphill, downhill, flights of stairs, etc.

    So it’s not a simple calculation of 100 steps equaling 1 calorie or anything like that.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,749 Member
    Also a watch can register arm movements as steps, but since it also tracks HR it knows that you didn't expend a lot of energy with that movement. FWIW - I've had my step count go up when driving, petting the dog, and using my left arm more when my right hand was broken. I've had days where I walked about 2.5 miles but my step counter said I had taken 10,000 steps, double the actual steps taken as exercise. I don't take the calorie count given by my watch all that seriously.
  • equidivine
    equidivine Posts: 101 Member
    That’s great however I daily walk 10 miles and my area is extremely hilly, yet the iPhone calculates my calories as stated before.

    Any insights as to why? Also my phone and my watch are both claiming over 20,000 steps so I don’t think it’s the movement of arms or driving etc…

    I do school run twice a day which is 10,000 steps and then last night I also walked 2 hours around 13,000 steps.

    We live in a hilly area so the walks includes hills.
  • equidivine
    equidivine Posts: 101 Member
    For hld6ruac4cft.png
    context this is my nightly dog walk
    My iPhone steps will calculate same calories at 100 for this exact walk.

    Thanks 😊
  • sollyn23l2
    sollyn23l2 Posts: 1,789 Member
    equidivine wrote: »
    That’s great however I daily walk 10 miles and my area is extremely hilly, yet the iPhone calculates my calories as stated before.

    Any insights as to why? Also my phone and my watch are both claiming over 20,000 steps so I don’t think it’s the movement of arms or driving etc…

    I do school run twice a day which is 10,000 steps and then last night I also walked 2 hours around 13,000 steps.

    We live in a hilly area so the walks includes hills.

    What she's trying to tell you is that, even if you took a lot of steps, if those steps were just kind of.... slow walking around, like grandma Josephine, your watch won't register many calories because, like she says, the watch tracks heart rate. If your heart rate didn't go up, your watch is going to say you didn't burn many calories.
  • equidivine
    equidivine Posts: 101 Member
    sollyn23l2 wrote: »
    equidivine wrote: »
    That’s great however I daily walk 10 miles and my area is extremely hilly, yet the iPhone calculates my calories as stated before.

    Any insights as to why? Also my phone and my watch are both claiming over 20,000 steps so I don’t think it’s the movement of arms or driving etc…

    I do school run twice a day which is 10,000 steps and then last night I also walked 2 hours around 13,000 steps.

    We live in a hilly area so the walks includes hills.

    What she's trying to tell you is that, even if you took a lot of steps, if those steps were just kind of.... slow walking around, like grandma Josephine, your watch won't register many calories because, like she says, the watch tracks heart rate. If your heart rate didn't go up, your watch is going to say you didn't burn many calories.

    I get that however as shown with the screenshot it’s not the case.

    School run I’m normally running as we are always late 🤣🙈


  • herringboxes
    herringboxes Posts: 259 Member
    Hmm. Not sure. I pulled up a day I did 8,500 ish steps and logged 200ish calories. Hills were involved.

    One thing I wonder is if your stats are looking correct on your device? Your weight would affect calculations.

    I just have a phone, not a watch, so I’m not familiar with how heart rate affects calculations. Are you getting heart rate readings okay? I hear the watch may put too much emphasis on heart rate with calculations. If your watch is too loose and not getting readings, it could throw off the calculations.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,749 Member
    Is the 200 active calories on your watch (so what about the 450 from the walk?) or on MFP? If it is an MFP adjustment, that may be because you listed 'very active' as your activity level. That includes a high level of movement in your calorie goal. So the 12000 steps may be only a little more than the program expected you to do as an active person. 200 calories is the difference between what you are expected to burn as a very active person and the amount you actually burned in your daily movement.

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