Is my calorie tracker accurate?

FReaK

FReaK

Striker
I got a free Samsung Active with my new phone and have been wearing it a couple of days and tracking my calories. It looks like I'm burning a lot less than I thought I would be.

I used an online TDEE calculator which calculated my maintenance at 2700 and I've been trying to consume 2200 calories s day to shift a bit of weight.

This watch is telling me I'm burning approx 2450 a day.

Are these things accurate?
 
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FReaK said:
I got a free Samsung Active with my new phone and have been wearing it a couple of days and tracking my calories. It looks like I'm burning a lot less than I thought I would be.

I used an online TDEE calculator which calculated my maintenance at 2700 and I've been trying to consume 2200 calories s day to shift a bit of weight.

This watch is telling me I'm burning approx 2450 a day.

Are these things accurate?
Click to expand...
No
Hope this helps
 
Sorry @FReaK for sounding rude, but it’s the truth. Calorie counters are notoriously inaccurate, it’s difficult for them to reliably measure the effort you’re putting into tasks or exercise. For example, if you do 10,000 steps a day, you may burn 1000 calories. But If you’re carrying a heavy bag during those steps, you may burn another 200- the tracker has no way of knowing this. Weight training is especially difficult to quantify, everyone has different technique, muscle make up, and efficiency- the tracker won’t see these variables
Better off working out your TDEE and measuring your food intake- as you have done
 
maygo said:
Sorry @FReaK for sounding rude, but it’s the truth. Calorie counters are notoriously inaccurate, it’s difficult for them to reliably measure the effort you’re putting into tasks or exercise. For example, if you do 10,000 steps a day, you may burn 1000 calories. But If you’re carrying a heavy bag during those steps, you may burn another 200- the tracker has no way of knowing this. Weight training is especially difficult to quantify, everyone has different technique, muscle make up, and efficiency- the tracker won’t see these variables
Better off working out your TDEE and measuring your food intake- as you have done
Click to expand...
I took your comments as being to the point mate, not rude!

What the fucks the point in them then?
 
The burning of calories, I've found to be shit. Samsung health counts my steps and coverts them into calories and that works fine in my opinion. That along with my fitness pal has helped me get the weight down and now maintain.
 
maygo said:
Sorry @FReaK for sounding rude, but it’s the truth. Calorie counters are notoriously inaccurate, it’s difficult for them to reliably measure the effort you’re putting into tasks or exercise. For example, if you do 10,000 steps a day, you may burn 1000 calories. But If you’re carrying a heavy bag during those steps, you may burn another 200- the tracker has no way of knowing this. Weight training is especially difficult to quantify, everyone has different technique, muscle make up, and efficiency- the tracker won’t see these variables
Better off working out your TDEE and measuring your food intake- as you have done
Click to expand...
I preferred your original laconic reply.
 
I use my Garmin running watch that has a heart rate monitor in, and is satisfactorily accurate and consistent when I’ve compared to other HRM’s.

I had assumed an accurate heart rate monitor, fed with the correct weight and height details, way the best was of measuring calories burned?

I use it anyway and find it really helpful.
maygo said:
Sorry @FReaK for sounding rude, but it’s the truth. Calorie counters are notoriously inaccurate, it’s difficult for them to reliably measure the effort you’re putting into tasks or exercise. For example, if you do 10,000 steps a day, you may burn 1000 calories. But If you’re carrying a heavy bag during those steps, you may burn another 200- the tracker has no way of knowing this. Weight training is especially difficult to quantify, everyone has different technique, muscle make up, and efficiency- the tracker won’t see these variables
Better off working out your TDEE and measuring your food intake- as you have done
Click to expand...
TDEE is so variable though depending on what your doing, and if I remember right gives out of the box figures for the amount of calories burned in an hours weight training or running...that’s just silly as there’s no way of gauging effort.

I think the TDEE method has more flaws than using a heart rate monitor.
 
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Calorie counters do not understand your lean muscle mass or metabolism speed, they are just a good indicator by taking heart rate that you have worked harder or not etc.

Eat consistent calories each day, weigh each day first thing on a morning before food drink (take average weight over week) and note your steps over the week, from there you can get a better idea of calorie burn. However even then there will be variables if your carbs, sodium etc have varied during the week which will contaminate scaleweight.
 

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