Hope someone can share some insight. I understand the metric thing with 1kcal = 1,000 calories. What I'm a bit confused about is the readings between devices. I just purchased a Forerunner 35, very happy :) So today was my first run with it. Also carried my phone and used the Endomondo app. I did a 12 mile run. The Forerunner said I burned 1,089 Calories, Endomondo said I burned 1698kcal. That is a pretty big difference. If anyone can shed some light on this that would be very much appreciated.
Forget about the units. There is no difference here. Yes, scientifically, there is a factor 1000 between Calories and kcal. But in common language, there is not. People say 1 Calorie when they mean 1 kcal. And apparently, Garmin makes the same mistake.
The difference between the 1089 and the 1698 is caused by calorie calculation from sports activities not being a very accurate science. If you think that a factor of 1.6 between Garmin and Endomondo is big, you should try sea kayaking. After a recent paddle activity, Garmin told me that I had used 689 kcal, and Endomondo told me I had used 3690.
Garmin uses the Cal unit, which is not a mistake. I believe that Cal is more widely used in America and kcal in Europe. cal (with a small c) is rarely used.
