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Active Calories incorrect. Resting questionable.

Former Member
Former Member

I have had my forerunner 935 for a week now and the calories are not calculating correctly. 

Today I did a 35k run and the watch said I burned 1817 calories. Treadmill said 2400 calories. I assume it's because i am 63kg and have a high vo2max so it calculates i burn less. My active calories after the run is 985. How is this correct? I have seen post about RMR, resting calories etc but still dont see how this can be correct. The total calories after run was 2100 calories. I have 35700 steps after the run. 985 active calories from 2000 steps in the morning plus 1817 calorie workout? 

Yesterday I had 15,000 steps and only 211 active calories. 2070 calories in total. I eat 2800 calories a day, sometimes more with no weight gain so I know this cant be correct. According to garmin app I was 800 calories in surplus! 

I am also not convinced the resting calories is correct. The app says mine is 1817. I run 3 times a week and lift weights 3 times a week. My metabolism is high I'm not convinced this is accurate. 

The calories are not consistent. The first full day I had the watch I had 10,500 steps with 615 active calories but yesterday 15,000 steps and 211 active calories. 

I have searched the web for an answer/fix but cant find the solution. Its disappointing, especially when you part with £300. 

Anyone else experiencing this, find any solutions? 

  • I am also not convinced the resting calories is correct. The app says mine is 1817. I run 3 times a week and lift weights 3 times a week. My metabolism is high I'm not convinced this is accurate. 

    Resting calories (better told the Resting Metabolic Rate), unlike Active calories, are calculated using commonly accepted formulas. You will find plenty of RMR online calculators to verify how well the values match those of Garmin. In my case the match is pretty close. For having the right RMR in Garmin, you need to have enterred the right personal data into your User Profile - the age, gender, weight, height, and especially also the Activity Class - often omitted by people, or set incorrectly.

    The calories are not consistent.

    The Calories are as consistent as your Heart Rate. If it varies, or if your average Resting HR for given day varies (i.e you did not wear the watch during the sleep), or if your Stress levels vary, or if your VO₂Max varies, then the Calories will vary too. Steps, or distances are irrelevant, as soon as your device has a HRM, because only the HRM is used to calculate the burned energy.

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 4 years ago in reply to trux

    I changed my activity class to 7 and active calories went down the next day. I thought this was an issue so I put it back to 0. I run 3 times a week, Long distance. A minimum of 50k a week. I also do weights 3 times a week. 1 hour strength sessions. I have a desk job. What would you advise I set it to? 

    I still dont see how one day I can do 15000 steps and only have 211 active calories, another day have 10500 steps and 615 calories. 

    How also is it explained that I eat way more calories then garmin says i burn with no weight gain. 

    I am so disappointed this isn't working correctly. 

    I cant find a fix or an explanation what the issue is? Many people are complaining about this. 

  • What would you advise I set it to? 

    Click the question mark near the field and you'll get a detailed explanation of each level, so set it accordingly. It only influnces the RMR.

    I still dont see how one day I can do 15000 steps and only have 211 active calories, another day have 10500 steps and 615 calories.

    Active Calories are based on HR, HRV, Stress levels, avg Resting HR, and possibly on the max HR, lactate threshold, and VO₂Max. As I wrote, the number of steps is irrelevant. If you see some inconsistency, check how all those parameters vary between the two activities showing the difference, and you'll certainly find the culprit.

  • ... you can also have a look at this thread: https://forums.garmin.com/apps-software/mobile-apps-web/f/garmin-connect-web/225649/calories-burned-during-runs-are-suddenly-inaccurate/1065716#1065716, to see how you can make a raw estimate of Calories burned during an activity. Garmin uses in fact a much more sophisticated and more accurate method, but already the raw estimate can show you how the theory matches your expectations.

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 4 years ago in reply to trux
    Click the question mark near the field and you'll get a detailed explanation of each level, so set it accordingly. It only influnces the RMR.

    Yesterday I changed my activity class from 0 to 8 and today the RMR is still the same. It hasn't increased. When does it change the RMR, is it instant? 

    FYI I wear the watch 24/7. I have noticed an increase in active calories burned today but not enough. As I said in previous post. I eat way more calories then the garmin app says I burn with no weight gain. I actually lost .4 of a pound this week according to my scale. The only other way I can see a way round this is to increase my weight significantly? 

    Or if it is reliant on the HR monitor then possibly this is broken? 

     

  • The only other way I can see a way round this is to increase my weight significantly? 

    I'd tell the only way to gain weight is eating more (or better) Slight smile There are so many factors involved in the metabolism that some simple math using just the estimates of spent and consumed energy will never work perfectly. Just use your common sense and instincts, and adjust your diet accordingly. If you see you are losing the weight, eat more, and oppositely. You do not really need to count the Calories for that (except of using it for observing the raw tendecies, and correlations).

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 4 years ago in reply to trux

    I meant increase my weight significantly in the app. Lie to it so it increases my RMR. I have been studying my body, calories in and out for while now and know how many calories I can eat to maintain my weight with my workouts. The issue is that the phone is way off with the calories and I want it to match up as close as possible. If it was a little out i would understand but to be over 500 calories a day out isn't good with a product you paid £300 for. 

    I put my Activity class up but it didn't increase my RMR the next day, it stayed the same. Thats why I asked when I can expect the RMR to change? 

  • Thats why I asked when I can expect the RMR to change?

    Should be visible after the change, but it is possible (unlike what I thought) that the Calories influenced by the Activity Class are being added to the Active Calories, and not to the RMR. In fact it makes sense.

  • I would like to chime in here. I recall seeing somewhere in the forums about an update to version 15.0 and after that all these inaccuracies. I don't know about versions, but there is definitely a point in time several months ago when everything changed. In particular as a recent example, and it just seems goofy as *** to me, I did two walks this morning in which I took no rest breaks. Simple one mile walks. Garmin connect shows me as burning 161 calories for both walks. And yet, on my Garmin connect app for active calories for the day, it registers 134. To me, this is just comical. This is a simple example, but I'll have so many at this point I've lost track. It used to be very consistent so that you could see your calories on a workout and then see your active for the day and it all made sense. To me it is just a lot of confusion now.

    I wish there was a way to upload a screenshot, and maybe there is. I'm not sure how to do it. Maybe someone could advise me. Thanks.

  • Garmin connect shows me as burning 161 calories for both walks. And yet, on my Garmin connect app for active calories for the day, it registers 134.

    Sounds credible if the 161 Calories are Total Calories and not Active Calories. Check out the details of the activities, and see how many Active Calories burned each of them. Their sum should be smaller than the Daily Active Calories, since the daily value includes also Active Calories burned out of any activity.