Question about calories burned and activity

Posting a similar question to another from the forum. On 1/26/19 I completed a 5.3 mile up/down trail hike. Garmin shows I burned 608 calories, 95% of those would be considered active. Total elevation 1,089 ft. However the Total Daily calorie burn shows 2,242 with only 414 considered active. Trying to under stand how Garmin is defining actively burned calories.

Also, in the Instinct app, under User Settings, Activity was set to None. I've now  changed it to "7" but what do the levels refer to? Is 7 a more active person than a 4?

Thanks

Walt

  • Garmin shows I burned 608 calories, 95% of those would be considered active.

    Where did you find that 95% of it was active? Normally, the active part of the Calories burned during an activity, are those Calories burned over the BMR Calories for the time of the activity. So if your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is 2000 kcal/day and the hike took 3 hours, the BMR part of the activity would be 250 kcal, and the active part would be 608-250 = 358 kcal. The rest of the active Calories for the day, up to the 414, would be for the remaining unlogged ativity during the day.

    Of, course, I do not know your BMR, and the time of the hike, but you can make the math with the true values yourself.

    Also, in the Instinct app, under User Settings, Activity was set to None. I've now  changed it to "7" but what do the levels refer to? Is 7 a more active person than a 4?

    Yes. Just click the questionmark on the screen, and the detailed description of the individual levels will show up. At least, if you are looking at it on Garmin Connect Web, not sure whether it is on the phone app too.

  • Thanks for responding and clarifying for me how Garmin is calculating calories burned. I was making the assumption that calories burned during any strenuous activity would largely be active calories burned but that is obviously not the case. And also thanks for pointing me to Activity definitions so I can accurately reflect my level.