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Calorie count is wack

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I recently bought a 530 and heart rate chest strap. My “calories burned” has significantly dropped vs using my Garmin vivoactive 3 for recording my ride. I have a regular loop i take that’s about 26 miles, and the watch would normally calculate 1300+ burned. The edge is now calculating less than 600. My fitness pal is closer to the calculation that my watch is giving. I weight about 230, average anywhere from 18 to 19 mph on this 26 mile ride.

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    I suspect 1300+ is a bit higher than reality for a 26 mile ride.  Anyway the only way to have reasonable calories estimate is to use a power meter.  Without one all the calorie numbers on any device are just an educated guess and can't really be trusted.

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    All calorie counts are "wack".  However, using a heart rate strap with the 530 will give a better approximation of your calories than the wrist based estimation from your vivoactive 3.  I have both units (and many others) and wrist based heart rates are not as accurate as chest strap heart rates,

    You should consider all calorie counts as "estimates" at best, as they way your body uses energy is different to every other body on the planet, and many things can affect your body so that even day to day your calorie count will not be consistent.

    For example, if you exercise one day without a caffienated drink, your heart rate may be 5 beats per minute lower than the next day when you decide to have a double espresso.  Any heart rate based estimate will assume that you are working harder as your heart is beating faster, but in reality it's just the effect of the coffee.