I assume they're not going to be medical level accurate, but how far off would you consider them to be? 10%, 20%, or just completely dismiss what they say?
by JimBobPaul
I assume they're not going to be medical level accurate, but how far off would you consider them to be? 10%, 20%, or just completely dismiss what they say?
by JimBobPaul
5 Comments
It’s hard to say, really. I generally only count calories from an actual cardio workout. Not “active” calories or strength training because calories burned for those are lower or more inaccurate. I also only eat back 60% ish of the active calories It says I burned
I don’t trust any device that tracks calories out, every one I’ve used guesses high.
I have a Garmin as well, but in terms of energy expenditure, they’re only about 50% accurate. Note that this does not mean you’re only burning 50% of the calories that Garmin says you are, its about the degree of accuracy. Since it seems you’re pretty active, I’d be comfortable eating 30-60% of the calories back if I were you.
Many fitfluencers cite research where they found from 30% up to like 70% (!) over-estimates from some devices.
I would just aim for regular activity routine on a weekly basis, so you can just ignore the calories burned and consoder them your TDEE
Here’s an [explanation](https://www.reddit.com/r/1200isplenty/s/BELNDa6G5D) as to why tracking calorie expenditure is mostly pointless.