MapMyWalk App - correct calories burned?

[KittehLove]

A friend of mine told me about this app & I used it for the first time today. Map my walk says I burned over 400 calories walking 3.0mph for 27 minutes...that seems excessive? Anyone else using it, do you find it to be fairly accurate with its "calories burned?" I googled some other calculators & I get different answers from each from between 250-350 calories burned...hmmmm.

[greenmomma]

It depends on your weight and heart rate I'd imagine. At 215 pounds, if I walk 30 minutes at 3 mph my fitness pal reports 161 calories burned.

[MADR]

If you want a more accurate calorie counter, you may consider a heart rate monitor or body bug. I have the Polar ft4 I believe.

[KittehLove]

It depends on your weight and heart rate I'd imagine. At 215 pounds, if I walk 30 minutes at 3 mph my fitness pal reports 161 calories burned.

I made sure my settings were correct, I guess it's believable given my stats, and there were some small inclines...plus I did more than 3mph @ times. I just wondered if everyone finds those counts to be accurate.

[KittehLove]

If you want a more accurate calorie counter, you may consider a heart rate monitor or body bug. I have the Polar ft4 I believe.

A friend is giving me her extra fitbit so I'm anxious to see how that differs!

[65fl]

The only way to answer that question accurately is for you to compare the results with an exercise oxygen analyzer. Even if a calorie counter is accurate for someone else does not mean it will be accurate for you since everyone's metabolism is different. I would suspect that most of these estimators read on the high side, I seriously doubt that you walked for 30 minutes and burned 400 calories. In my opinion the only thing they are good for is a very rough estimate of calories burned and comparing progress, i.e. the relative intensity of your workouts over time.

[niamh]

You should also be aware that there is research that shows that metabolic rate shifts permanently for people who've been obese, so we need less calories even once returned to normal weight. So, you can probably assume that you're not burning calories at the rate the apps suggest. Not sure it matters though - I'd try and stay away from the diet mentality of calories in/out. Do exercise because it's good for your health - not as a weight management strategy. Eat foods to maximise the right balance of nutrition - not to restrict calories.