Calorie Data - Surge or App

[LawrenceP]

Hello,

I use the Fitstar app on a daily basis to do workouts. The Fitstar app connects to my Fitbit account to log the workouts as an activity. It logs the Time and Calories Burned which then matches up with my Steps and Heart Rate from my Surge to give me a picture of the workout.

I tried an experiemt though wondering if I let the Surge track the workout completely and come up with a calorie burned count.

So I un-paired my Fitstar Account with my Fitbit Account and used the Surge only to record the workout. I chose the activity on the Surge as an Excercise - Circuit Training, which matches up to the type of workout that Fitstar coaches.

What I have found is that FitStar typically reports it's calories burned depending on the workout and time between 200 to 300 calories.

The Surge tends to report the calories I burned as 100 to 200 calories for those same workouts.

Any ideas on which one is more accurate? I would like to use the more accurate of the two.

[BarbaraForcebit]

How does Fitbit know how many calories I've burned?

I read about the Fitstar and I wouldn't feel as confident in your readings because you do not have a monitoring device on your body.  You have an applicatiion on your TV, computer, or iPad.  For me, I trust the Fitbit and with all numbers, steps, stairs, activies, calories burned, all aligns with what I have accomplished.  I believe you can research it more but as long as you're using your Surge and you're working out I'd keep up the fantastic work!  I wouldn't fix something that isn't broken.  You sound super motivated and you've got a method to your madness!  Below I copy and pasted about how the tracker estimates calories.  I sure hope this helps!  Much luck.

Your tracker and dashboard show an estimated number of calories burned based on your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate), which we calculate using the height, weight, age, and gender information that you provided when you set up your Fitbit account. If your tracker measures heart rate, the calorie burn estimate also takes heart rate into account. Note that calorie tracking for the following day begins at midnight and incorporates the calories you burn while sleeping.

When you sync your tracker, Fitbit replaces your estimated calorie burn with your tracker's data. If you manually log activities, the calories burned during those activities are taken into account as well.

[Heybales]

---

@LawrenceP wrote:

Hello,

I use the Fitstar app on a daily basis to do workouts. The Fitstar app connects to my Fitbit account to log the workouts as an activity. It logs the Time and Calories Burned which then matches up with my Steps and Heart Rate from my Surge to give me a picture of the workout.

I tried an experiemt though wondering if I let the Surge track the workout completely and come up with a calorie burned count.

So I un-paired my Fitstar Account with my Fitbit Account and used the Surge only to record the workout. I chose the activity on the Surge as an Excercise - Circuit Training, which matches up to the type of workout that Fitstar coaches.

What I have found is that FitStar typically reports it's calories burned depending on the workout and time between 200 to 300 calories.

The Surge tends to report the calories I burned as 100 to 200 calories for those same workouts.

Any ideas on which one is more accurate? I would like to use the more accurate of the two.

---

Thank you, you just answered a question I had out there regarding the Surge's ability to use some of the resistance training database exercises as one you can pick.

I would be curious though, if you go make a manual entry for the exact same amount of time, not the same time though as real workout, what calorie count does the database entry come up with compared to device?

Because HR calculated calorie burns just isn't right for mainly anaerobic restistance training, from lifting to circuit training. Body weight calisthentics is a tad better if there are lots of reps and it's almost cardio, but for some people that is circuit training too.

In which case the manual entry is better estimate than HR calculated calorie burn. The database entry is based on studies where they actually measured it at least, outside of HR.

Depending on that answer of comparison, I'd be up in the air on which is better estimate.

Does Fitstar use your bodyweight? or better, age, gender, height and weight?

They could just be using a database entry close to their types of workouts (the METS exercise database is public domain, anyone could use it), or they spent the big bucks on their own research - doubtful.

But Charge could be going by HR which is wrong, or by selecting that type of workout it's using the METS database math anyway.

[BarbaraForcebit]

Thanks for your feedback.  I did some more research and Fitstar does not have it's own tracking mechanism.  It partnered with MyFitnessPal back in 2014.  

Instead of getting into all of what you stated very accurately I will just add a few of my opinions and let you decide on your choice.  I've read and heard that both Fitbit and MyFitnessPal can be inaccurate.  I suggest rebooting yours.  If you MFP has been working and you haven't had any problems, I would stick with it.  Main thing is that if it has been consistence.  If you noticed a change with the HR Surge and it not being consist, I would contact Help Support.

For me, I would wear the one that gave me more consistency if that was what I was most concerned about.  But for me, all the other things on the Force Fitbit I have, the steps, stairs, active minutes, and the calories burned combined keeps me so motiviated that I keep so motivated.  

I'm so sorry I didn't get you the answers you were looking for.  I just wanted to be honest and helpful.  I hope you find your solution and that you figure out which is the best fit for you!  Best of luck to you!  

[Sdg729]

 I wonder about this too.

I don't think the Fitbit moderator gave a sufficient answer either.

I feel like the FitStar workouts are not intense enough to yield the calorie burn they claim they do. But regardless of what I think, the number they predict is what they plug into my fitbit app. I think this is messing with my calories available for the day. 

 Can you please tell me how you disassociated your fitstar app from your fitbit app so that I can manually track the exercise with my charge HR?