Originally Posted by
GeorgeBMac
Be careful using "net calories"... I have found from personal experience that exercise calories are not the same as dietary calories. That is: that 3,500 calories burned does not lose a pound, but 3,500 consumed does put on a pound.
I suspect that the difference may be that many of the calculators include BMR (basal metabolic rate) calories in their calculation of 'exercise calories'. The calculator I use from Digifit shows both "(total) calories" as well as "Fat Calories". Fat calories are usually about 1/4 or 1/3 of the total.
I suspect that the "fat calories" are the more relevant number to look at, but I have not been able to find much information about it -- aside from Digifit's explanation that at lower levels of exertion, the body tends to use fat as it's source of energy but at higher levels of exertion it resorts to burning carbs...
I use a garmin 500...
Went on nice ride with out Heart rate monitor.
next week
Went on harder ride (3x the climb) same distance and average speed.
Garmin reported the easy ride as using twice the calories!
I've been told that the calorie estimate would get more accurate with a power meter, but that's not going to be in the budget for quite some time...
But long story short, calorie estimates are for the birds.... Or rather likely worthless except for comparing workout to workout on same machine, but NOT as an estimate for calories...