Originally Posted by
DrIsotope
But because after accounting for human inefficiency, for cycling purposes we can work from 1kJ = 1Kcal.
Strava uses a 1.1Kcal = 1kJ calculation if you have a PM, and I use that one because I have power2max meters which report notoriously low.
I have never gotten any ridiculously high calorie burn reports from Strava, even pre-PM. I seem to recall some ~30% high (by my post-PM math) but nothing like the people seeing double or triple Kcal to kJ.
Well, unless the METS are wrong, you know how many calories you burned. METS is Multiples of Basal Metabolic Rate, so it does include the calories you would burn sitting on a couch for the same amount of time.
I don't think Strava includes BMR in the calorie burned count.
FWIW, Strava is far more conservative than other tools I have used. Samsung Health and Wahoo Fitness come up with much higher numbers. Strava does not appear to have a linear slope when it comes to body weight, increasing body weight does not have the 1:1 effect that a METS calculation would have. Double the mass, double the calories required.
If you really wanna know, it takes a properly calibrated Power Meter. Can't cheat with those!