Your Fitness Tracker May be Lying To You About This Really Important Thing

So you just left your fitness class and are feeling really good about those 600 calories your tracker says you've burned but there may be bad news. Your fitness tracker may be lying to you. It is likely that you've burned less than those 600 calories. Most exercise apps and trainers require you to enter your age and weight but even then, they miscalculate the number of calories you've burned in a workout. Sometimes as much as 20 percent! This is because calorie burning is far more complex than age and weight. Many factors play a role like heart rate, breathing and fitness level. Sherry Pagoto, cofounder of the UMass Center for mHealth and Social Media says, "A highly trained runner who is 120 pounds likely burns less calories than a newbie who is 120 pounds and running the same distance and pace. This will bear out in their heart rate data — the more conditioned one gets, the lower the heart rate during the same activity, and the fewer calories burned." But don't toss your tracker just yet, they don't have it all wrong. Pagoto suggests that if you are trying to lose weight, choose the more conservative number in the range given. It gives you an idea, not the entire picture. Having a place to start is better than being completely lost. And don't forget to pay attention to how many calories you are consuming. It is fine to get excited about how many calories you may have burned during your morning workout but don't forget to track what you take in over the course of a day. Most people over estimate the calories they burn and underestimate the calories they eat. Don't be one of them. Do you love or hate fitness trackers? Tells us! Source: Elite Daily Do you follow us on Instagram? [caption id="attachment_110461" align="alignnone" width="100"] @BodyRockTV[/caption]