How come the Move ring doesn’t count all calories used in a workout?

[mollyc]

I just got off the treadmill for a walk, and my watch told me I burned a total of 256 calories. However my move ring is only showing me a total of 218 calories. Does the Move ring only use the “active” calorie number? It seems to me that one should get credit for all the calories during the time frame?

 

[iamasmith]

...Does the Move ring only use the “active” calorie number?...

Yes - see https://help.apple.com/watch/#/apd3bf6d85a6 under Check your progress

 

[Julien]

Apple should probably get rid of the 'total' calories since no other compony (I know of) uses it. Most people don't understand BMR anyway and it is irrelevant to exercise.

 

[ftaok]

Apple should probably get rid of the 'total' calories since no other compony (I know of) uses it. Most people don't understand BMR anyway and it is irrelevant to exercise.

Are you sure that most folks don't know about BMR? Maybe that don't know the scientific terms, but I would hope that people would understand that they are burning more than just their exercise calories.

Otherwise we'd have thoughts like, "what the hell? I only burned 700 calories today. Why do they tell me that I should eat 2500 calories a day?"

 

[Julien]

Are you sure that most folks don't know about BMR? Maybe that don't know the scientific terms, but I would hope that people would understand that they are burning more than just their exercise calories.

Otherwise we'd have thoughts like, "what the hell? I only burned 700 calories today. Why do they tell me that I should eat 2500 calories a day?"

People who are working out are only concerned with the number of calories they burn in exercise. BMR is fixed and only changes when your metrics changes. If you use other HR monitors like a Garmin they only tell you the calories you burn by exercise since BMR is fixed (relative to your current metrics). So whether people know or understand is irrelevant since BMR is not (directly) related to your exercise program.

Also clearly the OP was confused by it.

 

[mollyc]

Thank you! I did a quick search before posting but obviously searched the wrong thing. Thanks for clarifying, everyone.

 

[ftaok]

People who are working out are only concerned with the number of calories they burn in exercise. BMR is fixed and only changes when your metrics changes. If you use other HR monitors like a Garmin they only tell you the calories you burn by exercise since BMR is fixed (relative to your current metrics). So whether people know or understand is irrelevant since BMR is not (directly) related to your exercise program.

Also clearly the OP was confused by it.

I suspect I misunderstood your opinion. I read your statement as that Apple should get rid of Total Calories (and by extension Resting Calories) entirely from the Apple Watch. After reading this, I think you're just saying that they should remove the Resting/Total Calories number from the Workout data. I'm OK with that.

As for those other devices, do they report a person's Total Calorie burn overall? I suspect that the target demographic of a Garmin or Polar device leans more towards serious athletes, whereas the AW's target audience is more broad and encompasses more folks that are interested in fitness at a shallower level.