Table of Contents
Tips for more accurate calorie tracking
Why Fitbod's calorie estimates may differ from other apps
Introduction
Fitbod can estimate the number of calories burned during your workouts using a combination of factors. If you use an Apple Watch or a Wear OS compatible device with Health Connect, heart rate data is also incorporated into the calculation for improved accuracy.
How calories are calculated
Fitbod computes calories using the best data available:
Without a wearable
If you're not using a wearable, Fitbod calculates calories burned based on:
- Number of sets completed
- Estimated workout duration (based on number of sets and rest time)
- Type of exercise being performed
- Your inputted body weight
With a wearable
Fitbod enhances its calorie calculation by also incorporating:
- Your actual heart rate during the workout
- Workout duration
- Your age, weight, and gender
Fitbod uses heart rate data provided by Apple Watch when available for a more precise estimate. On Android/Wear OS this information comes through Health Connect. If the Apple Watch or Health Connect supplies calories for a workout, Fitbod will typically use that value.
Tips for more accurate calorie tracking
Keep your profile updated
Make sure your weight, age, and gender are up to date in your Fitbod profile.
Enable Health App permissions
For the most accurate calorie tracking:
- iOS users: Enable Apple Health permissions for heart rate, body measurements, and workouts.
- Android users: Enable Health Connect permissions for the same data types.
With heart rate access, Fitbod can calculate calories based on your actual workout intensity.
Avoid double logging
If you're syncing workouts from other apps (like Apple Fitness, Strava, etc.), make sure you're not manually logging the same workout in Fitbod. This can result in duplicate calorie counts across apps.
⚠️ Note: When Apple Health or Health Connect sync is enabled with permission to read profile data (weight, age, gender), Fitbod will automatically use this data instead of manual entries.
Why Fitbod's calorie estimates may differ from other apps
Different fitness apps and devices use different calculation methods, which can lead to varying calorie estimates for the same workout. Such as:
- Apple Watch and other wearables each use their own proprietary algorithms.
- These algorithms may weigh factors differently (heart rate, movement, workout type, etc.)
- Strength training is particularly difficult to measure accurately across different methods.
Because there's no universal standard for calculating strength training calories, it's normal to see different estimates across apps.
For the most consistent tracking, we recommend choosing one primary app for calorie tracking rather than comparing across multiple sources.
FAQ
Can I manually edit calories in Fitbod?
Currently, it's not possible to manually edit the calories burned for a workout.
Why are my calories higher in Fitbod compared to Apple Health?
Different apps use different calculation methods for estimating calories, which can lead to varying results for the same workout. See the section above for more details on why calorie estimates differ across apps.
Why are my calories not syncing to Apple Health or Health Connect?
If calories from your Fitbod workouts aren't appearing in Apple Health or Health Connect, try these steps:
For Apple Health:
- Open the Health app > Tap your Profile (top right) > Apps > Fitbod.
- Make sure Active Energy has Write permission enabled.
For Health Connect:
- Open Health Connect > App permissions > Fitbod.
- Confirm Calories burned has Write permission enabled.
If you've confirmed permissions are correct and calories still aren't syncing, try logging out and back into Fitbod, then log a test workout to see if it syncs.