Are Fitness Watches Lying to You About Calories Burned?

We love our smartwatches for keeping us accountable, but let’s be real—the “calories burned” feature isn’t totally accurate. Watches use heart rate, movement, and algorithms to estimate your burn, but they can overestimate or underestimate, especially for strength training.

Why Does Strength Training Get Undercounted?

Unlike cardio, where heart rate and movement are steady, strength training involves short bursts of high effort, followed by rest periods. Since fitness watches rely heavily on heart rate and movement to estimate calories, they often miss the afterburn effect, muscle recovery energy demands, and the fact that resistance training builds lean muscle—which increases overall calorie burn over time.

What does this mean for you? Don’t get too hung up on calorie numbers! Instead, focus on the real benefits of your fitness watch:

❤️ Heart Rate Tracking – A great way to measure effort and recovery

👟 Step & Movement Accountability – Helps keep you active throughout the day.

💪 Workout Consistency – Seeing your activity data can keep you motivated.

Remember, progress isn’t just about calories burned—it’s about getting stronger, moving better, and staying consistent. Keep using your watch as a tool, not a rule, and trust the bigger picture!