Frustration with calories

WHOOP 5.0
1

I appreciate developments in product are to make things better, but sometimes, it misses.
A key metric for many that are looking to be healthy and i imagine whoop users share that common goal, is calories. Planning energy intake and proper nutrition relies on knowing your calorie intake. Sonce updating the app to show the big three, the calories have been pushed down into my dashboard, which is customisable, but around 17 scrolls away after you go through everything they want to show you first.

Why not have above the fold a customisable top 3 metrics of our choice as well as the three they want, then, ut would be quick and useful. For me for example, I want to know at a glance, calories for the day so far, sleep debt so I can plan my sleep, and time in zone 2.

The other thing that seems to have happened is the calories are far lower than when i had the 4.0, a lot lower. I normally track on a normal day around the 100 calories per hour, so I know when i have been on the move, now, the same day tracks far less. More accurate or not working? Who knows.

Pleade just allow me to put whats important to me at the top of the app in view at least.

Anyone else share this fustration?

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Hi @Fullerton, thanks for the note and feedback. I’d love to hear from other members on this as well.

I’ve added some thoughts below on some of your feedback:

Re: Having calories, or another nutrition metric, above the fold in the “big three.” I’ll pass this feedback onto the Product leader focused on the homepage. Good feedback, thank you.

Re: Scrolling to find calories. One thing you could do is customize your dashboard by clicking on the “Customize” button on the “My Dashboard” section on Home. Once there, you can drag up and down every metric and move Calories up. I included a picture of it on my app right now to illustrate (I put Calories at the top of My Dashboard, and you can too).

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Re: Calorie count itself. I’ll connect with a member of the team to add this feedback. I haven’t heard of a discrepancy between 4.0 and 5.0 on this metric, but it’s good for us to gather all feedback like this from members and so I’ll pass it on.

Thanks for all the feedback @Fullerton!

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I can not compare to Whoop 4 but do think Whoop 5 is quite low on calorie calculation on exercise. My 1 hour ride, hard effort 19mph, Garmin calculates 822, Whoop 637. My suspicion for this discrepancy, Whoop only knows about HR, Garmin knows about Power, Pace and HR for a more detailed caloric calculation. When I cycle over 3 hours the difference is significant.

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Just finished a 50 mile ride. Garmin 1849, Whoop 1194 calories. That’s a lot of missed calories. Oura ring was 1923. Whoop just seems way off. :face_with_diagonal_mouth:

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Hi,

Thanks for your response.

I have calories at the top.of my dashboard, but that is at least two scrolls, not just thay, you have to “find” it. I know it seems simple, but its not open and quick glance or pres a button and you see it, you have to scroll to it.

Just from a UX perspective, that is extra friction to find what I want. So what happens is either, the fustration builds each time I want to get an idea of how I am tracking, or, I dont bother, and this means i no longer associate the wearing of my whoop valuable.

I would suggest keep the big three, but allow for maybe 3 other metrics to be in view in the above the fold area.

Thay way, as a user, I get whats important to be as soon as the app opened. The old view was far more valuable to me. I am not sure why they changed it. It looked nicer too.

As for the calories, ive done around 11k steps, some of which carrying a 14kg toddler, as today was a rest day, for that, I could expect to be tracking close to the 100 calories per hour mark.

8pm (20:00) should be 2000 calories roughly, I am sat at 1700, that is my bmr, so this is suggesting I havent moved today.

Ive been wearing whoop a long time, so its easy to spot when its off the norm.

Maybe it is more accurate and all other devices and the 4.0 was less so, but just seems low.

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Also, it wont auto pick up 10 minutes on the stepper machine, one after the assult bike for heart rate in my opinion.

Yet it auto processed 600 steps in 10 minutes with a heart rate in zone 0…

Something is up, any updates on these issues that seem to be happening to other users?

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Have to concur. Since moving to Whoop MG from 4.0 the calorie count is far lower. Makes it difficult to plan food realistically. 4.0 was pretty accurate based on my experience with body comp changes.

A lot of forums online highlighting lower calories and strain with the updates.

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The real question is: are the calories actually more accurate now and whoop have mastered calorie tracking? Or, do they know its an issue, whether hardware, firmware, or software and they are resolvong it.

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I had this very same frustration and question! After I’ve configured the current dash and have calories at the top of the list, I need to scroll down to see the metrics I WANT TO SEE AT A GLANCE.

It’s used to be customizable before the last UI refresh :confused:

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My calories are way lower too since getting the Peak. And steps are 30% lower too. My BMR is about 1550 cals. Today I lifted weights for 40 minutes and fairly good intensity, did half an hour of yoga, and walked 9km on a golf course carrying a 22lb bag (4.5 hrs). Total calories for the day says 1600. Very frustrated with this upgrade.

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A hard legs and shoulders session about 40 mins, 45cal, its a joke :frowning:

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I’m having the exact same problem since I switched to MG! It’s not even about the calorie counting itself, it’s like MG is seriously lowballing my heart rate. During a 90-minute strength workout, my average heart rate on MG is more than 20 BPM lower than what my Apple Watch Ultra 2 says. So basically, my heavy lifting sessions are being counted as, like, a brisk walk, and that totally screws with the calorie calculations.

Ever since I moved to MG, my weekly time in zones 1-3 has practically been cut in half. I already shot a message to tech support, and all they told me was that I’m wearing the band wrong. Even though it’s two finger-widths above my wrist, and I’m wearing it the exact same way I did with 4.0

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No. I am 5 10” male very active. Even on run days my whoop says I but. 1850-1950 calories almost every day and I eat 2400. I stay at 159 every single day. It’s off by 600 calories a day every day.

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I’m recovering from a bike accident at the moment so my only exercise is a long walk , but I got a 760cal burn from Strava and a 240cal burn from Whoop for the exact same walk. Whoop also under quoted the step count by 1,600 steps.

This is using the MG. Higher (more accurate) step count from an iPhone.

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Ive really struggled with Whoop, the calories burned are way off. Ive got a garmin, a samsung watch and a ploar chest band.

I train hard in the gym, for approx 90 mins every second day, whoop thinks I burn 350 calories and all the others are up around the 700-800 cal mark depending on whats being trained.

How can something be so innacurate?!

To top all that off, while working 12 hour days and then training, all the Whoop does is try tell you how bad you should be feeling and how much sleep you arent getting. Its like its trying to give you anxiety about your lifestyle. Specially when I have no dramas whatsoever with finding energy for my days and training.

Who on earth manages to get 8-9 hours sleep a night?!?!

Ive asked to return the Whoop as its not what it says it is and the HR and Calories are well faulty/ incorrect and im getting nothing back at all. Its been 3 weeks now.

I wouldnt recommend to anyone.

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I have exactly the same issue!! Calories burned when walking 18 holes is way off, and I’m a very active guy and professional golfer. According to whoop I burn on average 2.111 calories per day total, which is ridiculous.

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This is the response I get from Whoop help chat.

WHOOP totally gets how important accurate calorie tracking is, especially with the MG device (the latest and most advanced hardware). Here’s how WHOOP calculates calories:WHOOP uses your heart rate, HRV, age, height, weight, and gender to estimate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and total daily energy burn.• Unlike most wearables, WHOOP doesn’t just count steps or use a fixed rate—it dynamically calculates based on your real-time data for better accuracy, especially during workouts.• WHOOP’s calorie estimates may appear lower than some other devices, which often overestimate, especially for low/moderate activities. WHOOP avoids inflating numbers by using science-backed calculations.• For best accuracy:Make sure your WHOOP MG is worn snugly on your wrist (not too loose).• Double-check your profile (height, weight, age, gender) is up to date.• Keep your Max HR setting accurate.• Allow a few days for the algorithm to adapt if you recently switched hardware.• If you’re still seeing issues:Try rebooting your device (Home > Battery icon > Advanced > Reboot Device).• Make sure your app and firmware are up to date.• If your step or HR data is missing, data sync could be delayed—refresh your app and check connectivity.• WHOOP is always working to improve accuracy and welcomes feedback. If you’re still not seeing improvements, let WHOOP know more about your daily activities or any specific examples. Want help troubleshooting further or want to talk about your goals before you consider canceling?You’re on WHOOP Life with MG, so you’re already getting the most advanced tracking and features available! If you still want to discuss cancellation, let WHOOP know why so the experience can be improved. Here’s the official page for more info:

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Thanks for sharing all that.

Even if it’s cross referencing all that data, the fact that it is recording step data incorrectly in the first place makes their point moot.

I’d also assume that nothing too crazy has changed with how they calculate calories between Whoop 4 and the new MG. I never had these issues with the 4.

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A friend of mine’s hypothesis is that maybe to prolong the battery life they’ve decreased the sensitivity, and I think they overshot their goal. I am beyond frustrated with this device.

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I walked and carried yesterday and got a 398 calorie burn. I’m 5’10” and 145lb and we played in under 4 hours, so we weren’t exactly sauntering :enraged_face:

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