Movement · 5 min read
Swimming and calorie estimates: why your watch needs context
Stroke, pace, body size and water can move an estimate a long way. Use the number as a rough input, not a promise to eat back every calorie.
Why the range is wide
Swimming is not one activity. A relaxed backstroke, a steady crawl and hard butterfly place very different demands on the body, and body mass changes the energy cost too. That is why a single watch number can look more certain than the underlying estimate deserves.
How to use the number
Log the session, duration and effort. Let your longer-term energy and weight trends tell you whether the estimate is useful. Elo treats movement as information about your day, not a debt you must repay with food.