Step Tracker

NVastlik93

Hi Everyone,

As most of us know, MFP is equipped with a step tracker. Based off the amount of steps you take you are essentially, "awarded" more calories. Here is my question. Why? Steps taken in the form of purposeful exercise (running for instance) should be added into the exercise section. Everyday activities that add to your step total (walking around the office, at home, at the store, etc) should not be accounted for because you already account for these things when you chose an activity level. For example: You are a waiter/waitress (which according to MFP means your activity level is active) and you do not workout at all and thus have a goal of 2,000 calories a day to maintain your current weight. Without the step tracker you simply just track your calories and get to the magic 2000 and maintain your current weight. However, after activating the step tracker and going about your noraml day (which does not include a workout) MFP says you have taken 10,000 steps and can thus eat an extra 200 calories. The problem here is that those 10,000 steps you took from being a waiter/waitress were already accounted for within your activity level. Because of this issue, you now eat the extra 200 calories a day because you think it is okay. Over the course of a month you will gain 1.7 pounds.

I just thought it would be nice to point this flaw out to the community, for those that did not realize it themselves. Perhaps this can be addressed by the developers or anyone else from the MFP team.

Tubby1011

I lost over 35 pounds last year by walking 10,000 steps a day and cutting out junk food and fast food. I never ate my extra calories that burned off also.
I also dont use the MFP pedometer, i use S Health that is on my Galaxy S5 phone now, i have used the MFP though.

shadow2soul

I don't know how the MFP step tracker works. I do however know how activity trackers such as VivoFit and Fitbit work.
Based on my activity level setting. MFP has me burning 1840 a day before exercise. I have my activity level set to Sedentary because I have an activity tracker that will help adjust things for me. Some days without exercise, my activity tracker will have me at say 1940 calories burned for the day for example. This gives me 100 extra calories as an adjustment. Some would say, "just bump up to lightly active". However, at lightly active MFP estimates 2060 before exercise and would thus be 100 calories too high.
I eat back my exercise calories/adjustments from my activity tracker. Last year from June to Dec 31st I lost 35lbs (53lbs from the end of May if you count my weight at 41 wks pregnant). If you go by the way I have MFP set up, I should only have lost 29lbs from June to Dec 31st. So I already lost more than what I have MFP set for by eating these adjustments/exercise calories. Sure I could have lost faster not eating them, but it most likely wouldn't have been healthy and I probably would have burnt out fast.

47Jacqueline

I don't know how MFP tracks your steps, but the app pedometers I've used require you to be carrying your phone all the time. I use a wrist tracker, which is more reliable for me. I also log my workouts manually. So, the steps are counted twice, but because I'm logging my workouts, until I get over 20,000 steps for the day, I don't show any reported activity on my tracker's reports to MFP.

At very active, noting 60 minutes of workouts 6 days a week and on maintenance, MFP gives me 1970 calories a day, I eat back from none to all of my workout calories and have had consistently successful results. My only deviation from that was due to inactivity from a broken leg last fall, where I gained about 4lb - I'm now down 1 1/2lb from that (done while on maintenance calories) and just reduced my daily f=goal to 1700 for the lat 2 1/2lb.