Eating for Hiking? (X-posted to Fitbit group)
CoachJen71
Posts: 1,200 Member
I have a Flex and have recently started hiking (with poles,) which for me mostly means tripping up and downhill over rocks and roots, until I come to a boulder I need to haul myself over or slide down on.
Should I just let my Flex gauge my activity? I logged it on MFP once as "hiking with less than a 10lb load," and the calorie burn it tried to give me was astronomical, so I deleted it and went with what fitbit said, even though the steps, activity minutes, and burn were roughly along the same lines of what I get during a day of teaching. (With walking during breaks and recess thrown in.)
I feel like I am working and sweating far more on an uphill hike than pacing around a classroom. Would Fitbit only know the difference if I got a Charge HR? I want to feed my body appropriately for these 6-8 mile hikes, but don't want to fall into the "I worked out, so I can eat anything" trap. How do I know what I really burned so I can figure out how to not over or under eat?
Should I just let my Flex gauge my activity? I logged it on MFP once as "hiking with less than a 10lb load," and the calorie burn it tried to give me was astronomical, so I deleted it and went with what fitbit said, even though the steps, activity minutes, and burn were roughly along the same lines of what I get during a day of teaching. (With walking during breaks and recess thrown in.)
I feel like I am working and sweating far more on an uphill hike than pacing around a classroom. Would Fitbit only know the difference if I got a Charge HR? I want to feed my body appropriately for these 6-8 mile hikes, but don't want to fall into the "I worked out, so I can eat anything" trap. How do I know what I really burned so I can figure out how to not over or under eat?
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I just use my normal fitbit steps when hiking and consider any extra calories burned a bonus. If I'm super hungry later that day, I eat more, knowing that if I go over my calories by a little bit it's fine.0
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Yeah, I've eaten all my MFP exercise cals or little above on the longer hike days, but not for 4 miles or less, which is like a standard walk (length-wise at least) for me. Still losing weight, which is what I want right now, so I guess that's a good sign.0
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If your fitbit is sync'd with MFP have you tried logging your hike in MFP? I think that if you have the settings to allow negative adjustments, the fitbit will pick up the fact that the steps were more intense that a stroll and adjust your total calorie burn accordingly.0
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If your fitbit is sync'd with MFP have you tried logging your hike in MFP? I think that if you have the settings to allow negative adjustments, the fitbit will pick up the fact that the steps were more intense that a stroll and adjust your total calorie burn accordingly.
I tried that, and that was when the burn shown was astronomical. It looked at my Fitbit dashboard and all my active minute bars turned green and spiked as a 5 hour block of 150min burn per quarter hour. That seemed crazy to me, and certainly didn't reflect the change in terrain or my speed over the hike. MFP only gives me a max of 125 cals on an adjusted active minutes bar for my aerobics/Zumba, and that has gone down as I have lost weight.
I guess I really can't get more accurate data without an HRM.
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Sorry, I have found in the past for things like cycling it harshly down-adjusted the calories to the negative but I've not tried doing it with a step based exercise like hiking.0
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We live in a very hilly area. My fit bit gives me credit for 30 staircases for a 65 minute hike in our woods. I have learned to not trust any calories burned statistic completely. I just got back from a hike in our woods. I ate lunch before I left and just ate a nectarine and drank about 20 ounces of water after I returned from my hike. I rarely eat back all exercise calories. I have a snack and wait a while to see if I still feel hungry. I have had a fit bit for about 28 months. First a One, then a Force. I have had a Charge HR for about 2 weeks now and really like the HR feature. Most of the calorie burned numbers seem to be high both for MFP and the machines I use at the gym. I have this pretty much figured out for me. I have been on MFP for a little over 3 years, lost over 1/2 my current body weight, and have been on maintenance for almost 20 months. I went from a 60 year old morbidly obese person, who got winded going up a flight of stairs, to the person I am now, a "normal" weight, 63 year old, with (if the HR function of the past 2 weeks is to be believed) a resting heart rate in the low 50's. Obviously, I love fit bit. It is the single best motivator I have to move more. If I can do it, most anyone with no health issues can. MFP and Fit Bit have given me a healthier life.
As with all things involved in getting healthier, we all have to find what works for us, and go with it. Everyone is a little bit different. General numbers are a guideline to work with.0 -
What do you mean by astronomical?
For 6 miles, 90 minutes, of reasonably arduous terrain I'd anticipate about 500-550 cals.
Your problem is that your pedometer doesn't know the terrain that you're crossing. I'd observe that an HRM also won't give you a rresentative value due to the inconsistent changes in HR.0 -
CoachJen71 wrote: »I have a Flex and have recently started hiking (with poles,) which for me mostly means tripping up and downhill over rocks and roots, until I come to a boulder I need to haul myself over or slide down on.
Should I just let my Flex gauge my activity?
Your Fitbit burn is TDEE (total daily energy expenditure), the number of calories necessary to maintain your current weight. Exercise logged in MFP overwrites your Fitbit burn during that time. So I log exercise in Fitbit—never MFP.
You can learn more in the Fitbit Users group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users0 -
editorgrrl wrote: »CoachJen71 wrote: »I have a Flex and have recently started hiking (with poles,) which for me mostly means tripping up and downhill over rocks and roots, until I come to a boulder I need to haul myself over or slide down on.
Should I just let my Flex gauge my activity?
Your Fitbit burn is TDEE (total daily energy expenditure), the number of calories necessary to maintain your current weight. Exercise logged in MFP overwrites your Fitbit burn during that time. So I log exercise in Fitbit—never MFP.
You can learn more in the Fitbit Users group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users
Did you actually read the question?0 -
MeanderingMammal wrote: »For 6 miles, 90 minutes, of reasonably arduous terrain I'd anticipate about 500-550 cals.
fwiw I checked myself, and the hiking cross country was about right, hiking <10kg load was maybe 50cals higher than I'd forecast, so well within margin for error. The discrepancy is easily accounted for by the 10kg range of additional mass.
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MeanderingMammal wrote: »What do you mean by astronomical?
I mean for 5 hours of hiking it spiked my MFP exercise number by a couple thousand. Either I entered something wrong somewhere, it double-dipped and added my MFP entry to my FitBit burn, or some other weirdness happened. So I just let FitBit call it, ate the exercise cals, and called it good. I guess I will just keep doing that on longer hikes, unless at some point I think I am eating back too many cals due to weight gain.
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CoachJen71 wrote: »MeanderingMammal wrote: »What do you mean by astronomical?
I mean for 5 hours of hiking it spiked my MFP exercise number by a couple thousand. Either I entered something wrong somewhere, it double-dipped and added my MFP entry to my FitBit burn, or some other weirdness happened. So I just let FitBit call it, ate the exercise cals, and called it good. I guess I will just keep doing that on longer hikes, unless at some point I think I am eating back too many cals due to weight gain.
Sounds like the best bet, what sort of distance did you cover in that time?
For me, five hours would be 20 to 25 miles so 2000 cals wouldn't be completely unreasonable. Probably a bit low actually.0 -
MeanderingMammal wrote: »editorgrrl wrote: »CoachJen71 wrote: »I have a Flex and have recently started hiking (with poles,) which for me mostly means tripping up and downhill over rocks and roots, until I come to a boulder I need to haul myself over or slide down on.
Should I just let my Flex gauge my activity?
Your Fitbit burn is TDEE (total daily energy expenditure), the number of calories necessary to maintain your current weight. Exercise logged in MFP overwrites your Fitbit burn during that time. So I log exercise in Fitbit—never MFP.
You can learn more in the Fitbit Users group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users
Did you actually read the question?
Yes. Log the hiking in Fitbit.
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editorgrrl wrote: »MeanderingMammal wrote: »editorgrrl wrote: »CoachJen71 wrote: »I have a Flex and have recently started hiking (with poles,) which for me mostly means tripping up and downhill over rocks and roots, until I come to a boulder I need to haul myself over or slide down on.
Should I just let my Flex gauge my activity?
Your Fitbit burn is TDEE (total daily energy expenditure), the number of calories necessary to maintain your current weight. Exercise logged in MFP overwrites your Fitbit burn during that time. So I log exercise in Fitbit—never MFP.
You can learn more in the Fitbit Users group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users
Did you actually read the question?
Yes. Log the hiking in Fitbit.
So what makes that any more or less accurate than any other source?
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MeanderingMammal wrote: »CoachJen71 wrote: »
Sounds like the best bet, what sort of distance did you cover in that time?MeanderingMammal wrote: »What do you mean by astronomical?
For me, five hours would be 20 to 25 miles so 2000 cals wouldn't be completely unreasonable. Probably a bit low actually.
Ah, you are a fast hiker like my hubby then. Nope, I went a slooowww 6 miles in that time. First real hike since losing 90lbs. I'm terribly proud. :^D My profile pic is from that day.0 -
MeanderingMammal wrote: »So what makes [Fitbit] any more or less accurate than any other source?
The only way to gauge the accuracy of your Fitbit is to trust it for several weeks then reevaluate your progress. I wasn't losing much at all with MFP. I got a Fitbit, log exercise only there, lost the weight, and have maintained for a year.
It'll take trial & error to find what works for you.0 -
http://hikingscience.blogspot.com/p/calculate-calories-burned_22.html?m=1
MFP gave me a number 2.5 times what that guy's calculator came up with. It's based on distance / elevation change (no time component), so almost certainly more accurate for slow people like me.0 -
http://hikingscience.blogspot.com/p/calculate-calories-burned_22.html?m=1
MFP gave me a number 2.5 times what that guy's calculator came up with. It's based on distance / elevation change (no time component), so almost certainly more accurate for slow people like me.
Oh, that's a fun link.
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I'm a pretty frequent hiker, too - at least 1-2x a week, usually in the mountains near where I live (southern CA). I have no real idea how many calories hiking burns, although I've been told that it averages out to around 100 calories per mile, maybe more uphill, maybe the same fewer downhill.
Personally, I don't really find that I (or the other people I hike with) need that many extra calories for hiking, especially trying to lose weight. Usually, on my not so long hike days (less than maybe 7-8 miles), I'll eat around my usual amount, which is 1200/calories a day, and feel fine. If I do a longer hike, I'll usually eat a few hundred calories more, although I try to make sure those calories are good fuel calories, like protein or fruit, rather than less healthy calories. That said, on days when I hike, if I feel like I need more food, like if I feel shaky or really hungry even 20 minutes after a meal, I'll eat it.
While you're hiking, it is really important to bring a lot of water and good food to eat to make sure your hike is safe (and fun!), especially in the summer. Personally, I like to bring oranges, peanut m and ms, crackers/pretzels and cheese, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and apples - but pretty small portions of those, easier to carry anyway, and usually consider it a meal. It's a good idea to have something a bit sweet (for sugar) and something salty (for electrolytes) with you, and for hikes longer than ~90 minutes or so to have more than you plan on eating, just in case.
Especially on a long hike or over rough terrain or where falling would be hazardous, it's really important to definitely eat whenever you feel like you need food (weak, tired, shaky, etc), even if you end up going over your calories or eating more than you've planned - not getting sick or hurt is more important than losing weight that day! I do think that over time people learn to listen to their bodies during hikes (it's helped me!) and learn to tell how much extra food they really need.0 -
CoachJen71 wrote: »Ah, you are a fast hiker like my hubby then. Nope, I went a slooowww 6 miles in that time. First real hike since losing 90lbs. I'm terribly proud. :^D My profile pic is from that day.
OK, I can see what the issue is then, MFP will have assumed that you're doing between 3 and 4 miles per hour, rather than just over 1, hence it's assuming that you're covering much more distance.
So if you've covered 6 miles then you are in the realms of 500 cals.
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editorgrrl wrote: »The only way to gauge the accuracy of your Fitbit is to trust it for several weeks then reevaluate your progress. I wasn't losing much at all with MFP. I got a Fitbit, log exercise only there, lost the weight, and have maintained for a year.
It'll take trial & error to find what works for you.
So you didn't actually address the question, rather just wheeled out your canned response to anyone mentioning a Fitbit, pointing them at the Fitbit group.
I note that in the Fitbit group you have a different canned response that essentially says "trust the tech".
In the context of this question, neither really addresses the issue.- The Fitbit isn't epresentative because it doesn't recognise the nature of the terrain
- MFP assumes a faster rate of progress than the originator identifies
The best tool for the originator is probably a phone app, but I can't think of any that'll reliably give 5 hours of tracking without killing the battery. My inclination would be Endomondo, as I've found that is most resilient in power consumption terms.
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All burns are estimates (calorie counts, too), and you can drive yourself crazy with it. Or you can trust the tech, reevaluate your progress, and adjust accordingly.0
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editorgrrl wrote: »... trust the tech...
Or you could seek to understand the tool, the limitations of the tool and how it relates to other tools.
Personally I don't go for the blind faith approach.0 -
MeanderingMammal wrote: »CoachJen71 wrote: »MeanderingMammal wrote: »What do you mean by astronomical?
I mean for 5 hours of hiking it spiked my MFP exercise number by a couple thousand. Either I entered something wrong somewhere, it double-dipped and added my MFP entry to my FitBit burn, or some other weirdness happened. So I just let FitBit call it, ate the exercise cals, and called it good. I guess I will just keep doing that on longer hikes, unless at some point I think I am eating back too many cals due to weight gain.
Sounds like the best bet, what sort of distance did you cover in that time?
For me, five hours would be 20 to 25 miles so 2000 cals wouldn't be completely unreasonable. Probably a bit low actually.
If you cover 25 miles in 5 hours you are running parts or it's completely flat.0 -
MeanderingMammal wrote: »CoachJen71 wrote: »MeanderingMammal wrote: »What do you mean by astronomical?
I mean for 5 hours of hiking it spiked my MFP exercise number by a couple thousand. Either I entered something wrong somewhere, it double-dipped and added my MFP entry to my FitBit burn, or some other weirdness happened. So I just let FitBit call it, ate the exercise cals, and called it good. I guess I will just keep doing that on longer hikes, unless at some point I think I am eating back too many cals due to weight gain.
Sounds like the best bet, what sort of distance did you cover in that time?
For me, five hours would be 20 to 25 miles so 2000 cals wouldn't be completely unreasonable. Probably a bit low actually.
If you cover 25 miles in 5 hours you are running parts or it's completely flat.
Dartmoor or Salisbury Plain
Sustaining 5mph is challenging, just over 4mph isn't unusual.
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