"Step calorie adjustment"

Options
enemyger
enemyger Posts: 84 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
How accurate is actually this step cunter?
Can anyone explain me how it works and if I should trust its meassure?
«1

Replies

  • enemyger
    enemyger Posts: 84 Member
    Bump
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    I trust my fitbit

    Over time it's got more accurate

    I've set it up properly - stride length time zones goals

    And I eat them all back
  • enemyger
    enemyger Posts: 84 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    I trust my fitbit

    Over time it's got more accurate

    I've set it up properly - stride length time zones goals

    And I eat them all back

    Hmm i dont mean fitbit though?
    I mean the step counter that is in this app?
    It automaticly adds my steps
  • dalielahdawn
    dalielahdawn Posts: 141 Member
    My iPhone automatically adds my steps and mfp gives me calories for them. I've been wondering the same. Or how accurate the calorie count for steps is. Like yesterday I took 3,000ish steps and it gave me 80 cals back. But today I'm at 6000 steps and it's given me almost 400 cals back. That doesn't seem consistent that me.
  • enemyger
    enemyger Posts: 84 Member
    My iPhone automatically adds my steps and mfp gives me calories for them. I've been wondering the same. Or how accurate the calorie count for steps is. Like yesterday I took 3,000ish steps and it gave me 80 cals back. But today I'm at 6000 steps and it's given me almost 400 cals back. That doesn't seem consistent that me.

    Hmm its weird....
    Im trying to figure it out but cant find info about it
  • enemyger
    enemyger Posts: 84 Member
    Push
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Sorry mate...what app? MFP doesn't have a step counter...if it's an app you must have synched it

  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    My iPhone automatically adds my steps and mfp gives me calories for them. I've been wondering the same. Or how accurate the calorie count for steps is. Like yesterday I took 3,000ish steps and it gave me 80 cals back. But today I'm at 6000 steps and it's given me almost 400 cals back. That doesn't seem consistent that me.

    I am not speaking to the accuracy of your iPhone step tracker...but honestly I'd doubt it

    But in terms of synching with MFP ensure you enable negative adjustments in your settings

    Whatever your setting is you'd need to log a certain number of steps to hit sedentary ...for me it's 2500-3000 (or if I'm just ambling could be up to 5k) ...this would take me to MFP ...after that the calories burned is greater so if I hit 8-10k on a decent day I'll get about 400 extra calories
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    It's consistent, but sounds too high.

    If you are down as sedentary, you wouldn't expect to get any calories back so long as your steps put you in the realm of what MFP considers sedentary. After that all steps would count, so it makes sense there'd be a much bigger adjustment. What seems weird is that you'd get any steps at all back at 3,000, or that you'd get so many back at the 6,000 level. That seems off.
  • Wiseandcurious
    Wiseandcurious Posts: 730 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    It's consistent, but sounds too high.

    If you are down as sedentary, you wouldn't expect to get any calories back so long as your steps put you in the realm of what MFP considers sedentary. After that all steps would count, so it makes sense there'd be a much bigger adjustment. What seems weird is that you'd get any steps at all back at 3,000, or that you'd get so many back at the 6,000 level. That seems off.

    Agree. I use my SHealth as a pedometer, the count is surprisingly accurate, but I don't ever sync it. My point is, I am a completely sedentary person, desk job, all my walking in the cold motnhs comes from walking the kid to school in the morning, daily commute (don't drive) and running a couple of errands on foot during the lunch break. That typically ends up a bit north of 4000 steps which is not a big deal and which I think is considered sedentary in general. Add may be several hundred steps walking around the building without my phone during office hours... So up to 5000 is still not an active lifestyle at all. So a big adjustment for 6000 does sound off.
  • dalielahdawn
    dalielahdawn Posts: 141 Member
    I don't know. But that what it does. I don't eat them back, but it still bothers me that calories for stepping are everywhere. 3,700 steps gave me 80 cals. 7,100 steps gave me 398. 4,200 steps gave me 247.
    I'm set to sedentary and have a 1300 calorie allowance. Negative calorie adjustment is enabled.
  • dalielahdawn
    dalielahdawn Posts: 141 Member
    I'm definitely looking into a real step/calorie tracker. I know my iPhone's "steps" are accurate, but I don't always have it on me. If anything it seems the more active my day is, the less I carry my phone with me.
  • enemyger
    enemyger Posts: 84 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Sorry mate...what app? MFP doesn't have a step counter...if it's an app you must have synched it

    It does though...
    It counting my steps and idk how?

    What if im driving? Does it count it also or what lol
    Is it by movement or how does it know im doing steps
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    enemyger wrote: »
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Sorry mate...what app? MFP doesn't have a step counter...if it's an app you must have synched it

    It does though...
    It counting my steps and idk how?

    What if im driving? Does it count it also or what lol
    Is it by movement or how does it know im doing steps

    It doesn't, you have to have steps counted elsewhere and that data is transferring to MFP. Do you have an iPhone?

    As for the poster who thinks they're getting too much back from their steps, are you very heavy? That could account for higher than expected extra calories as it's just naturally more work for you walking around than a much lighter person. My run burns are a lot higher than they will be when I get the next 30lbs off because it's a lot of work to run with an extra 30lbs!
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    enemyger wrote: »
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Sorry mate...what app? MFP doesn't have a step counter...if it's an app you must have synched it

    It does though...
    It counting my steps and idk how?

    What if im driving? Does it count it also or what lol
    Is it by movement or how does it know im doing steps

    Go to website
    Click on apps
    Scroll down and see what is showing as installed
  • dalielahdawn
    dalielahdawn Posts: 141 Member
    edited November 2015
    rabbitjb wrote: »

    As for the poster who thinks they're getting too much back from their steps, are you very heavy? That could account for higher than expected extra calories as it's just naturally more work for you walking around than a much lighter person. My run burns are a lot higher than they will be when I get the next 30lbs off because it's a lot of work to run with an extra 30lbs!


    I am very heavy. 239lbs. However my curiosity is with the inconsistency in calories back.
  • dalielahdawn
    dalielahdawn Posts: 141 Member
    edited November 2015
    .
  • cnbbnc
    cnbbnc Posts: 1,267 Member
    enemyger wrote: »
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Sorry mate...what app? MFP doesn't have a step counter...if it's an app you must have synched it

    It does though...
    It counting my steps and idk how?

    What if im driving? Does it count it also or what lol
    Is it by movement or how does it know im doing steps

    If you have an iPhone then the health app is tracking your steps, and the settings in that health app are apparently set to transfer them to mfp. So mfp pal isn't doing the tracking. The health app is. This is what my phone does.

  • ARGriffy
    ARGriffy Posts: 1,002 Member
    I clocked over 12000 steps today and got 501 cals to eat back so no,that ain't right!
  • dalielahdawn
    dalielahdawn Posts: 141 Member
    When I clocked 11,000ish steps, I got back 651.
    ARGriffy wrote: »
    I clocked over 12000 steps today and got 501 cals to eat back so no,that ain't right!

  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Calories back depend on intensity of steps, your height and weight and stride length

  • dalielahdawn
    dalielahdawn Posts: 141 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Calories back depend on intensity of steps, your height and weight and stride length
    Can the iPhone's health app take all that into account? I thought it only counted steps.
  • Wiseandcurious
    Wiseandcurious Posts: 730 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Calories back depend on intensity of steps, your height and weight and stride length
    Can the iPhone's health app take all that into account? I thought it only counted steps.

    Didn't you enter your height and weight in the app at some point? Most apps ask you that.
  • dalielahdawn
    dalielahdawn Posts: 141 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Calories back depend on intensity of steps, your height and weight and stride length
    Can the iPhone's health app take all that into account? I thought it only counted steps.

    Didn't you enter your height and weight in the app at some point? Most apps ask you that.

    I was questioning more, intensity and stride
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited November 2015
    I don't know the iPhone app but I am highly doubtful that any phone app can accurately monitor steps in the first place

    But the estimates may be good enough depending on the individuals stats

    Even bespoke equipment like fitbits are estimators, but I think more accurate than apps
  • ARGriffy
    ARGriffy Posts: 1,002 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Calories back depend on intensity of steps, your height and weight and stride length
    Can the iPhone's health app take all that into account? I thought it only counted steps.

    Didn't you enter your height and weight in the app at some point? Most apps ask you that.

    I was questioning more, intensity and stride

    Stride it works out from height, as I'm short it takes me more steps to get somewhere! As for intensity, no idea how it monitors that, if I have a day where I'm charging about in work it logs the same cals as if I'm moving slowly for the same steps.
  • Wiseandcurious
    Wiseandcurious Posts: 730 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    I don't know the iPhone app but I am highly doubtful that any phone app can accurately monitor steps in the first place s

    Actually a phone today has very advanced sensors, there's no reason it shouldn't be able to capture the same information as a bracelet-worn sensor (without a built-in hrm). And the big brands like Apple and Samsung know their own hardware well enough to make a really good use of the capability I guess; the proprietary Samsung app has a surprisingly accurate pedometer which also distinguishoes walking from running, so I guess it can measure intensity.

    Of course it does depend where you wear it, and if you have it on you at all times, but ultimately I think nowadays it's more a matter of how good the algorithm they have is. Fitbit obviously has a good one, but some phone companies do, too.
  • Wiseandcurious
    Wiseandcurious Posts: 730 Member
    Just want to clarify - I am not advocating that people take the calorie count from their pedometer apps at face value, because that's a whole different kettle of fish and sometimes it's not even clear what the app thinks your BMR is etc. But that's true for most fitness trackers too.
  • pitbullmamaliz
    pitbullmamaliz Posts: 303 Member
    Partly some of it may be if you get the steps earlier in the day, you get a large calorie adjustment because MFP thinks you'll then continue that rate of steps throughout the day. I work 3rd shift, so I may have 5000 steps before 6am, so I have a huge calorie adjustment. But when I wake up at 1pm, the calorie adjustment has dropped way back down again because I haven't continued at that rate of exercise.
  • mrsloganlife
    mrsloganlife Posts: 158 Member
    For me with my Fitbit I see fluctuations in my calories even if I am around the same step count. But one day I could have gathered those steps in small increments from standing up at my desk, and the other day I got those steps because I went for a run (and then sat on the couch getting mad at the Michigan/Ohio State game). Also once I manually adjusted my stride length I saw the calories burned not go as crazy.

    To the OP, there is a chance that if you have a smart phone that there is a health app that is tracking your steps. Like one poster suggested, check your app settings. Phone technology is way advanced now, and phones can tell the difference between walking vs. driving.
This discussion has been closed.