More steps=more calories?

ChelzFit

I have always considered myself fairly active considering I am a SAHM with two toddlers, but in the last month or so I have really noticed that without my workouts I only really get about 6,000 steps a day. So for the last month I have made a commitment to try to get to 8,000-10,000 steps a day not including my workouts. I have noticed of course my calorie burn has gone from 1,900 a day all the way to 2,100 if I hit 8,000 and around 2,200-2,300 if I hit 10,000 or more. My workouts I burn anywhere from 300-400 cal a day. I am maintaining so should I consider adding in an extra hundred or so calories for the extra steps, just curious to see if others eat back there step calories. Also, when maintaining if I start to reach 10,000 a day would that be considered lightly active or active?

tinkerbellang83

If you're consistently doing 10000 per day I'd call that active. Around 7500 steps is where my negative adjustment stops kicking in for Lightly Active. I eat back all my exercise calories including those earned through additional steps.

Edit: For context - Mine are calculated through a Garmin HR tracker (MFP database/None HR may be far less accurate for calorie burn)

crooked_left_hook

So on a lazy, stay at home, no workout or extra walking day I get a bare minimum of 5000 steps, which counts as lightly active, sit hats what I set my activity at in MFP. This helps determine activity level by steps: http://www.fitnessforweightloss.com/rate-your-activity-level-based-on-steps-per-day/

I do not log any step based workouts like running or walking, I let my Fitbit track that and you have one with a HR monitor it will adjust your calorie expenditure according to your HR. Manually log only non-step based exercises. Since I usually get anywhere from 10,000-15,000 steps if I work out that day can earn anywhere from 200-700 extra calories (I start getting extra calories around 4000 steps). If you are in maintenece you can eat the calories back, if you are cutting I would eat at least half of them. I've been using my Charge 2 HR religiously since January, and cross referenced my estimated TDEE with MFP and other databases, and it's pretty accurate. I'm in maintenance so leave myself about a 200 calorie cushion for lazy measuring and margin of error.

ChelzFit

My NET calories were set to 1910 when I put in lightly active. I synced my fitbit with MFP this morning for the first time. I hit 8,400 steps so far today and it bumped up my calories to 2,277. I did walk for 45 minutes on the tredmill, but took my FIT BIT off during that time because it tends to overestimate my walking calories for some reason. So if I averaged about 150 for my walk, my calories would end up being around 2,425. I am just amazed how many extra calories I have been getting for just bumping up my activity level during the day. Like I said I am maintaining, but now that I have been bumping up my steps it seems like I am eating anywhere from 200-300 calories less then I should to maintain.

nowine4me

If your goal is to maintain, keep doing what you're doing.

crooked_left_hook

ChelzFit wrote: »

My NET calories were set to 1910 when I put in lightly active. I synced my fitbit with MFP this morning for the first time. I hit 8,400 steps so far today and it bumped up my calories to 2,277. I did walk for 45 minutes on the tredmill, but took my FIT BIT off during that time because it tends to overestimate my walking calories for some reason. So if I averaged about 150 for my walk, my calories would end up being around 2,425. I am just amazed how many extra calories I have been getting for just bumping up my activity level during the day. Like I said I am maintaining, but now that I have been bumping up my steps it seems like I am eating anywhere from 200-300 calories less then I should to maintain.

Why do you think your Fitbit is overestimating your walking calories?

ChelzFit

crooked_left_hook wrote: »

ChelzFit wrote: »

My NET calories were set to 1910 when I put in lightly active. I synced my fitbit with MFP this morning for the first time. I hit 8,400 steps so far today and it bumped up my calories to 2,277. I did walk for 45 minutes on the tredmill, but took my FIT BIT off during that time because it tends to overestimate my walking calories for some reason. So if I averaged about 150 for my walk, my calories would end up being around 2,425. I am just amazed how many extra calories I have been getting for just bumping up my activity level during the day. Like I said I am maintaining, but now that I have been bumping up my steps it seems like I am eating anywhere from 200-300 calories less then I should to maintain.

Why do you think your Fitbit is overestimating your walking calories?

For some reason whenever I just walk on my treadmill at a 3.5-3.8 pace for 40 min it will say that I burn anywhere from 250-400 cals. I just don't find that accurate at all, at times it says my heart rate will go up to 150 and on my polar it stays around 90 bpm. When I do more high intensity workouts the calorie burn seems more accurate compared with my polar. I can't figure it out!

CaitKilla

Yeah this confuses me too. I'm in maintenance and I'm 5 foot 1.75 inches and 20 years old. I weigh about 117 pounds. I'm not sure how much I should be eating per day if I walk pretty much 10000 steps or more everyday. My dietician says that every day no matter what I should be eating at least 1500 calories. But how much depending on steps? Someone please help lol

beaglebrandon

Steps can vary. A lot depends on your heart-rate when you're walking or exercising.

For example, if I walked slowly downhill for 268 steps or I jogged up the 268 steps of the Cape Hatteras lighthouse. I would burn many more calories from the latter.

jeepinshawn

The walking calories on my fitbit were way way off. Just walking around at a normal pace doesn't burn many calories.