Do I really burn 1,000+ calories doing my normal 10,000+ steps?

vjd317

I sync my fitbit to MFP and it gives me back so many exercise calories. I feel that is WAY too much. Could I possibly be burning that many calories? and should I be trying to eat up to them or 1/2 of them?

Chef_Barbell

Did you put sedentary when you signed up?

veronikamellon

Depends on your height, weight and gender. I am 5.1 125 lbs and I only add about 150 calories with my 7-8k a day. Also, did you select sedentary as your activity level?

vjd317

I did put sedentary, yes. I am 5'6" 165, looking to lose about 10. Should I not sync and only add a smaller amount of calories?

NorthCascades

For most people 10,000 steps is about 5 miles. For most people, on flat ground, your calories per mile walked are 1/3 your body weight in pounds. So, if you weigh 600 pounds, you'll burn about 1,000 kCal by walking 10,000 steps on flat ground.

CyberTone

I am 55, 5'8", 150 lbs, in maintenance, have a Fitbit Charge 2, and have MFP set at Sedentary. The last time I got 9,922 steps, I earned 1,198 extra Calories as my Fitbit Calorie adjustment. The effort put in, such as number of stairs or how hilly the terrain, factors into the Fitbit estimates.

I always eat back 100% of my earned Calories. I ate back 90% of them when I was losing a few pounds and had no problem netting 1700 Cals per day to lose those pounds. I do use a food scale to weigh all solids, measuring cups and spoons to measure liquids, and verify all food items I log through outside web sources and Nutrition Facts labels. I trust that my Calorie Intake is pretty accurate, and I trust my Calories Out is pretty accurate using the Fitbit.

Bakins929

I'm 6'0", 260 lbs, 52 years old. I generally burn > 1,000 calories running 5 miles, about 10,000 steps. Today it was 1,118 calories. If I'm doing interval training for those 5 miles, I've seen it go to 1,600. I'm using a Polar HR7 monitor and Endomondo to track runs. Using Endomondo, the Polar app, or MapMyRun, or Moov, all calculate about the same, within 150 or so calories. Treadmill results are slightly lower for me than running outside. I walked 5 miles the other day with my wife and it said 922 calories, so I think you could totally burn 1,000 by walking 10,000 steps, depending on pace, elevation, exertion, etc.

WinoGelato

vjd317 wrote: »

I did put sedentary, yes. I am 5'6" 165, looking to lose about 10. Should I not sync and only add a smaller amount of calories?

What rate of loss did you select and what calorie target did MFP put you at (before any FitBit adjustments)?
What does FitBit say your total calorie burn is? How long have you had your FitBit and how long have you had it synced to MFP?

Generally when people see large exercise adjustments it's because they've entered information that suggests they are less active and burn less total calories than FitBit says they actually burn. The exercise adjustment is the "true up" of what MFP thought you would burn based on what you said and what FitBit says you actually do burn.

For losing 10 lbs you should have your goal set to lose 0.5 lb/week and if you are averaging 10K steps/day you are not sedentary.

StaciMarie1974

Depends on your stats and what activity level you selected at MFP.

The adjustment does not mean you burned 1000 in exercise. It means that based on your stated activity level compared to your actual movement according to Fitbit, you're burning 1000 more per day than MFP expected. If you selected sedentary when you should have selected lightly active or active, then yes you'll see an adjustment. Keep in mind the Fitbit calories includes exercise AND regular daily activity + BMR. So if you were not using the Fitbit, you'd be logging the exercise part anyhow.