Step calories not created equally

smartin114

I have an Apple Watch, which syncs with mfp for steps. I went on a 4 miles hike with 900ft elevation gain this morning and mfp gave me calories back for those steps. Do I also add this as an exercise? It only gave me like 200 calories for this and obviously hiking up the side of a mountain is not the same as walking around my house. I also don’t want to count calories twice, so wondered what others did.

yirara

Walking doesn't burn much calories in generally. I'd use 0.3 * weight in lbs * distance in miles.

Ok, you walked up that hill, but did you also walk down again?

wizzybeth

yirara wrote: »

Walking doesn't burn much calories in generally. I'd use 0.3 * weight in lbs * distance in miles.

Ok, you walked up that hill, but did you also walk down again?

I'm assuming she/he is still up there.

smartin114

Yes, walked round trip. My watch says it was around 400 active calories.

Ebony_Kitty

I also wonder about this. Example, I walk 1 mile for 2,000 steps and using the above calculation, (125lbs*.3) is 37.5 calories per mile walked. When I run 1 mile at about 1,700 steps, I burn approx (125lbs *.75) 93 calories per mile ran. But how does MFP adjust for miles ran vs miles walked? 10,000 steps walked for me is 5 miles or just shy of 200 calories. 10,000 steps ran is 5.9 miles ran or about 550 calories. That’s a difference of about 350. How do I know which option MFP is using?

smartin114

Right, I was going to give running as an example too. You would get step calories, then log the run on top of that. I’m losing weight and things are going the right direction, but I was curious what everyone else did.

Ebony_Kitty

Fitbit aside I ate 3204 less than I burned. I was down exactly 1 pound from last Sunday so it’s working exactly as it should. Also means my intake is on par too I guess.

collectingblues

smartin114 wrote: »

Yes, walked round trip. My watch says it was around 400 active calories.

400 active calories for a 4-mile hike seems right. When I hike, Runkeeper usually puts me at about 100 calories per mile.

It's more than walking, of course, but generally walking doesn't involve that much of an elevation gain, carrying a pack, or traversing over rocks and unpaved paths.

yirara

Ebony_Kitty wrote: »

I also wonder about this. Example, I walk 1 mile for 2,000 steps and using the above calculation, (125lbs*.3) is 37.5 calories per mile walked. When I run 1 mile at about 1,700 steps, I burn approx (125lbs *.75) 93 calories per mile ran. But how does MFP adjust for miles ran vs miles walked? 10,000 steps walked for me is 5 miles or just shy of 200 calories. 10,000 steps ran is 5.9 miles ran or about 550 calories. That’s a difference of about 350. How do I know which option MFP is using?

Think about it: the mode of movement is completely different. We're meanted to walk on two legs. So of course we burn very few calories doing what our bodies are meant to be doing. if you run you use much more muscles, plus both your feet are up in the air at the same time. You're basically jumping instead of walking. So yes, this needs more energy.

What MFP uses depends on the data you put into it. If you use an app that measures your run or walk depending on what you chose then this data ends up in MFP. If you enter it manually it's still you making the decision.

if you think you burned about 550kcal on a run then find a database entry that fits this. I find that if I run at 7.5km/h and use the database entry for this pace, the calorie amount is quite inflated. Thus I use another entry.

Machka9

I log my walking as about 200 calories per hour.

And most of my walks include hills, it is the nature of living where I do.

PAV8888

Some people say that the weight of the person doing the walking doesn't matter.
Some people say that the speed you're walking at doesn't matter.
Some people say that the include you're walking at or what you're carrying doesn't matter.
Some people say it doesn't matter whether you're walking or running, it is only the distance that matters.
Of course every single one of these things matters.

Whether they matter enough given the amount of walking YOU or I do and given the amount of errors you or I have in our logs is a different story and it does not have a clear-cut answer.

For some it DOES matter. For others it won't.

MFP "gives" you calories based on what YOU TELL IT.

I can only speak for Fitbit, as I am not sure exactly what Apple integration does, but Fitbit certainly is NOT giving you calories for steps.

Your steps get passed on to MFP but you're getting calories for your daily TDEE which includes whatever your Fitbit has detected including the number of steps.

And a quick search confirms that it is no different for your Apple watches either.

According to MFP:
"The adjustment is actually not based on your step count, but instead based on your entire activity for the day. The step count is there as an incentive and though it does contribute to part of your activity level, it’s not the sole contributor. Therefore x amount of steps does not mean you will receive x amount of extra calories.

The way the adjustment is derived is by comparing your total calories burned from your tracker against the total calories already provided by MyFitnessPal. When you have earned more calories than MyFitnessPal has already provided, you will then see the difference as your adjustment.

You can view a breakdown of this calculation by either tapping on the adjustment line in the app, or by clicking the “i” next to the adjustment line in the Cardiovascular section online at www.MyFitnessPal.com"

So there you go!

smartin114

@PAV8888 good to know! Thanks for the info. I guess I can go ahead and log my walks and hikes as a workout going forward.

Wheelhouse15

Hiking can be hard to gauge since a steady and smooth uphill hike probably isn't burning a lot of extra calories, but if you are doing it through rough brush with a lot of steep climbs it's likely a lot more than what you are getting. If you do extreme hiking you can certainly get into some pretty serious calorie burning, but a stroll through a well worn path probably not so much.

stanmann571

PAV8888 wrote: »

Some people say that the weight of the person doing the walking doesn't matter.
Some people say that the speed you're walking at doesn't matter.
Some people say that the include you're walking at or what you're carrying doesn't matter.
Some people say it doesn't matter whether you're walking or running, it is only the distance that matters.
Of course every single one of these things matters.

Who says these things?

Wheelhouse15

stanmann571 wrote: »

PAV8888 wrote: »

Some people say that the weight of the person doing the walking doesn't matter.
Some people say that the speed you're walking at doesn't matter.
Some people say that the include you're walking at or what you're carrying doesn't matter.
Some people say it doesn't matter whether you're walking or running, it is only the distance that matters.
Of course every single one of these things matters.

Who says these things?

Just some people.

Ebony_Kitty

yirara wrote: »

Ebony_Kitty wrote: »

I also wonder about this. Example, I walk 1 mile for 2,000 steps and using the above calculation, (125lbs*.3) is 37.5 calories per mile walked. When I run 1 mile at about 1,700 steps, I burn approx (125lbs *.75) 93 calories per mile ran. But how does MFP adjust for miles ran vs miles walked? 10,000 steps walked for me is 5 miles or just shy of 200 calories. 10,000 steps ran is 5.9 miles ran or about 550 calories. That’s a difference of about 350. How do I know which option MFP is using?

Think about it: the mode of movement is completely different. We're meanted to walk on two legs. So of course we burn very few calories doing what our bodies are meant to be doing. if you run you use much more muscles, plus both your feet are up in the air at the same time. You're basically jumping instead of walking. So yes, this needs more energy.

What MFP uses depends on the data you put into it. If you use an app that measures your run or walk depending on what you chose then this data ends up in MFP. If you enter it manually it's still you making the decision.

if you think you burned about 550kcal on a run then find a database entry that fits this. I find that if I run at 7.5km/h and use the database entry for this pace, the calorie amount is quite inflated. Thus I use another entry.

Of course I know I burn more calories running 1 mile than walking 1 mile. I never log anything in MFP exercise wise with the exception of biking and swimming and I log the time to the second. So my question still remains: MFP says I traveled 15K steps. How does it know whether l am walking those steps which earn about 40 calories per 2000 or running those steps which earn about 90 calories per 1700? I simply allow FitBit to make adjustments to MFP and go from there, I don’t re-log using the timer so denote a run.