Adding your workouts to MFP?

jlar09
jlar09 Posts: 99
in Fitness and Exercise
I just wanted to crowd source real quick-- should I add my workouts to my MFP log? Right now my "workouts" are walking 5 miles a day (to and from work), so I don't really consider them serious calorie burners. When I add "walking 2.5 miles an hour" for 120 minutes, MFP gives me an extra 770 calories that I can eat and I think that that is probably a pretty big overestimation.

My question to you is-- should I be adding my walks to my daily log? I stick pretty close to my 1,550 calories a day and I don't think I am undereating at all. I'd really prefer not to add those 770 calories if I don't have to. Thoughts?

Replies

  • DeeVanderbles
    DeeVanderbles Posts: 589 Member
    What did you set your activity level as? If you set it at sedentary, I would include those walks as a workout. If you set it to lightly active or higher, I wouldn't include them as they would already be estimated into your daily calorie goal by MFP.

    That said, MFP calculations are not always correct. If you want the most accurate calorie burn for you, personally, instead of generic humans, you should invest in a heart rate monitor with a chest strap and wear it during any workout. You enter your age, weight, etc., into it when you set it up and it has a constant read of your heart rate so it will give you the best estimation of what you burn.

    Another option is to invest in a Fitbit. You can sync Fitbit with MFP and it calculates your very active minutes for the day, your steps (like a pedometer), sometimes the flights of stairs (depending on the type of Fitbit you purchase), etc. Though, again, it won't be as accurate as a HRM because it can't tell when your heartrate is increased.

    For myself - my activity level is set to sedendary, because I have a desk job and really only walk to and from my car on a "normal" day, and anything over that, I log as a workout. I have a Fitbit Flex that I use to track my walking and general calories burned throughout the day and I use my HRM for workouts. When you log a workout in MFP, it asks for the time you started, this ensures that MFP and Fitbit do not count those same calories twice.

    Feel free to message me for any clarification or if you have more questions!

Categories