adding walking

Lee1957

I am doing the walk a mile tapes and I dont know how to put that in diary. I walk a mile in 15 minutes. Any help would be appreciated.

DanieGirl74

Hi. I would suggest using the "Walking 4.0 mph (very brisk)" record your walking. I found a walking calories calculator on about.com: http://walking.about.com/library/cal/uccalc1.html and then just compared it using the calculator here to find out which fit the closest. Hope this helps!

tammy200678

Just did them myself logged them as 4.0 brisk walk

MisdemeanorM

I am doing the walk a mile tapes and I dont know how to put that in diary. I walk a mile in 15 minutes. Any help would be appreciated.

You can log it as 4mph / brisk pace. Everyone's different though - some people this would have their heart rate really really high and others not too high. There's also a big different on if it's actually 15 minutes of if you do one in 18 minutes but call it 15 minutes, it would be off as that is closer to 3mph than 4. So be sure you are clocking accurately as well. Also, depending on how that 15 mins is split up - are you just doing 1 mile, because a 1/4 mi warm up and a cool down with a very fast 1/2 mile in between would still be 15 minutes, but the burn rate would be different than a solid 15 mins at a pace.

I was surprised that per my HRM i burned nearly 700 cals doing an hour of 4mph walking! I round down because the HRM is not perfect, but assuming over 500 cals for an hour of walking - pretty good!

Oishii

I track my walk with RunKeeper but use mfp's calorie count, because RunKeeper doesn't ask your weight or anything. I'm usually carrying stuff too though, so I wonder if I should add some extra calories.

melsinct

I find it tough to estimate calories burned via walking. My neighborhood is very hilly, making my 2 mile walk more of a strenuous walk than someone walking on flat ground. Maybe I should get a HRM.

Lee1957

thanks so much, do you put in the 15 minutes also.

Lee1957

I start right off the bat no warm up and it keeps getting more intense for me because so overweight. I am really confused how to do this stuff.

MisdemeanorM

I start right off the bat no warm up and it keeps getting more intense for me because so overweight. I am really confused how to do this stuff.

When in doubt - log what MFP says, perhaps round down for being female and because MFP tends to be a little high overall (so is the general consensus). Then eat back somewhere from 50-75% of your exercise calories to also help account for user error.

Then - the most important part - pay attention to how you feel - are you energized, are you getting fatigued? - as well as what the scale and your tape measure are telling you about your weight gain / loss. Then, adjust what you are doing, how you are logging, or how much you eat back if needed. But, be sure to check in weekly or so not daily because tracking water weight (etc) will drive you nuts. Also, don't expect or hope to see huge losses - just slow and steady.

I saw someone on the boards once who said they were using incorrect HRM input or estimates and thus overeating when eating back their exercise calories and that they gained back all 15 lbs of the weight they had lost - my point - that didn't happen in 2 weeks! She should have been able to catch that something was not lining up and make adjustments before all 15 lbs were back! So just PAY ATTENTION! It really is a bit of trial and error to find the balance of not too much food, but not too little either, not to mention which types are best for you, your body, and your lifestyle.

If you can, get a heart rate monitor. Polar F9 or the new version which is called the "something I can't remember-7" are great. Or a body media fit or bodybugg which track all day not just exercise (though those are costly and require a subscription to access your info vs a HRM).

Lee1957

You are awesome to tell me all of this. I would expect if I am gaining weight I am doing something wrong, but right now I am trying to log in everyday and put in food diary so i get an idea of what I am eating. I felt good today went to a staffing at work...lined up on the table were strawberry creamcheese pound cake, chocolate pound cake and lemon pound cake. I didn't eat one of them. So I get to eat more tonight right...just kidding. hamburger patty and vegetables. I am cooking for one so it is very hard to make some foods and not over eat a little. When I am not eating a lot during the day.

Lee1957

thanks tammy. I am new to this and trying to keep it up. How long have you been doing this? I put in the wrong weight and it made me look like I lost 16 lbs and I don't know how to change it. Hope you are successful. I sure and learing how many calories things are. It is amazing>

maeflower1234

Hi. You can change your starting weight by hitting the My home button, check-in, edit previous entries then under weight put in what it should have been.