walking or hiking?

melgcoo

I'm the manager of a large campground, and I have been walking the nature trail that goes around the perimeter for the last few days. It is not flat, but is rather somewhat hilly, with a bit of rough terrain. I had been counting it as just walking, but I was thinking today (as I was huffing, puffing, and sweating my butt off) that perhaps it would be more like cross-country hiking. It seems to me that I can feel more of a burn in my legs, etc. when I do this rather than just walking on a flat surface such as a walking track or something like that. I would like to get some input from some others, if you would like to give me some.

P.S.
I have only lost about 11 pounds since I joined MFP, but I have lost 60 pounds since I was diagnosed with breast cancer in January of 2012.

lilpoindexter

The one that you enjoy most, and would be most motivated to do, on a long term basis, is the best thing for you.

For instance...I was getting decent results from walking at a local park...but I found it really, really boring.
I bought a bike, and I enjoy doing that, so I bike all the time, and I love it...so I keep doing it.

melgcoo

but would you log it in your exercise as walking or hiking? I guess that is my main question.... I'm not sure how to log it. I love walking through the woods, though. I take my husky with me and we walk until I get too tired to go anymore. We have a beautiful lake, and the trail takes us all the way around the lake, up through the woods, and then down through the RV area. I managed to do 2 times completely around the trail today.

linkielueville

My rule of thumb is its always better to under guess your calories burns than over guess them. I'd probably log it as walking but maybe add 10-20% more calories burned in your journal.

slkehl

My rule of thumb is its always better to under guess your calories burns than over guess them. I'd probably log it as walking but maybe add 10-20% more calories burned in your journal.

I agree. I tend to underestimate my exercise and overestimate my food. But I DO make sure to hit all my calories for the day so I fuel my body properly

rcthale

I agree that you should be conservative with your calorie estimates. If you're not sure, underestimate your exercise and overestimate what you eat. Err on the side of weight loss.

dstanley753

Get a FitBit...when we walk the track a for a mile I burn less than on a casual hike. The Fitbit tracks my altitude gains and activity level and I feel it's pretty accurate.

mycrazy8splus1

so what would you all consider hiking? I go on a couple of different trails. One is fairly flat with a few hills. I count that one as walking. The others I do require climbing in a few of the steeper areas and are ranked expert level trails. I count these as hiking. Does that sound right?

stayky

Before I got my fitbit I would usually just count it as walking.

gramacanada

MFP lists what you do in minutes. So keep track of each and log each separately.

linkielueville

I've found this hiking calorie calculator to be very accurate. http://www.nwhiker.com/calorieburn.html MFP over shoots calories burned while hiking way too much in my opinion.