Omron Pedometer question

LucyT4dieting

Please be gentle with me....I am 60 years old and trying to get healthy. I've yo yo dieted a lot over the years, but this is the first time I am adding exercise, so although I've been at it since August of 2012, I'm still pretty weak physically. I purchased an Omron pedometer and set it up according to instructions. The total at the end of day one was around 6400 steps taken, of which around 4100 steps were aerobic. The next entry is something called kcal. It said 116 calories. Now that morning I had walked at a brisk rate on my treadmill for a little over 2 miles. My ProForm Treadmill registered 360 calories burned for the time I spent (a little under 30 minutes). So I looked up kcal online and one site said to multiply the kcal by 1,000. I know that's not right either. I'm sure I didn't burn 116,000 calories in a day. But I also don't think I only burned 116 calories all day. So what is it, and what am I doing wrong?
I searched for an answer to this question, but didn't find anything, so sorry if this was posted before. Thanks!

LucyT4dieting

BUMP

dondimitri

I’m sure a Google search will uncover a better explanation than mine but here goes:

When nutritionists and dieters discuss “calories” they are not actually referring to the SI unit of measurement called a “calorie”.

A nutritionists “calorie” is actually 1000 "SI calories". The nutritionists calorie is often referred to as a “kilocalorie” or a “kcal”. It is also sometimes referred to as a “Calorie” with a large “C” and that large “C” may also be used as a symbol equivalent to a “kcal”.

Another way of saying it is that when “calories” are discussed on this website they almost certainly are referring to “kcals” or 1000 "SI calories".

That factor of "1000" has caused a lot of confusion over the years.

Hope that helps.

Edited to add: The data you have doesn't sound correct to my mind. My OMRON pedometer indicates about 110 calories (kcals) burned per approximately 1 mile or approximately 20 minutes at 3mph. It indicates approximately 2100 steps/mile. So compared to that your reading of 116 seems low given over 4000 aerobic steps and over 6000 steps total.

On the other hand the treadmill reading of 360 for 30 minutes is a calorie burn I would only see if I was jogging. Thats 12 cal/min and the most I burn walking even at an uncomfortable for me 4.6mph is a little under 10 according to the Precor treadmill at the gym.

I realize we are two entirely different people so direct comparisons are not valid. I'm only giving you my data to provide a general framework for your investigation. PS: I'm a 5'11" 200lb 63 yo male.

LucyT4dieting

Thanks for answering. I guess I can call Omron support to get a more specific answer. I don't know why they make these things so complicated!

dondimitri

This probably a dumb question but I'm sure you followed the procedures for entering your personal data and determining (and entering) your stride length?

LucyT4dieting

This probably a dumb question but I'm sure you followed the procedures for entering your personal data and determining (and entering) your stride length?

Yep! I'm 5'2" and 123 pounds. It only asks for weight and stride length. It doesn't ask for height or age. I'm not sure that makes a difference. Today, as of right now, it is registering 6,797 calories, of which 4,193 are aerobic. The kcal number is 125, which doesn't seem right. There is also a number underneath that says 7.6g (not sure what that is). Next it registers miles. It says 2.25, but I walked for over 2 miles on the Treadmill this morning, and I can't believe I only walked another quarter mile the entire day. Something is not right!

dondimitri

Hi Lucy,

Those numbers still seem off.

You must have a different OMRON than I do. Mine doesn’t have a display for any sort of “g” data.
Mine also doesn’t display “aerobic calories”. I guess I bought the cheap one. :-)

You could try a “known distance” experiment. If you live near a high school with a running track you could:
1. Zero out your OMRON.
2. Walk 4 laps (1 mile assuming a 440 yard track, adjust numbers for a 400 meter track)
3. Note steps taken: I would expect a reading of approximately 2100 for a stride length of around 30”.
For a stride length of 26” you should have around 2400 steps.
4. Note calories burned: I would guess a reading of approximately 90-100. At 200 lbs I’d get about 110 if I recall correctly.
(those are off the top of my head guesses but shouldn’t be too far off I hope)

If your numbers are significantly different then something is wrong.

You don’t need a track. You can use a GPS watch or a smart phone with a tracking app and do it on your favorite walk.
If you use the GPS option out on the street it would be best if your route was on nice, even terrain without any switchbacks.
Longer more gradual turns are ok but sometimes GPS gets confused with a lot of zig-zagging.

LucyT4dieting

This probably a dumb question but I'm sure you followed the procedures for entering your personal data and determining (and entering) your stride length?

Yep! I'm 5'2" and 123 pounds. It only asks for weight and stride length. It doesn't ask for height or age. I'm not sure that makes a difference. Today, as of right now, it is registering 6,797 calories, of which 4,193 are aerobic. The kcal number is 125, which doesn't seem right. There is also a number underneath that says 7.6g (not sure what that is). Next it registers miles. It says 2.25, but I walked for over 2 miles on the Treadmill this morning, and I can't believe I only walked another quarter mile the entire day. Something is not right!

Oops! I must have been tired when I posted this....I meant it registered 6,797 STEPS, not calories. Of those, 4,193 were aerobic steps. I feel like I should be burning more than 125 calories for the entire day, especially since my Treadmill shows a burn of 360 calories for the 2 miles at a rate of 4.2 and an incline of 3.5 (takes around 28 minutes). I do intervals of walking and jogging to keep my heart rate up. I do know that I have been maintaining my weight loss for two months now, so I guess only time will tell if this system is right for me. Thanks for your helpful replies.

dondimitri

I figured you meant steps and not calories.

The number of steps data seems reasonable although there can be such a range it’s hard to be sure.

125 calories per day can’t be right of course. That number makes no sense.

360 calories for 28 minutes on an inclined treadmill at 4.2 mph sounds like it might be ok.
That’s almost 13 calories/minute.
Hard for me to say as I hardly ever use the incline and at 4.2 mph on the flat I would for sure be at less than 10 cal/min.

That 125 calories/day number… hmmm… don’t know what’s going on there.

The bottom line for you is that you are making great progress! You just have a minor tech glitch mystery to solve!

Good luck!

LucyT4dieting

Thanks for your kind responses. I'm still entering the number that registers on the Treadmill for exercise, but the Pedometer is definitely encouraging me to walk a little farther. I like to see the number of steps increase each day. Maybe I'll give Omran a call and see if I can get clarification on the calories.

William925ft

Pedometer is important... but in my experience it's better to have walks without thinking to calories... just enjoy, have fun and everything will be easier!!




http://www.technologybsa.com/
<a href="http://www.technologybsa.com/">Omron</a&gt;