can I add my pedomitor steps?

faithwithroses

According to my pedometer, I walked 4 miles today with just housework and general waling. This is about 313 Calories a t a very slow 2mph pace. Can I add this in?
Thank you

SheilaG1963

I had the same question. I just add it under my own exercises. I wish MFP had a place to log steps!

auzziecawth66

I think you could if you had your calorie goal setting at sedentary otherwise I probably wouldn't.

Mokey41

Even at sedentary that's a normal days walking. Unless you went out and briskly walked 4 miles as intentional exercise then it doesn't count. There's a big difference between taking a brisk walk for an hour getting your heart rate up and general walking around the house, etc that doesn't cause a significant increase in heart rate.

ladymiseryali

You can. Just manually put in the time and calories burned in whichever "walking" pace you did. That's what I do when I remember to bring my ipod with me, because it has a nike+ pedometer in it.

auzziecawth66

Even at sedentary that's a normal days walking. Unless you went out and briskly walked 4 miles as intentional exercise then it doesn't count. There's a big difference between taking a brisk walk for an hour getting your heart rate up and general walking around the house, etc that doesn't cause a significant increase in heart rate.

I was actually contemplating about this the other day, how different people would view their own amount of daily activity differently as lightly active vs sedentary etc. Would be kinda cool if there was an actual guideline like if you take under x amount of steps a day you should set yourself at such and such an activity level.

faithwithroses

what is the point of a pedometer then? If you cannot use the steps from that, than what do you use them for? I know with WW, you where a special pedometer that calculated points walked. You then could add in the extra points to your day.

sharon_moyer

I don't see why you couldn't add your pedometer steps because you were doing some form of walking when those steps were counted.

AnnaVee84

are you eating back all of your exercise cals? it might be an overestimation of cals burned, that's where i would be concerned.

keep it up!

SherryTeach

The point of a pedometer is to remind you to move more. I challenge myself to get at least 10,000 steps a day. It doesn't matter to me if it "counts" against my calories. I record treadmill workouts and walks in the neighborhood, which I track with Nike +.

twirlybird

Hi. There are several apps that sync with mfp.com. my favorite is fitbit. The standard pedometer is 60$ and it resets itself,. I have the 1st gen fitbit - does steps, stairs, calorie burned and sleep. It syncs with mpf so I don't have to remember to log exercise. Pricy, but crazy accurate and worth it.

Amy911Gray

In some article I read (in the 575 days I've logged straight), I read that it is a good idea to log in any exercise so that you can go back at some point and measure how far you have come.

Go ahead and log those steps (2000 steps=1 mile). Challenge yourself to a step challenge in one day. Once you meet that "day", try going faster. Get those steps in less time. Work up a great pace...then increase the step challenge and repeat. That's how I got to 6 miles in 87 minutes. I'm not consistent yet, but I keep on walking it...

There is a little known fact to walking---it trims your legs AND your waist!

auzziecawth66

I don't see why you couldn't add your pedometer steps because you were doing some form of walking when those steps were counted.

.

It depends on how you set your calorie goal. If you set yourself at lightly active etc its already counting the calories you would burn thro daily activity (what you would get off your pedometer) so if you added the pedometer burn on top of that you would lessen your daily deficit and slow your weight loss.

Eta: I have nothing against using a pedometer as a gauge or a way to lose weight. I lost about 30 pounds just by upping my daily steps. Daily 'regular' activity can plan a huge part in a healthy lifestyle.

kcaffee1

I can see both sides of the argument being presented about counting your pedometer steps. I use a compromise, personally for my "daily" exercise. Gym time is ALWAYS counted, no matter what I do. So is the time between the car and my classes. (Yes, I do this daily, but under a non-school situation, this exercise would not happen, so it gets counted.) However, the time I spend cleaning around the house, or the walking I do between rooms, to the mail box, or where ever AROUND the house, I do not count. (Cleaning gets lumped weekly into a small time capsule, and added when I actually get around to vacuuming.)

So, perhaps you can look at your activities, and figure out which ones you do every day, day in and day out, and which ones happen more sporadic or cyclically, and only add the days you have the extras? That way you don't have as high of a chance of over-estimating your calorie burns against your deficit.

Just my two cents worth (and, not worth too much more.)

Mokey41

It's assumed the average person walks 5,000 to 6,000 steps a day in their normal life. Over that could be exercise if it wasn't just wandering around. At my old job I walked up to 20,000 steps a day but it was leisurely walking from my desk to shipping multiple times through a 12 hr shift. It really didn't amount to something I'd call exercise and I managed to pile on about 20 lbs while I was at that job.

If you want to log your steps as an incentive to do more then it's probably a good idea. If you want to log them to have a way to eat more then it probably isn't. I have no real idea what good a pedometer is other than as a motivator to move more.

ladyrider55

My Advice to faithwithrose: I'd say if you want to add it in, do it. Who are you hurting? The one that told you can't add that as exercise? Forget them! This is your Plan, Your Lifestyle Change...do what keeps you reaching for your Goal.

faithwithroses

You guys all have great points and arguments. I think from the information I have gathered, I am NOT going to add the daily walking in. It will only be to my advantage not to. I think I would be cheating myself, as the calculations already figure in my daily normal walking. I lost 1.6 pounds from yesterday!!!!!!!! I am so happy!!!
Thanks all of you!!!!!

DWF65203

I have the fitbit zip with my activity level set at sedentary (I am a lawyer and sit down all day). If I walk much over 6000 steps it will add some calories for me. I don't necessarily eat them back, but I like using it to get a slightly better idea what my calorie expenditure is per day.

savithny

The researchers that use steps as a marker for activity level generally use 5000 (or so) as a marker for the definition of "sedentary" for their studies. I know on days I don't purposefully work activity into my day, I can get through the day on less than 4000, but I've been aiming for 7-8000 with a goal of 10k in the summertime.

If you've got your activity set at sedentary, I might consider adding any steps over 5000 as some kind of added exercise. If you regularly are above 5000 you might change your activity level to "lightly active" but then you would not log walking, and you would not eat any of it back. If you have already set your activity level at lightly active, then those steps are included in the calculations MFP did and you should not add any more.

They say its about 2000 steps a mile. I wouldn't necessarily claim you did a 4 mile walk, though. That really does burn different calories from being on your feet for that many steps around the house. I might log it as light housecleaning.

And, sadly, the average American woman does not regularly go over 5000 steps, so it's more than likely that many of us are not as active as we put down in our goals.

GrannyGwen1

:flowerforyou:

QuilterInVA

Unless you lie in bed all day on the other days, no you can't log in your normal daily walking steps. Of you could and then you'd be back complaining you aren't losing because you ate them back. Exercise raises your heart beat for a prolonged period.