walking or hiking?

melgcoo
melgcoo Posts: 23
in Health and Weight Loss
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.

Replies

  • lilpoindexter
    lilpoindexter Posts: 1,122 Member
    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
    melgcoo Posts: 23
    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
    linkielueville Posts: 12
    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
    slkehl Posts: 3,801 Member
    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
    rcthale Posts: 141
    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
    dstanley753 Posts: 32 Member
    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
    mycrazy8splus1 Posts: 1,558 Member
    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
    stayky Posts: 1 Member
    Before I got my fitbit I would usually just count it as walking.
  • gramacanada
    gramacanada Posts: 557 Member
    MFP lists what you do in minutes. So keep track of each and log each separately.
  • linkielueville
    linkielueville Posts: 12
    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.

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