Walking 30 minutes worth logging?

Makoce
Makoce Posts: 938 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Stuck at a plateau and trying to figure some stuff out.
I walk 30 minutes a day a week, and twice a week I walk 60 minutes.

I do log these exercises in my diary, and eat them back.
I have since I started losing weight but Im starting to wonder.

Do you guys only log purposeful heart rate elevating exercises?
Or should I just count this as my daily activity
( My diary is set to sedentary )
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Replies

  • megsmom2
    megsmom2 Posts: 2,362 Member
    Walking is great exercise! Of course you should log it!!
  • fleetzz
    fleetzz Posts: 962 Member
    I log it. If you are stuck you may consider not eating back the calories--I only burn about 75 calories per mile.
  • RoyBeck
    RoyBeck Posts: 947 Member
    How many calories do you enter for 30 mins walking just out of interest? Where do you get the number from?
  • TigerBite
    TigerBite Posts: 611 Member
    Set at sedentary, yes, log it ...
    ETA: MFP's database is actually pretty accurate when it comes to walking ... You just have to accurately calculate your pace ...
  • Diamonds357
    Diamonds357 Posts: 8 Member
    of course! you are doing yourself a great favor by walking those 30 mins, and as said before if yre stuck at a certain weight for some time try eating only 1/2 the calories back
  • barbalari
    barbalari Posts: 43 Member
    I walk a lot, sometimes for 30-60 minutes, often longer, and I log everything. My diary is set to the one up from sedentary....I'm a full time mum and carer to my son and partner who are both disabled. Logging everything keeps me motivated and makes me proud! Good luck :smile:
  • FixIngMe13
    FixIngMe13 Posts: 405 Member
    I'm a walker and I log everytime I walk over 15 minutes. Why not log it? Especially if you have an HRM that you are starting/stopping as you walk.

    Walking counts! :)
  • RoyBeck
    RoyBeck Posts: 947 Member
    I think the danger COULD be eating back exercise calories that are already included in your activity levels. If its set to sedentary then that's a different matter of course but ill leave that to the experts.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    If it's brisk purposeful walking for exercise you could log it but the calories won't be huge and I probably wouldn't eat back more than 1/2.
  • Sashoi
    Sashoi Posts: 295 Member
    Yup log it
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Log it, sure, but don't eat it back. Reality is a 30 minute walk burns hardly any calories (no matter how elevated your heart rate might get) and it is very easy to over-eat those calories back.

    Over-eating exercise calories is one of the most common "stall" reasons on MFP.
  • slim4health56
    slim4health56 Posts: 439 Member
    How many calories do you enter for 30 mins walking just out of interest? Where do you get the number from?

    This. Not all calculators are the same. I log a conservative number - usually 175 calories for 60 minutes of walking two dogs who give me the additional benefit of an upper body workout while we're walking. 120 lbs of dogs can be intense when they pull and lunge and I try to walk fast enough to make sure they get the exercise they need, too. Sometimes I eat back the calories, sometimes I don't - depends on my hunger level.
  • twinketta
    twinketta Posts: 2,130 Member
    My opinion, I would log it

    You could also buy a cheap pedometer/step counter which also gives you a calorie count. I try to aim for 10,000 steps a day of course the calorie burn will be different depending on how fast your pace is if you are logging it via MFP.

    At the end of the day all exercise is good exercise :smile:
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    Sometimes I go for a walk just so I can eat more. Log it!
  • arronp76
    arronp76 Posts: 20 Member
    I log all my walks (except ones like walking around the Mall etc) and I use Endomondo for Android app (its free) to log and record my progress, and find it links well with MFP and tracks cals burned etc. I also try not to eat back what I lose as I want to lose a fair bit of weight.
  • MelissaPhippsFeagins
    MelissaPhippsFeagins Posts: 8,063 Member
    Walking is great exercise! Of course you should log it!!

    QFT. Lots of people don't realize what good exercise just walking can be

    I walk 30 minutes at lunch every day. 1.5miles/115 calories burned on average. I don't always eat those back, but I do feel better for doing it.
  • Natrgrl
    Natrgrl Posts: 24 Member
    Definitely log it. Especially if you are set at sedentary. I have a fitbit that I wear all day every day. I have my activity set to sedentary and I usually try to eat back the calorie adjustment I get from my steps.
  • nytrifisoul
    nytrifisoul Posts: 499 Member
    I walk a good 90 minutes daily, and according to my HRM I burn between 300-500 calories just walking. So although 30 minutes may not burn alot of calories, you should still log it.
  • MelissaPhippsFeagins
    MelissaPhippsFeagins Posts: 8,063 Member
    How many calories do you enter for 30 mins walking just out of interest? Where do you get the number from?

    I have an app on my Windows phone that calculates it based on my weight and the distance I walk in the time I'm walking. My daughter has a different app on her iPhone that does the same thing and they come out within a couple of calories of each other, so I log what my phone says. To log that number on MFP within 5 calories, I end up logging 5 minutes less time than I actually walked at the speed the phone calculates. It's close enough, since I don't eat back all of my exercise calories on most days.
  • MuseofSong
    MuseofSong Posts: 322 Member
    Definitely log it! Slow walking, fast walking, aerobic walking, I log it all.

    I don't necessarily trust pedometers, especially arm or wrist band ones, they'll log steps when you're standing still because your arm moved. I trust my general speed/intensity estimate and the time of the activity, that's it. But, I do not eat back all exercise calories because I assume there are over-estimates.
  • RoyBeck
    RoyBeck Posts: 947 Member
    How many calories do you enter for 30 mins walking just out of interest? Where do you get the number from?

    I have an app on my Windows phone that calculates it based on my weight and the distance I walk in the time I'm walking. My daughter has a different app on her iPhone that does the same thing and they come out within a couple of calories of each other, so I log what my phone says. To log that number on MFP within 5 calories, I end up logging 5 minutes less time than I actually walked at the speed the phone calculates. It's close enough, since I don't eat back all of my exercise calories on most days.

    Try logging it and eating them back for a week. Then next week log them but eat back half then eat back none the following week and see how you get on. Just a suggestion hope it helps!
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
    How many calories do you enter for 30 mins walking just out of interest? Where do you get the number from?

    I use the 3.0 walking dog-moderate pace from the exercise options.
    I also track the distance with map my walk, which also gives me calories.
  • howardheilweil
    howardheilweil Posts: 604 Member
    Interesting discussion. I made the decision not to log the routine walking I do in my daily life. I actually have about a 15 - 20 minute walk to and from the train station each day which I've stopped logging. My rationale was that I've been doing that walk for years and still gained weight and I also had no intention of eating back those calories (about 120) so what would be the point of logging it? Does this make any sense? Any extra walking that I do... At lunch or on weekends, I do log.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    How many calories do you enter for 30 mins walking just out of interest? Where do you get the number from?

    Net burn = 0.3 * body weight in pounds * miles.
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
    Sometimes I go for a walk just so I can eat more. Log it!

    Guilty!!
  • nytrifisoul
    nytrifisoul Posts: 499 Member
    Definitely log it! Slow walking, fast walking, aerobic walking, I log it all.

    I don't necessarily trust pedometers, especially arm or wrist band ones, they'll log steps when you're standing still because your arm moved. I trust my general speed/intensity estimate and the time of the activity, that's it. But, I do not eat back all exercise calories because I assume there are over-estimates.

    This is why i love my Suunto T3c. I have the GPS track POD accessory that tracks speed, distance very accurately.
  • suerop
    suerop Posts: 8 Member
    Absolutely! Log that as exercise! I think I was also over estimating the amount of calorie burn for my walks, so I found a simple, fairly inexpensive wrist heart rate monitor that would tell me what I was getting my heart rate up to, plus show my calorie burn for it. I found a MIO on sale for less than half price. It doesn't work in the pool, and I wish it did, but it does work out of the water. Check around for a bargain somewhere. Try Craig's list for a deal in your area. I would also ask others which monitor they like. And remember, they are all a little different, so find one that's inexpensive for your first one, and see if you like it. Keep Walking!
  • RoyBeck
    RoyBeck Posts: 947 Member
    How many calories do you enter for 30 mins walking just out of interest? Where do you get the number from?

    Net burn = 0.3 * body weight in pounds * miles.

    I wasn't aware of this formula. Thanks.
  • slim4health56
    slim4health56 Posts: 439 Member
    How many calories do you enter for 30 mins walking just out of interest? Where do you get the number from?

    Net burn = 0.3 * body weight in pounds * miles.

    So...heart rate be damned? A leisurely walk at 2 miles an hour versus a fast run at 5 mph is the same as long as the distance is the same? Hmmm...
  • ny2298pdsgt
    ny2298pdsgt Posts: 62 Member
    I have noticed that many people that I walk (or run/jog with) tend to WAY over estimate the pace that they walk. Normal pace is just shy of a 3.0mph and that is a 20 min/mile. I use a GPS watch to track my avg mph (the current always changes due to buildings, cloud cover..., so I just go by overall avg), distance and a whole bunch of other things depending on the settings I select. my GPS keeps me honest on the pace and I have my set distances for different locations I walk/run at to know my pace based on time elapsed also (measured by GPS, by car, and by the wheel thing). Try tracking your actual time for a known distance (measured and verified) and then you know your pace. Use this link...http://www.arkansasrunner.com/calculators/mileperhr.htm to get you mph pace. I love it and it keeps me honest with my GPS as I have the distance and speed my GPS says, and I check it by the distance and time it took me and the website tells me my pace.

    But overall EVERYTHING is worth logging, that's the whole point of this program is to account for everything you do and eat so you can get to where you want to be.

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