Can "dumb" pedometer step data be entered into MFP?

I have a "dumb" pedometer and had to figure my stride, convert my steps to miles and then time spent covering that mile to figure speed. Then just log as walking so many minutes @ XX miles per hour.

Here's a method that works for me. I created a custom exercise entry that allows me to convert my pedometer steps directly into calories burned. You only have to the math ONE TIME, so don't let all the steps below intimidate you. Once you've done it and have created your custom exercise you cna use that entry over and over and over again.

Step 1: Go to Settings > Update Diet/Fitness Profile and check that your current weight, height, sex and date of birth are all accurate. Correct anything that needs correcting.

Step 2: Go to Exercize > Cardivascular > Add Exercise and use the search box to find "walking". Scroll through the list that comes up and select the walking style and pace that most closely matches yours. Note: If your specific pace is not shown, use the pace that is closest BUT SLOWER than your actual pace. Make a note of the speed, you will use this later.

Step 3: In the "How Long? (minutes)" box, type 10000 (DO NOT HIT ENTER!) and make a note of the # of calories that MFP shows in the 2nd box. Thisis MFP's conversion rate for minutes-to-calories based on your profile info. Save this number.

Step 4: Determine the length of your stride. Pick a starting point and walk at your normal pace for 10 steps. Measure the distance you've covered (in feet) and divide by 10. This is the length of one step. Divide 5280 by your step length, this is the # of steps YOU take in one mile. (You can also just use 2000 if you don't have the opportunity to measure your stride - it shouldn't be off by more than 10-20%). Save this number.

Step 5: Use the numbers from Steps 2-4 to calculate the approximate # of calories MFP predicts YOU would burn after walking 10,000 steps at your pace using this formula: K = (60 x conversion rate) / (walking speed x steps-per-mile). Using myself as an example. I take 2144 steps in 1 mile, at 2.5 mph, and my conversion rate is 88904. K = (60 x 88904) / (2.5 x 2144) = 995 calories for 10,000 steps.

LAST STEP: You will use the value for K to create your own custom Pedometer exercise. Go to Exercise > My Exercises and click "Create Exercise" In the fields provided enter the following:

* Exercise Description: "Pedometer Steps (enter # as mins)"
* Exercise Type: Cardiovascular
* How Long? (minutes): 10000
* Calories Burned: Your value for K goes here

Then click "Add"

Whenever you want to log your Pedometer go to Exercise > Exercise Diary > Cardio > Add Exercise. Click the box next to "Pedometer Steps (enter # as mins)" and type in the number of steps you've taken in the minutes field. MFP will use your personalized conversion factor to calculate your calorie burn. Then click "Add Checked" and you're done!

Note: Your exercise log will look screwy, because it will be reporting XXXXX minutes of cardio, when in fact you took XXXXX steps that day. Don't worry about that, the important part (the # of calories you burned) will be accurate.

Additional Note: To keep me from "milking" my pedometer steps, and to account for any innacuracy caused by it crediting me for steps I might not have taken, I divided my value for K in half when creating my custom exercise. If MFP thinks I burned 300 calories during my daily walk when I actually burned 600, that's okay by me!

Good luck to you!

Likely less work than method above..........steps incorporated into activity level

<5000 steps/day may be used as a sedentary lifestyle
5000-7499 steps/day is typical of daily activity might be considered low active
7500-9999 likely includes some volitional activities considered somewhat active
10,000 steps/day indicates the point that should be used to classify individuals as active
>12500 steps/day are likely to be classified as highly active

The MPH is going to make a big difference in calorie burn. So for some, logging lots of steps as a cardio workout can result in too many exercise calories. So, this is an option if your steps are pretty slow.

All of ^these make sense.

However, just so we're clear, you are just $100 from not having this problem (and $60 if you don't mind wearing a ridiculous looking Zip on your belt).

https://www.fitbit.com/store

Before I bought a fitbit, I used a free app on my android phone.

There are several plus some that are bike odometers as well. I'm sure the istore has similar apps.

I let fitbit sync for my mfp calorie adjustments. Fitbit doesn't go by the "1200" calorie rule, so I often don't get calories to eat back until I've walked more than 4 miles or so.