Logging 10,000 steps as exercise

Did you factor these steps into your activity level when you set up your MFP goals?

If not, I would log them. If you selected a higher activity level based on the amount of walking you do, I would consider them already factored into your calorie goal.

Log them as walking, at the speed that you generally walk.

P.S. Woo-hoo! Good for you for getting to the 10,000 mark!

There are calculators online that will give you more exact calorie burn on walking steps. I always thought it was 10,000 steps~ 5 miles~ 500 calories BUT!!!!! The actual calculation is based upon height, weight and stride length . For instance, I'm not quite 5'.. So rather than 2,000 steps per mile my steps are 2,514 per mile. I average between 9,000 and 13,500 steps a day. At 13,500 steps my calorie expenditure is only 381. At 10,000 steps I burn 282. I don't personally count it now that I know that's pretty much where I fall in the normal course of my day, but I will add in extra intentional walking like if we go for a hike or something. GREAT job on getting your step numbers every day

You can connect MFP to free pedometers such as Pacer (iphone, Android), and to the apps of manufacturers of "activity tracking" devices such as Fitbit or Jawbone.

After careful observation and measurements I currently believe that (in MY case) approximately 16000 steps on Fitbit = 13000 steps on Pacer = (a tad above) "Active" setting on MFP.

I suspect that a total of about 5-6,000 steps (that include both daily living and "purposeful" steps for exercise) is the limit of what corresponds to the "sedentary" activity level on MFP.

As you move beyond that level you should either eat back your true exercise calories or modify your base activity level to correspond to your actual movement.

"trying not to (eat back exercise calories)".
MFP, as I am sure you know, assumes that you will eat back your true exercise calories, the ones that are additional to your stated activity level.

The reason we only eat back "some" of our exercise calories is because often there is an over-estimation of our exercise calories and/or the inclusion of BMR calories in the number we are given as exercise calories.

By only eating back "some" we are protecting against eating back more than we've actually spent.

IF we knew the exact number of our exercise calories, however, why would we not eat them ALL back?

There is, presumably, a reason why we picked a 500/750/1000 calorie deficit as opposed to a 1000/1250/1500 deficit as our goal, right?

When we do not eat back our actual exercise calories we are actually changing that goal.

Yes, walking, that goes beyond your normal activity level, is exercise.

I have a Fitbit Zip and so far today I'm at 10,910 steps and it's given me 337 excersize calories. I will lose a few if I don't keep moving until midnight. I have to get closer to 15,000 steps to get 500 extra calories.

azulvioleta6 wrote: »

Just under a jog is a totally different speed for different people.

I go with how fast I know that I walk when I am on a treadmill...or a slower pace if I know that I was loafing. MPF will calculate the calories for you.

True. I was out walking with a guy one time and he decided to jog a while. I jogged with him until I got tired and went back to walking. I kept up with him for quite a while with him jogging and me walking.