How do I figure out how many calories burned when walking

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pso5bah
pso5bah Posts: 1 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
hi I'm new to this site and I am using the my pal fitness and was wondering how do I calculate how many calories I burned when I want example would be 25 minutes of regular walking thank you
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Replies

  • besaro
    besaro Posts: 1,858 Member
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    get a HRM.
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
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    Do you know how many miles you are covering? There is a calculator on runnersworld.com that can configure your pace which you can use to log (i.e. 3.0mph, 3.5mph, etc).

    Or you could look into a pedometer (such as Fitbit, Garmin, etc) or download an app on your phone that you can use to track your walk (like MapMyFitness, Fitbit, and so on).
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
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    besaro wrote: »
    get a HRM.

    Most HRMs are not accurate for low intensity activities such as walking.

    http://www.runnersworld.com/weight-loss/how-many-calories-are-you-really-burning?page=single

  • ILoveGingerNut
    ILoveGingerNut Posts: 367 Member
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    the easiest way is to buy a pedometer. they are pretty cheap. check your phone. you might have that function already, or download a free app. the next step up i guess would be a fitbit one. it's brilliant as it calculates how many calories you burn in 24 hours if you stick to sitting, walking, running or climbing the stairs. for any other activity you need an HRM, way more expensive though.
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
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    brianpperkins wrote: »
    besaro wrote: »
    get a HRM.

    Most HRMs are not accurate for low intensity activities such as walking.

    http://www.runnersworld.com/weight-loss/how-many-calories-are-you-really-burning?page=single

    Agreed. That or any type of HIIT. HRMs should just be used for steady state cardio like running and swimming.
  • flrancho
    flrancho Posts: 271 Member
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    I use a pedometer app for my phone. It tracks your steps (and calories) by the phones motion when it is in your pocket. There are several free ones in the Apple app store if you have an iPhone.
  • HeydrichSS3
    HeydrichSS3 Posts: 4 Member
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    Any of a number of websites have relatively accurate estimators.
    http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc is one. Know how far you walked, and how long, and you're set.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
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    The caloie burns for things like walking are pretty well known, so pikas calculator should be fine. Compare it to others if concerned.
  • AllanMisner
    AllanMisner Posts: 4,140 Member
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    Calories burned is an estimate. So come up with a number that seems reasonable to you. After a few weeks, if you’re not getting the results you expect, tweak your estimates and charge on.
  • PeeTeePee
    PeeTeePee Posts: 235 Member
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    As you're new, don't bother buying equipment such as Heart Rate Monitors (HRM), Pedometers and the such-like just yet, you can always get one in time if you want. Use MFPs own Exercise database, http://www.myfitnesspal.com/exercise/lookup and select the relevant walking speed that applies, probably 3mph. You can select a walk of a known distance, say 1 mile and walk it, both directions, a couple of times to get an accurate measure of your walking speed.
  • Sutnak
    Sutnak Posts: 227 Member
    edited April 2015
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    25 minutes? i wouldn't, unless you're maybe doing a serious elevation climb.

    Generally speaking, you can do about 100 calories per mile.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    TheReloader wrote: »
    Generally speaking, you can do about 100 calories per mile.

    That would be unlikely, unless one is significantly overweight.

    Personally I factor about 100 cals per mile for running, and about 50 per mile for walking.
  • AllanMisner
    AllanMisner Posts: 4,140 Member
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    MeanderingMammal wrote: »
    TheReloader wrote: »
    Generally speaking, you can do about 100 calories per mile.

    That would be unlikely, unless one is significantly overweight.

    Personally I factor about 100 cals per mile for running, and about 50 per mile for walking.

    You’re moving the same mass a given distance, why would you think it would be significantly more energy to do it quickly or slowly? The only difference is the amount of time and the muscular energy system you’re tapping.
  • Sutnak
    Sutnak Posts: 227 Member
    edited April 2015
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    MeanderingMammal wrote: »
    TheReloader wrote: »
    Generally speaking, you can do about 100 calories per mile.

    That would be unlikely, unless one is significantly overweight.

    Personally I factor about 100 cals per mile for running, and about 50 per mile for walking.

    100 cals per mile is a generally accepted rule of thumb. MFP oft estimates higher, depending.

    Me though, I don't believe in eating back walking calories, unless it's an extreme distance or conditions. I only do 5 miles a day though. Has no impact on weight loss for me. nice for stress relief though.
  • Lasmartchika
    Lasmartchika Posts: 3,440 Member
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    I use an app to help calculate the rate/calories burned... it's mapmyfitness... it definitely gives me an idea of how much I've burned and how far I've walked. :flowerforyou:
  • besaro
    besaro Posts: 1,858 Member
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    A HRM is going to give you a better idea than guessing from a website at least.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    AllanMisner wrote: »
    MeanderingMammal wrote: »
    TheReloader wrote: »
    Generally speaking, you can do about 100 calories per mile.

    That would be unlikely, unless one is significantly overweight.

    Personally I factor about 100 cals per mile for running, and about 50 per mile for walking.

    You’re moving the same mass a given distance, why would you think it would be significantly more energy to do it quickly or slowly? The only difference is the amount of time and the muscular energy system you’re tapping.

    Walking at 5mph has a MET of 5.0, running at 5mph has a MET of 8.0, going to 6mph has a MET of 9.8

    Calories can be determined by multiplying the MET x weight in Kgs x time in hours.

    So walking has a significantly lower MET to that of running at the same speed, leading to a significantly lower calorie expenditure.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    TheReloader wrote: »
    100 cals per mile is a generally accepted rule of thumb.

    Generally accepted where? As my point immediately above, the metabolic equivalents are quite significantly different for the same pace.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    besaro wrote: »
    A HRM is going to give you a better idea than guessing from a website at least.

    Given that walking shouldn't be raising the heart rate into the range where it's a meaningful proxy for calorie expenditure, I would disagree.
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
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    besaro wrote: »
    A HRM is going to give you a better idea than guessing from a website at least.

    Based upon what science?

    Twice you've promoted a HRM without a shred of evidence to support that recommendation.

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