10k steps bleh

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jaga13
jaga13 Posts: 1,149 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
At the suggestion of other mfp members, I downloaded a step tracking app to my phone (before deciding if I should invest in a fitness tracker). I was pleasantly surprised that it matches the steps I've estimated for a long time : about 10,000 steps a day. But sadly this appears to only earn me a little over 200 calories (which matches my previous estimate). I also run 3-4 days a week but can't run every day. Id like to earn more exercise calories on non run days but I feel like I am taking every opportunity to walk already. Without exercise I'm stuck at 1200 for less than a half lb weekly loss. No thanks. I like my food. I'm going to have to figure out more ways to walk/exercise on my non run days!
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  • maasha81
    maasha81 Posts: 733 Member
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    Do some HIIT or endurance workouts. There are a ton of them on YouTube
  • Colorscheme
    Colorscheme Posts: 1,179 Member
    edited December 2015
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    How tall are you? ten thousand steps burns four hundred something calories for me, and I average 14k a day which is like, six hundred something, maybe even close to seven. I use a Fitbit. Your phones step counter might not be accurate.
  • kerivkennedy
    kerivkennedy Posts: 16 Member
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    You can get the fitbit Zip pretty inexpensive. I find it better than an app on my phone since the phone app requires it to be on my body at all times, holding it in your hand will not count.

    The thing to remember with the fitbit is when it counts calories it takes into account your step based activity and your BMR. Which for someone like me, starting out its a more whole representation of what I'm doing (or not doing).
  • beemerphile1
    beemerphile1 Posts: 1,710 Member
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    Counting steps doesn't burn calories. If what you are doing is causing a loss of 1/2 pound per week then continue what you are doing. If you want to eat more, you will have to find the time to get in more exercise.
  • Colorscheme
    Colorscheme Posts: 1,179 Member
    edited December 2015
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    beemerphile1 wrote: »
    Counting steps doesn't burn calories. If what you are doing is causing a loss of 1/2 pound per week then continue what you are doing. If you want to eat more, you will have to find the time to get in more exercise.

    It's movement, and movement burns calories. The more intense the movement, the more calories you burn. Why do you think otherwise?
  • beemerphile1
    beemerphile1 Posts: 1,710 Member
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    realityfades wrote: »
    beemerphile1 wrote: »
    Counting steps doesn't burn calories. If what you are doing is causing a loss of 1/2 pound per week then continue what you are doing. If you want to eat more, you will have to find the time to get in more exercise.

    It's movement, and movement burns calories. The more intense the movement, the more calories you burn. Why do you think otherwise?

    Movement does burn calories, I never said otherwise. Counting steps becomes an obsession for many and is not necessary, counting steps does not burn calories.

    Exercise should be a particular activity for the purpose of fitness. The steps you take in the normal routine of your day are calculated into your activity level and are not "exercise".
  • sllm1
    sllm1 Posts: 2,114 Member
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    In general, I "earn" about 100 calories per 2,000 steps. Except, that you must keep in mind what you have your activity level set at. Sedentary takes 3,000 steps into account, so you can't start adding steps until you meet that mark. I set mine to sedentary and add anything over that. So if I get 10,000 steps, I would get an additional 350 calories (taking out the 3,000 base steps and basing the calorie expenditure on 7,000).

    If you have your activity level set higher, you would have to take more steps to reach that activity level before adding calories. Fitbit will automatically figure all of this for you.
  • Colorscheme
    Colorscheme Posts: 1,179 Member
    edited December 2015
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    beemerphile1 wrote: »
    realityfades wrote: »
    beemerphile1 wrote: »
    Counting steps doesn't burn calories. If what you are doing is causing a loss of 1/2 pound per week then continue what you are doing. If you want to eat more, you will have to find the time to get in more exercise.

    It's movement, and movement burns calories. The more intense the movement, the more calories you burn. Why do you think otherwise?

    Movement does burn calories, I never said otherwise. Counting steps becomes an obsession for many and is not necessary, counting steps does not burn calories.

    Exercise should be a particular activity for the purpose of fitness. The steps you take in the normal routine of your day are calculated into your activity level and are not "exercise".

    If movement burns calories, then so does counting steps. I don't understand why you're saying it doesn't. If you're taking steps, you're burning calories. I take 14k-15k steps a day and burn about six to seven hundred cals a day and that's my only exercise.
  • daniwilford
    daniwilford Posts: 1,030 Member
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    My fitbit doesn't give me calorie burns for steps that are part of my activity level and when I enable negative adjustments will also subtract if I do not reach my activity level, a phone app will not do that. The motivation comes from trying to increase your steps and exceed your activity level for a number of minutes. I average 16,000 or more 6 days a week and have 100 to 150 minutes when I exceed my activity level a day.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,900 Member
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    realityfades wrote: »
    beemerphile1 wrote: »
    realityfades wrote: »
    beemerphile1 wrote: »
    Counting steps doesn't burn calories. If what you are doing is causing a loss of 1/2 pound per week then continue what you are doing. If you want to eat more, you will have to find the time to get in more exercise.

    It's movement, and movement burns calories. The more intense the movement, the more calories you burn. Why do you think otherwise?

    Movement does burn calories, I never said otherwise. Counting steps becomes an obsession for many and is not necessary, counting steps does not burn calories.

    Exercise should be a particular activity for the purpose of fitness. The steps you take in the normal routine of your day are calculated into your activity level and are not "exercise".

    If movement burns calories, then so does counting steps. I don't understand why you're saying it doesn't. If you're taking steps, you're burning calories. I take 14k-15k steps a day and burn about six to seven hundred cals a day and that's my only exercise.

    His point is that it's not the counting of steps that matters, but the taking of steps. I think he's suggesting she spend less time counting and more time moving.
  • Colorscheme
    Colorscheme Posts: 1,179 Member
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    kshama2001 wrote: »
    realityfades wrote: »
    beemerphile1 wrote: »
    realityfades wrote: »
    beemerphile1 wrote: »
    Counting steps doesn't burn calories. If what you are doing is causing a loss of 1/2 pound per week then continue what you are doing. If you want to eat more, you will have to find the time to get in more exercise.

    It's movement, and movement burns calories. The more intense the movement, the more calories you burn. Why do you think otherwise?

    Movement does burn calories, I never said otherwise. Counting steps becomes an obsession for many and is not necessary, counting steps does not burn calories.

    Exercise should be a particular activity for the purpose of fitness. The steps you take in the normal routine of your day are calculated into your activity level and are not "exercise".

    If movement burns calories, then so does counting steps. I don't understand why you're saying it doesn't. If you're taking steps, you're burning calories. I take 14k-15k steps a day and burn about six to seven hundred cals a day and that's my only exercise.

    His point is that it's not the counting of steps that matters, but the taking of steps. I think he's suggesting she spend less time counting and more time moving.

    Ahhhh, ok. I guess it wasn't clear to me. I assume someone who is counting steps is also trying to move more, because why bother otherwise?
  • jacklifts
    jacklifts Posts: 396 Member
    edited December 2015
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    weight training? HIIT?
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    edited December 2015
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    options
    1)walk faster
    2)vinyasa yoga/power yoga
    3)HIIT or some fun aerobic group class-social aspects can make it more fun or youtube videos
    4)zumba or other dance class
    5) spin poi or hula hoop
    6)bellydance
  • brb2008
    brb2008 Posts: 406 Member
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    Yep I say add a YouTube workout once or twice a day. There is something for everyone, I promise! I enjoy pilates, the Barre videos, fitness blender, and Jilian Michaels videos.
  • lps1dragonfly
    lps1dragonfly Posts: 111 Member
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    Caitwn wrote: »
    jaga13 wrote: »
    At the suggestion of other mfp members, I downloaded a step tracking app to my phone (before deciding if I should invest in a fitness tracker). I was pleasantly surprised that it matches the steps I've estimated for a long time : about 10,000 steps a day. But sadly this appears to only earn me a little over 200 calories (which matches my previous estimate). I also run 3-4 days a week but can't run every day. Id like to earn more exercise calories on non run days but I feel like I am taking every opportunity to walk already. Without exercise I'm stuck at 1200 for less than a half lb weekly loss. No thanks. I like my food. I'm going to have to figure out more ways to walk/exercise on my non run days!

    I'm a short woman with a small frame, so I feel your pain. I'm also a walker, but I feel I can only expect so much of a calorie burn from exercise. Increasing the pace of your walks to 'very brisk' (4.5 mph or a 13-minute mile) can burn nearly as much as jogging the same distance - if I recall correctly, a 140-lb. woman can burn almost 400 calories in an hour of walking at that pace, which is pretty nice.

    For higher-level burns I think you'll need to look into something like tabata classes or maybe kettlebell workouts.

    great info! I didn't know this. I am 5'1" and about 125 or 6#. I walk constantly at work and have began running 3x a week. I have Jawbone UP2 to track my steps and exercise (it syncs here and give me negative adjustments on m calories).

    If you have time you could throw in another day of running if you want to eat more. Just a thought.
  • jaga13
    jaga13 Posts: 1,149 Member
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    Thank you for your thoughtful responses. To answer a lot of questions -

    I am 4'11
    I am not looking for suggestions for different types of intense workouts. My running is the intense burn. But with a toddler at home, there are some days where our schedule doesn't allow me to run or do a strenuous workout. That's why I count steps to ensure I am at least staying somewhat active on these rest days.
    I was losing .5 lb per week for a long time and stopped 4 months ago. Exactly when I switched from a desk job to stay at home mom. I'm more active but have a hard time with the 24/7 access to food which I didn't have at work. I know I am indulging too often And am working on this. In the meantime, I'm using the app to ensure I'm at the very least not going backwards into sedentary (I'm definitely not)
    I'm aware that you can't count the first 3000 steps or so as mfp factors that in already. So I've recently been aiming to save about 100 calories a day to help counteract (can't figure out how to select negative adjustments through my phone. Might need to get to a computer).

    I realize that counting steps doesn't do anything. But it does motivate me to keep moving. I need to just keep squeezing in more steps. It's hard when my little one wants me to sit and play puzzles but there are a lot of hours in the day.
  • strong_curves
    strong_curves Posts: 2,229 Member
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    jaga13 wrote: »
    Thank you for your thoughtful responses. To answer a lot of questions -

    I am 4'11
    I am not looking for suggestions for different types of intense workouts. My running is the intense burn. But with a toddler at home, there are some days where our schedule doesn't allow me to run or do a strenuous workout. That's why I count steps to ensure I am at least staying somewhat active on these rest days.
    I was losing .5 lb per week for a long time and stopped 4 months ago. Exactly when I switched from a desk job to stay at home mom. I'm more active but have a hard time with the 24/7 access to food which I didn't have at work. I know I am indulging too often And am working on this. In the meantime, I'm using the app to ensure I'm at the very least not going backwards into sedentary (I'm definitely not)
    I'm aware that you can't count the first 3000 steps or so as mfp factors that in already. So I've recently been aiming to save about 100 calories a day to help counteract (can't figure out how to select negative adjustments through my phone. Might need to get to a computer).

    I realize that counting steps doesn't do anything. But it does motivate me to keep moving. I need to just keep squeezing in more steps. It's hard when my little one wants me to sit and play puzzles but there are a lot of hours in the day.

    You may be eating at maintenance. Are you using a food scale to weigh/measure your food/drinks? Also you could be blowing your deficit by indulging too often.

  • Merkavar
    Merkavar Posts: 3,082 Member
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    beemerphile1 wrote: »
    realityfades wrote: »
    beemerphile1 wrote: »
    Counting steps doesn't burn calories. If what you are doing is causing a loss of 1/2 pound per week then continue what you are doing. If you want to eat more, you will have to find the time to get in more exercise.

    It's movement, and movement burns calories. The more intense the movement, the more calories you burn. Why do you think otherwise?

    Movement does burn calories, I never said otherwise. Counting steps becomes an obsession for many and is not necessary, counting steps does not burn calories.

    Exercise should be a particular activity for the purpose of fitness. The steps you take in the normal routine of your day are calculated into your activity level and are not "exercise".

    Say you set our acivity level to sedentary but then you walk 10k steps which most don't define as sedentary, does it make sense to count that as exercise or extra calories burned?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
    edited December 2015
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    Merkavar wrote: »
    beemerphile1 wrote: »
    realityfades wrote: »
    beemerphile1 wrote: »
    Counting steps doesn't burn calories. If what you are doing is causing a loss of 1/2 pound per week then continue what you are doing. If you want to eat more, you will have to find the time to get in more exercise.

    It's movement, and movement burns calories. The more intense the movement, the more calories you burn. Why do you think otherwise?

    Movement does burn calories, I never said otherwise. Counting steps becomes an obsession for many and is not necessary, counting steps does not burn calories.

    Exercise should be a particular activity for the purpose of fitness. The steps you take in the normal routine of your day are calculated into your activity level and are not "exercise".

    Say you set our acivity level to sedentary but then you walk 10k steps which most don't define as sedentary, does it make sense to count that as exercise or extra calories burned?

    some of them...i believe even sedentary accounts for up to 5,000 steps. light active I believe is 5,000 - 7,500...7,500 - 10,000 moderate active, etc.

    if you put yourself as sedentary and count all of your step calories you are inflating your expenditure...up to 1/2 of them are already accounted for in your activity level.

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