A few questions!

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decburns87
decburns87 Posts: 4 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all
Hope the counting is going good.

So I've tried the calorie counting thing before, but didn't really stick to it. But iv been back about 3 weeks now, and I've been happy with the results. With very little exercise I've lost about 8 pounds. I was about 15 stone 7 when I started and I'm now just below 15 now (28 yo male, 5 foot 9).

But I'm hoping to be more active. So I have set up a pedometer and a training program. I put mfp profile to slightly active, and looking to lose 2 lbs a week giving me 1700 calories. But since I've set up the pedometer I notice I walk about 10000 steps or more in work and around 3000 when not at work(and doing nothing). I do shift work and it works out 4 days in work then 4 days off. But today I found myself worrying if I had eaten enough. I was busy and didn't get lunch til late. Which meant I wasn't hungry for snacks or anything. So my calories eaten were 1500, but my pedometer reckoned I walked about 14000 steps giving me approx 700 calories burned. I felt fine tho and did a small boxing session when I got home and before dinner.

So my questions:
Did I eat enough today, even though I felt fine?
And how do people balance calories eaten with activity level and exercise?
How accurate is the pedometer saying that 14000 steps is 700 calories burned? I find that number suspect seeing as I didn't feel strain or much effort in walking that distance.

Thanks in advance for help. And apologies for the length and if this topic has come up before.
And please feel free to add me on mfp
Thanks

Replies

  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    Some of those steps would have been taken into account with your activity level setting.
    700 calories spread throughout the day isn't going to feel like trying to burn 700 in 2 hrs. One requires a very high level of intensity and the other just requires you to be fairly active all day.

    I use a Fitbit activity tracker to adjust my calories on MFP based on how active or inactive I am. I use a food scale to weigh my solid foods so that my logging is accurate. Example: I had a meal bar this morning. It should weigh 45 g according to the package. I put it on the scale and it was 60 g. That took it from 170 calories to 225 calories.

    1500 was probably on the low side. Then again depending on how your tracking food consumption, you could actually be eating a bit more.

    Give it another couple weeks. Average out your loss. If you averaged more than 2lbs per week loss, than you need to eat more.
  • decburns87
    decburns87 Posts: 4 Member
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    Well as time has gone on my tracking has gotten more and more accurate so I'd be confident that 1500 is pretty close to the mark. I understand that I'm burning calories with any movement but suppose I was to eat an extra 700 calories based on the pedometer, it wouldn't really sit right with me as I don't view walking as exercise as such, I think you need to break a sweat to really classify it as exercise. Like if I was to look at it in a strict calories eaten minus calories burned way, then my calories eaten could be under 800, but I've felt good all day, never felt weak or tired. Just a little hungry just before I got a chance to get lunch
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    Day to day activities do burn calories though.

    Don't misunderstand, I'm not saying add an extra 700 to your day. Your activity level accounts for some of those steps. Sinc most of those steps are already taken into account, you would only want to add maybe 100-200 calories.

    Lightly active though I would say accounts for 5k-8k steps in a day. So if you are getting more steps than that on a regular basis, you are probably actually active. And the change in activity level if I remember correctly only adds about 200 calories a day.

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