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Am I kidding myself?

megsb1991
megsb1991 Posts: 22 Member
edited December 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
Some help please ladies and gents,

My partner and I have recently started saving to go travelling so I've decided to get rid of my car in favour of a cheaper season train ticket. It also means that I have to walk to the train station in the morning and after work. The train station is 1.9 miles from my house (on the exact path I use) and it takes me roughly 25-30 minutes to get there (I'm a bit of a speed walker). Its absolutely not flat, there's plenty of inclines and declines.

My question is- how do I reflect this in my diary, if at all?
I definitely have a bit of a sweat by the time I get to the station (I take my work clothes in a bag) and I can definitely feel a bit of a burn from the hilly bits, but how do I measure this in my diary without giving myself extra calories that I really shouldn't eat up. At the moment, putting in 60 minutes (before work/after work) of 4mph walking comes out with something like 353 cals burned- is that correct?

Stats:
Currently 156 pounds
Aiming for 1 pound a week
Currently on 1340 cals a day

Cheers,
Megan

Replies

  • HStheBusyBee
    HStheBusyBee Posts: 1,366 Member
    Download an app like mapmyrun or strava and then record your morning walk. Once you've finished, it should give you a calorie count. :)
  • megsb1991
    megsb1991 Posts: 22 Member
    Hi Busy Bee :)

    Thank you very much. Do you know if they are quite accurate? As in taking in speed I'm walking/uphill/downhill etc?

    Thanks again
  • HStheBusyBee
    HStheBusyBee Posts: 1,366 Member
    Yeah it's relatively accurate :)
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    That actually sounds about right, considering that you are walking at a brisk pace for almost 4 miles. If you make progress using that number then you're fine. :)
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
    What are your goals and do you tend to eat your calories back?

    For what it's worth I think that 353 looks about right and, in your position I would eat back 160 of them to give you a nice round 1500 allowance and monitor weight and measurement over the next few weeks then tweak as required.

    Note that: Assuming you work 5 days a week this uplift in calories out is (353 x 5)/7 = 252 per day.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,178 Member
    megsb1991 wrote: »
    Some help please ladies and gents,

    My partner and I have recently started saving to go travelling so I've decided to get rid of my car in favour of a cheaper season train ticket. It also means that I have to walk to the train station in the morning and after work. The train station is 1.9 miles from my house (on the exact path I use) and it takes me roughly 25-30 minutes to get there (I'm a bit of a speed walker). Its absolutely not flat, there's plenty of inclines and declines.

    My question is- how do I reflect this in my diary, if at all?
    I definitely have a bit of a sweat by the time I get to the station (I take my work clothes in a bag) and I can definitely feel a bit of a burn from the hilly bits, but how do I measure this in my diary without giving myself extra calories that I really shouldn't eat up. At the moment, putting in 60 minutes (before work/after work) of 4mph walking comes out with something like 353 cals burned- is that correct?

    Stats:
    Currently 156 pounds
    Aiming for 1 pound a week
    Currently on 1340 cals a day

    Cheers,
    Megan

    300ish calories for one hour walk at a relatively brisk pace sounds right for your weight.
  • megsb1991
    megsb1991 Posts: 22 Member
    StealthHealth wrote: »

    For what it's worth I think that 353 looks about right and, in your position I would eat back 160 of them to give you a nice round 1500 allowance and monitor weight and measurement over the next few weeks then tweak as required.

    I aim to lose a pound a week and I'm currently aiming for 145.
    Because I was on 1340 which is relatively low, I have been eating up to the allowance. But I didn't want to add on 300 calories and then eat them as well- at a risk of stopping the weight loss!

    Happy to hit the 1500 mark- good advice!!

    Thank you very much everyone!

  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    In my opinion, it's much easier to switch your activity level as opposed to trying to calculate your specific calories burned each and every day.

    Switch to lightly active. :)
  • KiyaK
    KiyaK Posts: 519 Member
    StealthHealth wrote: »
    What are your goals and do you tend to eat your calories back?

    For what it's worth I think that 353 looks about right and, in your position I would eat back 160 of them to give you a nice round 1500 allowance and monitor weight and measurement over the next few weeks then tweak as required.

    Note that: Assuming you work 5 days a week this uplift in calories out is (353 x 5)/7 = 252 per day.

    Exactly this.
  • jdhcm2006
    jdhcm2006 Posts: 2,254 Member
    Since it's going to be regular activity, I think you may want to think about changing your activity level.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    In my opinion, it's much easier to switch your activity level as opposed to trying to calculate your specific calories burned each and every day

    Interesting. I find it's much easier to have my watch track what I do than to try and figure out how I'd come up with anything like a reasonable estimate. But my routine varies a lot from day to day.
  • gillie80
    gillie80 Posts: 214 Member
    My Fitbit does all the calorie counting for me in that respect. I also use Strava which i find useful.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    I wouldn't log it. The train station is about a mile from my work, I've never even considered that I would log that walk.
  • sllm1
    sllm1 Posts: 2,130 Member
    I would log it as 300 calories just to be on the safe side. I do 100 calories per mile (380) and then round down for good measure. :)
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    If you follow runners world's formula for net calories expended walking (.30 x weight in lbs x distance in miles) you'd something less than 200 net cal per day from this which is probably a very conservative number given that the terrain is not flat.
  • 12Sarah2015
    12Sarah2015 Posts: 1,117 Member
    Well done for the stick. Trains are better for the environment and all that walking will pay off for your health. Incidental exercise is the best
  • 12Sarah2015
    12Sarah2015 Posts: 1,117 Member
    Not stick, switch
This discussion has been closed.

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