Do "normal walking around" calories not count?
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@MaiLinna Is the 500 calories your fitbit adjustment? If it is then that isn't saying that you burned 500 calories walking. It is saying that through your daily activity you burned 500 calories more than mfp expected you to. It is listed as exercise calories, but it isn't truly exercise calories. Mfp expects you to burn a certain number of calories per day. For me that is 1573. If my fitbit calculates that I have burned 1951 calories then it will give me an adjustment of 378 calories.0
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MichelleLaree13 wrote: »BrianSharpe wrote: »I'm wondering this as well. I have a Fitbit and I keep everything set to sedentary because I usually spend the day in my small apartment playing games or cleaning. But now I do a lot more grocery shopping, and I walk to 3 different stores all the time. Just today I walked over 14k steps, over 6 miles, and according to my Fitbit and MFP, I burned 500 calories.
Did I actually? Someone else told me that walking doesn't actually burn calories.
6 miles would not be 500 cal unless you weighed 277 lbs......to get a realistic estimate of additional calories expended walking (assuming relatively flat terrain) multiply .30 x weight (in lbs) x distance (in miles) approx 30 cal per mile for every 100lbs of body weight.
It sure FEELS like I burned 500 calories when I run 6 miles, lol
For running use a factor of .63 rather than .30........ depending on your weight you're probably not too far off that.0 -
BrianSharpe wrote: »I'm wondering this as well. I have a Fitbit and I keep everything set to sedentary because I usually spend the day in my small apartment playing games or cleaning. But now I do a lot more grocery shopping, and I walk to 3 different stores all the time. Just today I walked over 14k steps, over 6 miles, and according to my Fitbit and MFP, I burned 500 calories.
Did I actually? Someone else told me that walking doesn't actually burn calories.
6 miles would not be 500 cal unless you weighed 277 lbs......to get a realistic estimate of additional calories expended walking (assuming relatively flat terrain) multiply .30 x weight (in lbs) x distance (in miles) approx 30 cal per mile for every 100lbs of body weight.
Your calc is missing speed. 6miles at 4mph is going to burn more than 6 miles at 2mph.
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BillMcKay1 wrote: »BrianSharpe wrote: »I'm wondering this as well. I have a Fitbit and I keep everything set to sedentary because I usually spend the day in my small apartment playing games or cleaning. But now I do a lot more grocery shopping, and I walk to 3 different stores all the time. Just today I walked over 14k steps, over 6 miles, and according to my Fitbit and MFP, I burned 500 calories.
Did I actually? Someone else told me that walking doesn't actually burn calories.
6 miles would not be 500 cal unless you weighed 277 lbs......to get a realistic estimate of additional calories expended walking (assuming relatively flat terrain) multiply .30 x weight (in lbs) x distance (in miles) approx 30 cal per mile for every 100lbs of body weight.
Your calc is missing speed. 6miles at 4mph is going to burn more than 6 miles at 2mph.
Not appreciably, it's physics: mass x distance x acceleration.....walking faster will result in an increased cardiovascular benefit but you're still moving the same mass over the same distance. (Race walking is the exception to this due to its mechanical inefficiency......you may actually expend more calories race walking that running at a moderate pace over the same distance)1 -
I was under the impression 6 miles burnt the same number of calories regardless of speed, you would just burn them quicker if you run...0
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I was under the impression 6 miles burnt the same number of calories regardless of speed, you would just burn them quicker if you run...
No, running burns roughly double the calories that walking the same distance would.
runnersworld.com/weight-loss/how-many-calories-are-you-really-burning2 -
I don't count any of my day-to-day movements as exercise. I walk on my break, I do track those walks because it adds up to 45 minutes walking every day in addition to my other exercise but that's it. For me, it's pointless. I actually bought a fitbit and returned it the next day because I felt like it was phony. I don't consider walking to the bathroom or kitchen exercise.
By all means, if the extra calories you're burning or steps your seeing are helping you to move more and challenge yourself then by all means.. Track it! My opinion is just that it's silly. If you think that it's negatively affecting your progress then stop tracking it and see if that helps!0 -
@MaiLinna Is the 500 calories your fitbit adjustment? If it is then that isn't saying that you burned 500 calories walking. It is saying that through your daily activity you burned 500 calories more than mfp expected you to. It is listed as exercise calories, but it isn't truly exercise calories. Mfp expects you to burn a certain number of calories per day. For me that is 1573. If my fitbit calculates that I have burned 1951 calories then it will give me an adjustment of 378 calories.
Yes, but on a normal day I am very sedentary, sometimes not even hitting 2k steps. So technically, yes, it was all walking. I've read that you should take a good quarter off of that though. Not that I eat back my calories or anything.0 -
@MaiLinna Is the 500 calories your fitbit adjustment? If it is then that isn't saying that you burned 500 calories walking. It is saying that through your daily activity you burned 500 calories more than mfp expected you to. It is listed as exercise calories, but it isn't truly exercise calories. Mfp expects you to burn a certain number of calories per day. For me that is 1573. If my fitbit calculates that I have burned 1951 calories then it will give me an adjustment of 378 calories.
Yes, but on a normal day I am very sedentary, sometimes not even hitting 2k steps. So technically, yes, it was all walking. I've read that you should take a good quarter off of that though. Not that I eat back my calories or anything.
If you used mfp to set your goal then you should eat back a portion of your exercise adjustment. I find my fitbit very accurate for me and can eat all of my exercise adjustment back. Some people find it less accurate and only eat a percentage back. I would start with 50-75% and after about 4 weeks if you are losing faster than your goal you know you can eat back more or if you aren't losing as fast as you expect then eat back less.2 -
abitofbliss wrote: »I don't count any of my day-to-day movements as exercise. I walk on my break, I do track those walks because it adds up to 45 minutes walking every day in addition to my other exercise but that's it. For me, it's pointless. I actually bought a fitbit and returned it the next day because I felt like it was phony. I don't consider walking to the bathroom or kitchen
This. I got a Fitbit and was like, okay I did not just burn 300 calories or take 1,000 steps going from my bedroom down to the kitchen. Come on. That thing feels wrong. My Pacer makes more sense and feels more accurate.1 -
@KatsMeow12 - I'm glad someone agreed.. I explained my reasoning to my boss who LOVES her FitBit and she agreed that it was pointless for me personally (not for everyone). I DO want a HRM but just not in the form of counting every single movement as exercise. What is My Pacer?0
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You may be burning calories by normal everyday walking around, but the chances on those calories burned making a difference in weightloss and fitness level is pretty slim. That's why people say they don't count.0
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They do count. Every physical exertion counts towards burning cals. However like the above poster mentioned, this factor is within ones daily activity level. The more active you are the more calories you burn. *Note, this doesn't mean not working out because one is active in their day to day life.1
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abitofbliss wrote: »@KatsMeow12 - I DO want a HRM but just not in the form of counting every single movement as exercise. What is My Pacer?
Pacer is a pedometer app. Works great for me! My phone is always in my pants.
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abitofbliss wrote: »I don't count any of my day-to-day movements as exercise. I walk on my break, I do track those walks because it adds up to 45 minutes walking every day in addition to my other exercise but that's it. For me, it's pointless. I actually bought a fitbit and returned it the next day because I felt like it was phony. I don't consider walking to the bathroom or kitchen exercise.
By all means, if the extra calories you're burning or steps your seeing are helping you to move more and challenge yourself then by all means.. Track it! My opinion is just that it's silly. If you think that it's negatively affecting your progress then stop tracking it and see if that helps!abitofbliss wrote: »@KatsMeow12 - I'm glad someone agreed.. I explained my reasoning to my boss who LOVES her FitBit and she agreed that it was pointless for me personally (not for everyone). I DO want a HRM but just not in the form of counting every single movement as exercise. What is My Pacer?
@abitofbliss - Fitbits aren't counting every movement as exercise. It is estimating your daily calorie expenditure based on your activity level.
Whether you count it or not, walking to the bathroom does require calories. Sitting on the couch requires calories. Even laying in a coma requires calories. Certainly not a lot of calories in any of those cases but it does go towards your TDEE.
Fitbits are a pretty reasonable way to determine how active you really are in day to day life. They are not perfect, but they are a good starting point.
If you don't like them, that's fine. But they aren't phony or silly.1 -
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