More steps=more calories?

ChelzFit
ChelzFit Posts: 292 Member
edited November 17 in Goal: Maintaining Weight
I have always considered myself fairly active considering I am a SAHM with two toddlers, but in the last month or so I have really noticed that without my workouts I only really get about 6,000 steps a day. So for the last month I have made a commitment to try to get to 8,000-10,000 steps a day not including my workouts. I have noticed of course my calorie burn has gone from 1,900 a day all the way to 2,100 if I hit 8,000 and around 2,200-2,300 if I hit 10,000 or more. My workouts I burn anywhere from 300-400 cal a day. I am maintaining so should I consider adding in an extra hundred or so calories for the extra steps, just curious to see if others eat back there step calories. Also, when maintaining if I start to reach 10,000 a day would that be considered lightly active or active?

Replies

  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,129 Member
    edited April 2017
    If you're consistently doing 10000 per day I'd call that active. Around 7500 steps is where my negative adjustment stops kicking in for Lightly Active. I eat back all my exercise calories including those earned through additional steps.

    Edit: For context - Mine are calculated through a Garmin HR tracker (MFP database/None HR may be far less accurate for calorie burn)
  • crooked_left_hook
    crooked_left_hook Posts: 364 Member
    So on a lazy, stay at home, no workout or extra walking day I get a bare minimum of 5000 steps, which counts as lightly active, sit hats what I set my activity at in MFP. This helps determine activity level by steps: http://www.fitnessforweightloss.com/rate-your-activity-level-based-on-steps-per-day/

    I do not log any step based workouts like running or walking, I let my Fitbit track that and you have one with a HR monitor it will adjust your calorie expenditure according to your HR. Manually log only non-step based exercises. Since I usually get anywhere from 10,000-15,000 steps if I work out that day can earn anywhere from 200-700 extra calories (I start getting extra calories around 4000 steps). If you are in maintenece you can eat the calories back, if you are cutting I would eat at least half of them. I've been using my Charge 2 HR religiously since January, and cross referenced my estimated TDEE with MFP and other databases, and it's pretty accurate. I'm in maintenance so leave myself about a 200 calorie cushion for lazy measuring and margin of error.
  • ChelzFit
    ChelzFit Posts: 292 Member
    My NET calories were set to 1910 when I put in lightly active. I synced my fitbit with MFP this morning for the first time. I hit 8,400 steps so far today and it bumped up my calories to 2,277. I did walk for 45 minutes on the tredmill, but took my FIT BIT off during that time because it tends to overestimate my walking calories for some reason. So if I averaged about 150 for my walk, my calories would end up being around 2,425. I am just amazed how many extra calories I have been getting for just bumping up my activity level during the day. Like I said I am maintaining, but now that I have been bumping up my steps it seems like I am eating anywhere from 200-300 calories less then I should to maintain.
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
    If your goal is to maintain, keep doing what you're doing.
  • crooked_left_hook
    crooked_left_hook Posts: 364 Member
    ChelzFit wrote: »
    My NET calories were set to 1910 when I put in lightly active. I synced my fitbit with MFP this morning for the first time. I hit 8,400 steps so far today and it bumped up my calories to 2,277. I did walk for 45 minutes on the tredmill, but took my FIT BIT off during that time because it tends to overestimate my walking calories for some reason. So if I averaged about 150 for my walk, my calories would end up being around 2,425. I am just amazed how many extra calories I have been getting for just bumping up my activity level during the day. Like I said I am maintaining, but now that I have been bumping up my steps it seems like I am eating anywhere from 200-300 calories less then I should to maintain.

    Why do you think your Fitbit is overestimating your walking calories?
  • ChelzFit
    ChelzFit Posts: 292 Member
    crooked_left_hook wrote: »
    ChelzFit wrote: »
    My NET calories were set to 1910 when I put in lightly active. I synced my fitbit with MFP this morning for the first time. I hit 8,400 steps so far today and it bumped up my calories to 2,277. I did walk for 45 minutes on the tredmill, but took my FIT BIT off during that time because it tends to overestimate my walking calories for some reason. So if I averaged about 150 for my walk, my calories would end up being around 2,425. I am just amazed how many extra calories I have been getting for just bumping up my activity level during the day. Like I said I am maintaining, but now that I have been bumping up my steps it seems like I am eating anywhere from 200-300 calories less then I should to maintain.

    Why do you think your Fitbit is overestimating your walking calories?

    For some reason whenever I just walk on my treadmill at a 3.5-3.8 pace for 40 min it will say that I burn anywhere from 250-400 cals. I just don't find that accurate at all, at times it says my heart rate will go up to 150 and on my polar it stays around 90 bpm. When I do more high intensity workouts the calorie burn seems more accurate compared with my polar. I can't figure it out!
  • CaitKilla
    CaitKilla Posts: 75 Member
    Yeah this confuses me too. I'm in maintenance and I'm 5 foot 1.75 inches and 20 years old. I weigh about 117 pounds. I'm not sure how much I should be eating per day if I walk pretty much 10000 steps or more everyday. My dietician says that every day no matter what I should be eating at least 1500 calories. But how much depending on steps? Someone please help lol
  • beaglebrandon
    beaglebrandon Posts: 97 Member
    edited April 2017
    Steps can vary. A lot depends on your heart-rate when you're walking or exercising.

    For example, if I walked slowly downhill for 268 steps or I jogged up the 268 steps of the Cape Hatteras lighthouse. I would burn many more calories from the latter.
  • jeepinshawn
    jeepinshawn Posts: 642 Member
    The walking calories on my fitbit were way way off. Just walking around at a normal pace doesn't burn many calories.
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