Walking/running calories

melissa112 · January 2018

Hi all

I'm not fit enough yet to run continuously so I am doing a brisk walk for 1-2mins and then run/jog for 1min. I understand that there are formulas for calculating calories burned while walking, and separately for running, but does have anyone have advice for when it is a mixture? I can't even work out how many minutes I was walking or running as I was switching up how long I was walking before going back to running.

I only did 2.16 miles in 30mins so I'm guessing my walking wasn't fast enough and my run more of a jog. But I'd still like an accurate - ish estimate of calories.

Oh I am 154lb female.

Thanks in advance

MeanderingMammal · January 2018

Walking just over 2 miles would give you about 100 calories, running it, about 200 calories.

Personally I'd suggest just sitting the difference and assuming about 150 calories.

There's no need to overcomplicate it.

You could use a phone app like Runkeeper, Endomondo or Strava but each of them will also have an error. Someone will be asking in a moment to recommend a Heart Rate Monitor, but that's not appropriate for intervals or low intensity like walking.

melissa112 · January 2018

Thank you. I used runkeeper and it gave me 230 calories which seemed too high. I'll stick with somewhere in the middle. It's made me realise how unfit I am!

sijomial · January 2018

Here are the common formulas for "normal speed" running and walking.....

Net Running calories Spent = (Body weight in pounds) x (0.63) x (Distance in miles)
Net Walking calories Spent = (Body weight in pounds) x (0.30) x (Distance in miles)

Agree with the suggestion to split the difference.

melissa112 · January 2018

Thanks for those formulas. So by net is that the amount I can eat back? Or does that include calories I would have burned just sat down?

sijomial · January 2018

melissa112 wrote: »

Thanks for those formulas. So by net is that the amount I can eat back? Or does that include calories I would have burned just sat down?

Gross would include the calories burned just by existing, net is the extra calories burned through the exercise.

stanmann571 · January 2018

melissa112 wrote: »

Hi all

I'm not fit enough yet to run continuously so I am doing a brisk walk for 1-2mins and then run/jog for 1min. I understand that there are formulas for calculating calories burned while walking, and separately for running, but does have anyone have advice for when it is a mixture? I can't even work out how many minutes I was walking or running as I was switching up how long I was walking before going back to running.

I only did 2.16 miles in 30mins so I'm guessing my walking wasn't fast enough and my run more of a jog. But I'd still like an accurate - ish estimate of calories.

Oh I am 154lb female.

Thanks in advance

2 miles in 30 minutes at a run walk for a relative beginner is a really solid pace.

Don't beat yourself up on that account.

If you want a better accounting of how much time is spent running vs walking, a run app as above, or a GPS watch will give you that data

The blue line is my pace, the Magenta is my cadence, as you can see there's a clear difference between the run sessions and the walking ones.

Tacklewasher · January 2018

Not really what you are asking, but have you looked into a C25K app? It's a structured program to get you from walking to running and is very popular here.

cwolfman13 · January 2018

melissa112 wrote: »

Thanks for those formulas. So by net is that the amount I can eat back? Or does that include calories I would have burned just sat down?

net means that the formula has removed the calories you would have otherwise expended anyways for the given time frame. So they are the additional calories you burned with additional activity.

SoulOfALion5 · January 2018

For my exercise I use this formula.
(Distance in miles / time X by 60 min).
I am in rather same situation as yourself. Since September last year, began limiting calorie intake and exercising. So the formula above calculates my average pace which inturn I enter into mfp exercise which calculates calories burned by that walk.

It works for me this system at the moment as gradually loosing lbs over time.

Hope this helps.

jeremywm1977 · January 2018

Tacklewasher wrote: »

Not really what you are asking, but have you looked into a C25K app? It's a structured program to get you from walking to running and is very popular here.

Love this app. Being a former smoker, and having undergone four knee surgeries, running was a bit of a pipe dream for me.
Fast forward to this past weekend, and using my C25K app, I ran/walked almost 6 miles. My speed wasn't blinding by any stretch, completing the run/walk in 1 hour 20 minutes, but the fact that I had the endurance to do it in the first place was my own personal highlight from using the app.

melissa112 · January 2018

Ah I totally forgot about the C25K app. I did this a few years ago and it was great. I've just downloaded it now so thank you for the reminder! I'm going to start it tonight!

Jthanmyfitnesspal · January 2018

stanmann571 wrote: »

2 miles in 30 minutes at a run walk for a relative beginner is a really solid pace.

Don't beat yourself up on that account.

I'm glad @stanmann571 said it! I totally agree. Walk/run mixed workouts are great for fitness! Keep it up!

The calorie formulas the @sijomial listed are widely used, but you can really see their limitation when you consider that the walk vs. run values are different by a factor of 2. So what about very slow jogging and very fast walking? I use a HRM-based calorie estimates when I jog on the treadmill and they're always higher than the treadmill estimates, which are presumably based on those formulas. I am sometimes rather careful about not eating them all back (particularly when cutting).

Assuming you have a phone, you have all you need to get a better calorie estimate. Just use any number of fitness apps and keep your phone in your pocket. Google Fit is free and will give you a calorie estimate that is pretty reasonable. (It tries to differentiate running from walking somehow.) The hard part is choosing one!

SoulOfALion5 · January 2018

I intergrated some light jogging into my daily walk today. Felt good.

melissa112 · February 2018

I have been using runkeeper to track distance and speed. I'm towards the end of week 2 of the C25K and next week it's equal jogging and fast walking (I wouldn't call what I'm doing running right now

). I've been logging it using the walking formula so far so I dont over estimate.

I'll have a look at Google fit too, thanks for the suggestion!

Back2basics, it does feel good doesn't it, mentally too, I feel more positive after a jog!

MeanderingMammal · February 2018

Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »

The calorie formulas the @sijomial listed are widely used, but you can really see their limitation when you consider that the walk vs. run values are different by a factor of 2. So what about very slow jogging and very fast walking?

The energy consumption is a result of mechanical efficiency, rather than pace. Walking is reasonably efficient, up to the point where one is walking fast enough that it becomes mechanically difficult to do so. For me that's faster than a 12 minute mile. With running being much less efficient it's about the gait, rather than the pace. When one is running there are periods that the body is not in contact with the ground, so that's consuming a disproportionate amount of energy.

This is one of the reasons why HR isn't a great indicator. The caveats around where it is accurate mean that you've got exception cases all over the place. Personally I could run at a 12 minute mile, or walk. My HR would be about 120bpm for walking and 135bpm for running, yet I'll burn probably more than twice the energy running at that pace due to the poor mechanical efficiency.

MeanderingMammal · February 2018

melissa112 wrote: »

(I wouldn't call what I'm doing running right now )

You're running. Jogging is mainly a way to increase your risk of finding dead bodies in the woods.

One foot on the ground at any time is walking, both feet off the ground at any point is running.

I'll have a look at Google fit too, thanks for the suggestion!

fwiw Runkeeper is going to give you a better indication of your total distance as it's based on GPS data. Google Fit, Samsung Health and similar all use the accelerometer in your phone to estimate a step count and an assumption of standard pace length to extrapolate total distance.

My Garmin does similar for dreadmill running, but it calibrates my pace length based on running in the real, so it's pretty accurate, but phone based stuff can easily be way out. I did 10Km on the treadmill the other night, my watch estimated 9.9K, my phone about 7K.

Walking/running calories

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