Steps and extra calories

I don't get extra calories until around 2.5 miles or 5k steps at least that is what my fitbit gives me. I got 159 calories today for 5091 steps and 2.18 miles. But that is not so much about steps as it is about overall activity and heart rate during the day.

My fitbit zip which only measured steps did about the same, no calories until around 5k steps.

I never eat back my gained calories from walking. If I do a legit workout, that’s different, and might eat some back.. but ultimately, for weight loss you want a calorie deficit. If that’s your goal here, anyway..!

justmejustem87 wrote: »

I never eat back my gained calories from walking. If I do a legit workout, that’s different, and might eat some back.. but ultimately, for weight loss you want a calorie deficit. If that’s your goal here, anyway..!

Walking is no less a "legit workout" than any other type of workout. MFP already sets a goal for you which contains a calorie deficit. If you do exercise above and beyond what is accounted for in your goal (for instance, you have selected a sedentary activity level but walked 10k steps that day), then it is additional exercise that should be accounted for. MFP's calorie goal system is based on the assumption that you eat the calories burned from exercise back.

justmejustem87 wrote: »

AnvilHead wrote: »

Your calorie deficit is already figured into the goal MFP calculates for you, based upon the information you provide when setting it up.

Did not know that..! I assumed that was the whole point of entering your workouts.

MikePTY wrote: »

Walking is no less a "legit workout" than any other type of workout. MFP already sets a goal for you which contains a calorie deficit. If you do exercise above and beyond what is accounted for in your goal (for instance, you have selected a sedentary activity level but walked 10k steps that day), then it is additional exercise that should be accounted for. MFP's calorie goal system is based on the assumption that you eat the calories burned from exercise back.

So, I guess in my mind, the extra deficit is beneficial for weight loss and thusly still don’t eat it back. Regardless of the preset deficit (and as I mentioned above I didn’t know that was figured in here.. ) an increased deficit can’t be bad, especially if it’s not a daily occurrence.

An increased deficit every now and then is fine but if it is a regular occurrence then it is bad. Eating too little will result in you not reaching macro and micro minimums. As a result, you will have an increase in muscle loss, hair loss, brittle nails .....
Add to that the lack of energy which will actually decrease the amount of energy you burn a day as you are too tired to move as much and the fact that too steep a deficit will result in binging, non-compliance and giving up = gaining all the weight back and then a bit extra if that fat decides to invite some friends.
Put all of this together and it is obvious that an increased deficit can be bad and counterproductive to your goals.

I have my daily activity set to lightly active that includes daily walks with my dog, cleaning with my jobs and taking care of my house/kids, the yard work on a weekly basis. Whatever I get from bike rides, aerobics DVDs, elliptical workouts I will track and eat back half of those calories I'f I'm hungry.