Steps, please help

melbelblue
melbelblue Posts: 1 Member
edited December 2024 in Getting Started
So I just started today. I have an iPhone and am using that for my step counter. I walked 4800 steps but it is not calculating in as exercise. What am I supposed to do?

Replies

  • Redordeadhead
    Redordeadhead Posts: 1,187 Member
    What is your activity level set at (sedentary, lightly active etc.)?

    MFP already assumes you take some steps as part of your normal day to day life, so it will only to give you extra exercise calories when you exceed the minimum expected.
  • echmain3
    echmain3 Posts: 231 Member
    The number of calories burned by walking is negligible anyway so there’s no need to consider eating them back.

    Unless you do a *lot* of walking (way more than 4800 steps) or strenuous walking. Like a treadmill with some incline.

    I average 12,000 steps per day but I never eat back the calories.
  • Cahgetsfit
    Cahgetsfit Posts: 1,912 Member
    walking is only counted as exercise when it's actually like, for example, you walk for 30 mins on a treadmill at a clipped pace, or go on a hike or something for a set period of time.

    Otherwise, the normal steps you take in your daily life are just that.

    I aim for 10K steps per day purely as a marker of having done more than just my normal - so I will get off the bus a stop early for example if I look at the step counter and i'm still around the 6,000 mark for example. Or I will take the stairs at work instead of the lift. Little things like that where we can get complacent about, I find having the tracker helps me to just do that little bit more for overall health.
  • cheryldumais
    cheryldumais Posts: 1,907 Member
    I get calories for my steps every day. I got alot more when I weighed more but at 147 pounds I get about 140 for 10,000 steps. When I was 235 pounds I got about twice that. When my weight was even higher I couldn't walk at all. I generally eat about half of them back. Walking does more for me than just using calories. It reduces stress and lowers my appetite. I prefer to walk outside in the park when the weather permits even though I burn more on a treadmill with an incline. That's just what works for me. Find what works for you.
  • cheryldumais
    cheryldumais Posts: 1,907 Member
    BTW I forgot to mention that I am set as sedentary or not very active on MFP.
  • CindyJNC1963
    CindyJNC1963 Posts: 895 Member
    If I am reading your question correctly, you need to go to the exercise header and enter how long you walked and your pace rather than the number of steps. This will give you the number of calories burned. You might have to make a guess at it if you don't have a fitbit or something that syncs directly to MFP. I'm not sure if an iPhone does that or not. If you click on Apps at the top of the page you can see if whatever app you are using with your iPhone syncs with MFP or not.

    As for the other comments, the calories burned walking does depend on your weight. I weigh 211 lbs and walk about 11,000 steps per day on average. I think that is about 400 calories burned for me, per what the MFP app says (but I don't eat that back). When I started at 273 lbs I don't think I could walk more than about 2,000 steps per day and thought 10,000 was an outlandish goal. I am here as proof that walking is a great way to get started with an exercise plan. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

    Good luck on your journey.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories