Walking with a toddler,and logging

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Bewitchedmommy77
Bewitchedmommy77 Posts: 12 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I walk on average 2.5/3 miles a day,and Ive been logging it in as walking 3.0mph since i have no clue how to add/calculate the calories I'm burning walking while pushing a 24lb toddler in a 28/30?lb stroller lol. I searched it but could not find"walking with a stroller" or etc. Also I have the google fit app,and a diff basic step app .The google app literally always says im burning 2x the calories and 2x the steps. also when i log it in(min spent walking)i change the calories to the google fit instead of what they put as their estimate(always several hundered less).Am I doing it all wrong?

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  • whmscll
    whmscll Posts: 2,254 Member
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    Since most calorie calculators overestimate what you are actually burning, I would just log the walking without trying to log the extra effort of pushing the stroller. You could use the MFP entry for “walking 2.5 mph/walking dog” and only log .75 of what it gives you (because MFP’s exercise calculations are always on the high side).
  • bluesheeponahill
    bluesheeponahill Posts: 169 Member
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    I log 'walking with a toddler in a pram' as normal outdoor walking. I do use a apple watch though. no app seems to be able to account for prams. It's annoying but best thing to do is log it in as if there was no pram.
  • bllaura10
    bllaura10 Posts: 42 Member
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    Not related to your question but your lucky your toddler doesn’t want out of the stroller. I’d love to do long walks with kiddos but I know 2.5 yr will eventually want out.
  • Bewitchedmommy77
    Bewitchedmommy77 Posts: 12 Member
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    ok im still figuring out how to write seperate under each reply lol so sorry-thank you for the tips-ill look for the dog walking,or just do the walking. I really need to maybe just get a basic step counter (not my cell) because yeah there was such!a difference and i couldn't tell what waa correct(or closer).I wanted to log steps only but it wont let me wo specific things (like Fitbit)etc.And trust me he doesnt always like being in there lol. I don't drive so i walk everywhere to do errands/drs appt etc ,but i try to go to a park (or even the Laundrymat since the one near me is set up like a maze practicaly ,plus was once a mcds? whichever had the Hamburgler lol since there is a slide in the corner w him there )sorry i went way off topic!
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Unless you have an accurate way of always tracking steps - manual entry of such a figure is usually not useful.
    It's merely a figure to view, and if it's not accurate it's not useful for historical review either.

    Ditto's to just log the walking at whatever pace is true.
    You can use Google maps to get the distance of your common routes, stopwatch for time.

    You should also be setup as Lightly-Active - if not active, because of being mom first, and second the extra walking you do anyway unrelated to just doing a set distance.

    I hope you didn't select Sedentary since no where near that.

    Hills, pushing, wind, ect just can't be discerned decently by steps alone - using your known distance and time is best.
  • tracybear86
    tracybear86 Posts: 163 Member
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    Just to note, if you get a wrist based fitness tracker it may not accurately log your steps when you are pushing the stroller because you are not swinging your arms. I have had this issue with all of my trackers (FitBit, Garmin and Galaxy Watch) at the grocery store when pushing a shopping cart.
  • Bewitchedmommy77
    Bewitchedmommy77 Posts: 12 Member
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    That sucks ! we're still walking! but it makes sense-to bad it wasn't a longer band then you could wear it around the ankle although that might look odd lol
  • Cahgetsfit
    Cahgetsfit Posts: 1,912 Member
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    tracybear86 wrote: »
    Just to note, if you get a wrist based fitness tracker it may not accurately log your steps when you are pushing the stroller because you are not swinging your arms. I have had this issue with all of my trackers (FitBit, Garmin and Galaxy Watch) at the grocery store when pushing a shopping cart.

    My fitbit tells me i'm riding an outdoor bike when i'm pushing a shopping cart or even walking with my arms not swinging like when i'm carrying bags or have hands in pockets.

    Does that all the time.

    But, it's still activity though at the end of the day.

  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    It's not the swing of the arms actually, it's the impact of the steps despite the swing of the arms.
    When arms are locked on cart or stroller the wrist barely if at all sees the impact of each step.

    It's why you can cross your arms on your body and it'll see the steps.

    Because it's measuring the actual impact against expected impact (it knows your weight and a stride length setting so....) and calculating that step distance right there. Swing would not give that ability.
    Distance with time is pace. Pace and weight is excellent calculation of calories burned.
  • tracybear86
    tracybear86 Posts: 163 Member
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    Bewitchedmommy77 wrote: »
    That sucks ! we're still walking! but it makes sense-to bad it wasn't a longer band then you could wear it around the ankle although that might look odd lol

    I agree! I actually just picked up a Moov Now tracker specifically for lap swimming (galaxy watch really sucks at tracking swimming) and it came with both wrist and ankle strap options. It doesn't have any kind of face though so you have to check everything on your phone but it might work depending on your needs.

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