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Why is tracking steps a thing?

2

Replies

  • AwesomeSquirrel
    AwesomeSquirrel Posts: 632 Member
    I use the step tracker on my phone to gauge my activity level and I do see a direct correlation between the daily average per month and weight lost in that month. I don’t alter my eating based on steps - I’ve ranged from 2500 to 18 000 in august but shoot for an average of 10 000.

    My step tracker really only tracks my outdoor walks though since I rarely carry my phone around indoors. Doesn’t matter to me as the margin of error is pretty constant and accounted for in my head.
  • PAPYRUS3
    PAPYRUS3 Posts: 13,259 Member
    DevilsFan1 wrote: »
    Fair enough. And if over time your tracker has shown to be accurate in terms of calorie burn then it makes sense to eat back what you want if calculated correctly.

    I will admit that my experiences with friends who use step trackers have shown that they didn't benefit them at all from a fitness perspective. I have many overweight friends who use the steps they normally take during the day as evidence that they exercised when in fact they have simply done the same amount of activity they always do. Maybe I just need new friends. :D

    ...you're not a very loyal friend are you?🤣🤣🤣
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,950 Member
    PAPYRUS3 wrote: »
    PAPYRUS3 wrote: »
    DevilsFan1 wrote: »
    Fair enough. And if over time your tracker has shown to be accurate in terms of calorie burn then it makes sense to eat back what you want if calculated correctly.

    I will admit that my experiences with friends who use step trackers have shown that they didn't benefit them at all from a fitness perspective. I have many overweight friends who use the steps they normally take during the day as evidence that they exercised when in fact they have simply done the same amount of activity they always do. Maybe I just need new friends. :D

    ...you're not a very loyal friend are you?🤣🤣🤣

    Has your cat taken revenge yet for the indignity of being subjected to a watermelon helmet?

    good point....I guess I have my own issues to deal with...

    Me, too. How could I have thought there was a cat large enough for a watermelon helmet?! Lime?
  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
    We are still pretty locked down where I live and I am working from home. I have a lot of meetings and I pace during those meetings. So far today I've logged just shy of 30,000 steps. That's a pretty significant amount of activity.

    HOW can you get 30,000 steps while locked down at home? I struggle to reach that magical 10,000 that so many people talk about. I have two trackers, one set to 6,000 and the other at 7,000. Now I actively go for walks again I can actually reach get 6,000 easily in less than an hour, plus the remaining casual steps for the day.
  • PAPYRUS3
    PAPYRUS3 Posts: 13,259 Member
    PAPYRUS3 wrote: »
    PAPYRUS3 wrote: »
    DevilsFan1 wrote: »
    Fair enough. And if over time your tracker has shown to be accurate in terms of calorie burn then it makes sense to eat back what you want if calculated correctly.

    I will admit that my experiences with friends who use step trackers have shown that they didn't benefit them at all from a fitness perspective. I have many overweight friends who use the steps they normally take during the day as evidence that they exercised when in fact they have simply done the same amount of activity they always do. Maybe I just need new friends. :D

    ...you're not a very loyal friend are you?🤣🤣🤣

    Has your cat taken revenge yet for the indignity of being subjected to a watermelon helmet?

    good point....I guess I have my own issues to deal with...

    Me, too. How could I have thought there was a cat large enough for a watermelon helmet?! Lime?

    you are correct...kitty got limed...
  • SnifterPug
    SnifterPug Posts: 746 Member
    We all know that the ten thousand step target was originally marketing blurb from a Japanese pedometer manufacturer, right?
    https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/10000-steps-a-day-or-fewer-2019071117305
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    TonyB0588 wrote: »
    We are still pretty locked down where I live and I am working from home. I have a lot of meetings and I pace during those meetings. So far today I've logged just shy of 30,000 steps. That's a pretty significant amount of activity.

    HOW can you get 30,000 steps while locked down at home? I struggle to reach that magical 10,000 that so many people talk about. I have two trackers, one set to 6,000 and the other at 7,000. Now I actively go for walks again I can actually reach get 6,000 easily in less than an hour, plus the remaining casual steps for the day.

    I have a pretty small apartment and I still manage to pace a lot. I'll walk around my kitchen island while reading, at least at times when it won't annoy my husband. :)
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    SnifterPug wrote: »
    We all know that the ten thousand step target was originally marketing blurb from a Japanese pedometer manufacturer, right?
    https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/10000-steps-a-day-or-fewer-2019071117305

    The danger is if someone is caught up in all or nothing thinking or if 10k steps is causing harm like physical pain or crowding out more beneficial exercise. I personally found that up until 10k steps my shoes and socks didn't matter as much. After 10k they matter SO MUCH.
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 5,958 Member
    Tracking steps is a great way to be more mindful of being more active. Giving yourself a goal of say, 10k steps per day gives you something to shoot for.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,023 Member
    TonyB0588 wrote: »
    We are still pretty locked down where I live and I am working from home. I have a lot of meetings and I pace during those meetings. So far today I've logged just shy of 30,000 steps. That's a pretty significant amount of activity.

    HOW can you get 30,000 steps while locked down at home? I struggle to reach that magical 10,000 that so many people talk about. I have two trackers, one set to 6,000 and the other at 7,000. Now I actively go for walks again I can actually reach get 6,000 easily in less than an hour, plus the remaining casual steps for the day.

    I have a pretty small apartment and I still manage to pace a lot. I'll walk around my kitchen island while reading, at least at times when it won't annoy my husband. :)

    I do that with social media! Kim, you're allowed back on twitter if you wander around the apartment as you scroll :blush:
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Decreased steps is one of the components of adaptive thermogenesis that leads people to not lose or lose less than expected. A tracker can give someone insight to when that is happening to take deliberate steps (pardon the double entendre) to fix that.
    My recollection is that when I first started using a tracker, I spotted points where it started markedly changing. Initially my common use was just the heart rate for a stationary bike. Then I noticed as I was getting much closer to overweight rather than obese, my steps dropped from an unconscious 4,000 to 6,000 to just around 2,000 a day. Without that insight I could have easily been plateaued for a long time, and at best my solution would have been to drop calories even more, which probably would have been the harder route.

    I what's even meaningful there is what types of non-step activity had already reduced before you started moving less with steps and noticed it.

    Perhaps not as big a calorie burn as the drop in steps, but research has shown it could still be decent amount.
  • AliNouveau
    AliNouveau Posts: 36,287 Member
    I honestly don't get it. Why are people tracking how much they walk around during the day doing normal activities? I suppose if you're always sitting that it could be a motivator to get up and move, but when I see people complain that their Fitbit isn't recording the steps they're taking when grocery shopping I am legitimately puzzled.

    To add to that, it seems that many people who track steps think that gives them the license to eat back whatever calories their tracker says they are burning. Walking around doing things you normally do isn't really exercise that is worth tracking.

    Then again, maybe I'm the crazy one.

    I'm with you on this one. I used to have a Fitbit and gave it up after the third time it broke. I have my goal set for 10,000 steps a day and on many days would get those before noon because I walked a lot. I was able to determine I am more active than I give myself credit for.

    I do think it's a good thing if it gets people up and moving but it's just a snapshot of your everyday life in my opinion. What if half of those steps are just getting off the couch to go get a beer from the fridge? You're not burning more calories than you're taking in.

    Perhaps using a step tracker to set goals to break is the way to use it. Getting exercise calories for daily routine to me seems like you're just cheating yourself