10,000 Steps

jessiemeckle
jessiemeckle Posts: 118 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have become obsessed with reaching 10,000 steps. No matter how hard I work doing exercises that don't get me a lot of steps (like lunges, squats, weight lifting, non cardio things like that) I still find myself walking in place before bed just to get those steps. My mind associates 10,000 steps with a "good day" of fitness like that is the magic number. I have had about 9 weeks of success getting 10,000 steps in every day so it's almost like I am scared not to. How do I change my mindset and realize I won't fail if I don't get 10,000 steps?

2nd part of my "question". My diary says I earn 500-600 calories a day by getting 10,000 steps. I have the Samsung health app that tracks my steps and it automatically fills in calories burned. Do i really burn 500-600 calories a day if roughly 4,000 steps are just from walking around my office building and house at a leisurely pace?

Replies

  • nanastaci2020
    nanastaci2020 Posts: 1,072 Member
    In MFP you have a self-stated 'activity level'. What is yours set at? The way the tracker/app calorie adjustments work: they are trying to correct your self stated activity level.

    So its not really saying you burned 500-600 from walking 10k steps. But that your total all day calorie burn, based on your activity, indicates you are at a higher activity level than the one you selected. And the adjustment is trying to account for that.

    For example, based on my stats & my stated activity level: MFP expects me to burn 1780 daily. I make an effort to move enough so that my Fitbit registers a total of 1900-2000 calories burned for the day. These figures include my BMR, intentional exercise, and basic activity for just making it thru my normal day of home/work/etc. If Fitbit says I burned 1975 yesterday and walked 10,800 steps: then MFP would show a Fitbit adjustment of +195. Because I burned more than 1780, not because I burned 195 for walking 10,800 steps.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    edited October 2020
    10,000 steps is a completely arbitrary number made up to sell pedometers. That isn't to say that getting those steps isn't good, but if you're doing other activity that isn't step-based, you don't need to feel bad about the days you aren't getting there.

    I'm a marathoner who averages 15,000 steps a day and there are still plenty of days where I don't hit 10,000 because I'm doing other things or just getting a bit of rest. It hasn't held me back AT ALL.

    Walking around your office building and house still takes energy. I have no idea how your health app is calculating calorie burn, so I can't speak to the amount. An important thing to realize about MFP is that it is assuming a certain number of steps based on the activity level you entered. If you're linked the app, your calorie adjustments should begin once you've moved MORE than your activity level would have estimated (this is how the Fitbit adjustment works, I'm assuming any Samsung app linking works the same way). If they aren't linked, you don't want to enter the full amount because then you'd be double-counting the steps MFP assumed you'd be taking anyway.
  • JGT001
    JGT001 Posts: 21 Member
    I was like that for a little while, but sometimes its just hard to get them in. I try to make up for it by taking an extra walk on days when I have the time, but if it doesn't happen, so be it, as long as I'm being active instead of being lazy - that's the important thing.
  • zebasschick
    zebasschick Posts: 1,071 Member
    i started focusing on getting over 10,000 steps per day, but i lose more weight, improve my cardio more and gain more muscle doing things other than steps. a decent, non-stop walk at a reasonable clip can be well under 10,000 steps, but i lose weight doing it where 10,000 random steps didn't do much for me.
  • ChristopherLimoges
    ChristopherLimoges Posts: 298 Member
    It seems simple in this case you post. You clearly care too much of what others think to your personal physical health development. Oh well.
  • Onedaywriter
    Onedaywriter Posts: 326 Member
    Maybe try to focus on an average for the week for a little while. I have a similar goal but my goal is 70,000 steps per week. I start/end Sunday night so if it rains a lot or I get busy during the week I try to make it up Saturday or Sunday morning.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,585 Member
    I can't change your mind (only you can do that 😉). But I can assure you that 10,000 daily steps isn't universally necessary for either weight loss or decently adequate general fitness.

    I think my fitness tracker has logged 10k steps a few times over the last few years, but normal is faaarrrr below that (average of last year was 5,021 steps daily according to my fitness tracker). Nonetheless, I lost 60ish pounds back in 2015 with about this same activity routine by managing calories (obese to healthy weight), and have maintained a healthy weight for about 5 years since; and my silly fitness tracker estimates that my fitness level is in the top 10% for my age/sex, which seems reasonably OK to me.

    Well-planned structured training is the route to best fitness (I don't train anymore either 😆, I just do fun stuff), and calorie balance is the only route to weight management.

    Getting 10K steps daily is good for a person, and burns some calories, but it isn't (1) essential for weight management or fitness, or (2) magical in any way. If you enjoy it, do it. If the "obsession" feels dysfunctional, find a way to set it aside.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    jessiemeckle wrote: »
    Do i really burn 500-600 calories a day if roughly 4,000 steps are just from walking around my office building and house at a leisurely pace?


    Short answer.....no. For most people 10,000 steps is, give or take, 5 miles of walking. Given that you burn 30 calories per mile for every hundred pounds you weigh (.30 x weight in lbs x distance in miles) a 200lb person would burn an additional 300 cal per day (judging by your profile picture you're not anywhere close to that weight).

    As mentioned previously 10,000 steps is an arbitrary number along the lines of the 8 glasses of water daily.....it's great to be more active and walking is an exercise that most people can do 365 days a year but don't obsess over it.

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