Calories burned when walking

I have a 1.18 mile walk that I do while pushing a 2yr old in a stroller. I went to map my run and put in the time as 40 min. That said I was burning 81 cals. But when I put in 45 minutes it went up ti 91 cals. I thought that walking faster would burn more, am I wrong about this? The route has 2 uphill portions that take 1-2 minutes each shouldn't that factor in too , especially with the added weight? If anyone could help explain this it would be so helpful, here I thought I nedded to be walking faster.

Original Post by jess_sun:

I have a 1.18 mile walk that I do while pushing a 2yr old in a stroller. I went to map my run and put in the time as 40 min. That said I was burning 81 cals. But when I put in 45 minutes it went up ti 91 cals. I thought that walking faster would burn more, am I wrong about this? The route has 2 uphill portions that take 1-2 minutes each shouldn't that factor in too , especially with the added weight? If anyone could help explain this it would be so helpful, here I thought I nedded to be walking faster.

Its weird, because I thought the same at first too. But in terms of steady state cardio, the longer you do it, the more calories you burn.

Original Post by mabenner1:

Its weird, because I thought the same at first too. But in terms of steady state cardio, the longer you do it, the more calories you burn.

• Daily Steps: If you are just tracking your daily steps with a pedometer as you go about your job or putter around the house, you can use 2 miles per hour or 2.5 miles per hour. That is 3.2 kilometers per hour to 4 kilometers per hour.
• Easy Health Walk: If you take an easy walk around the neighborhood or park, able to keep up a full conversation, use 3 miles per hour or 5 kilometers per hour as a rule of thumb.
• Moderate to Brisk Walk: If you are walking at a determined to swift pace and breathing noticeably, use 4 miles per hour or 6.5 kilometers per hour.
• Fast Walking: Fast walkers usually know their speed or have measured it. Racewalkers can walk 5-6 miles per hour or even faster. That is 8-10 kilometers per hour.

I found this to give you a rough estimate on how fast you are walking. So maybe I should just focus on the time it takes and the select the appropriate mph from CC's activity list? But then that throws me off because I thought if I walk 1 mile in an hour then I'm walking 1mph right? I'm really confused here.

You're not the only one who is confused about walking and counting calories. I've posted three messages on CC's site and have gotten no response. I wear my pedometer all day every day - clip it on first thing in the am and take off at the end of the day. Some days I log 20,000 steps, other days "only" 10,000 steps. I can't figure out how to enter this information on CC's activity log as none of the options fit. I want to accurately get credit on my burn meter for all this activity. Help! Other than this problem, I really like using CC.

you do burn more when walking quicker.  however you are walking a longer amount of time walking slower so you are burning more calories because it is 'more time'. 

OK - I get that part. BUT, how do I enter my steps on CC's site? There are many walking options, but they all ask for time. So, what do I put in 8 or 10 hours? It makes no sense.

sara-

i think 10,000 steps is 5 miles (look that up to reference somewhere). 

log it as walking 3.5mi per hour (walking for fitness listed on the cc list) so 5.25mi would be logged in as 1hr and a half (90 minutes).

thats my guess on the pedometor steps.  i hope someone has a better answer.
also you could set yourself to light or moderate activity to account.

If you're wearing a pedometer, I would adjust your base activity level rather than logging it as "walking time".  This link translates #steps to activity level: http://walking.about.com/cs/measure/a/locke12 2004.htm  At 10,000+ steps per day, you are at least active.  That may sound high for "just walking" but if you're on your feet enough during the day, you do burn a lot more calories than sedentary folk - even if you're not out there running around and playing sports.

Thanks, susiecue. That's the best answer yet. Now I can "relax" and not stress over logging in my steps. I'll keep wearing my pedometer just to make sure I get in at least 12,500 ... for the highly active classification. Problem solved!

Oh this is great. I thought it was only me having a problem 'cause I couldn't figure out how to work the mph to what we use (km/h) to estimate how fast I'm going. I've resorted to using the 'walking to class or work' option, but now I won't have to.

Thanks!

speed isn't relevant; exertion is.  walking at the same speed can be easy for some peple, challenging for others.  a leisurely 2-hour stroll might not burn much more energy than just standing around, while walking at 90% of your top speed can be almost equivalent to running.

instead of trying to calculate speed, just make sure you're working at it, keeping the pace up, using a long stride, and actually pushing yourself.  the numbers are always estimates, but we know when we're working hard.

 This says 147 burned  ...   ?  You may be burning more than you think....

how fast would you say you walk that route? 

Sara: you wrote "You're not the only one who is confused about walking and counting calories. I've posted three messages on CC's site and have gotten no response. I wear my pedometer all day every day - clip it on first thing in the am and take off at the end of the day. Some days I log 20,000 steps, other days "only" 10,000 steps. I can't figure out how to enter this information on CC's activity log as none of the options fit. I want to accurately get credit on my burn meter for all this activity. Help! Other than this problem, I really like using CC."

I see that some others have responded to your most recent post.  You can enter an activity using the generic form.  Only two pieces of information are required -- time and calories expended.  My walks don't seem to match up well with any of the categories in the activity list.  But my pedometer does give me a pretty accurate reading of calories expended as long as it is properly calibrated.  I have a walking activity in my tagged items, which I use to enter the time and calories for my walks.

I will say that I only enter walks which are a separate activity, e.g., a lunch time walk that I do about every other day.  If I was recording my total steps at the end of each day, I might consider adjusting my activity level to simplify the process.

that's what I did - just edited my activity level - it's "close enough for government work" as they say.