Walking in Place for 15 mins burned 100 calories

[bryandrev]

I have the Fitbit Blaze. I walk in place regularly while I am at my desk job...(I have a standing desk and march in place --- better than sitting) In either case I decided to track how many calories I burn by doing this. I noticed it is about 100 calories every 15 mins can this be soo?  

I am about 5'10 male and 192 pounds. 

[GershonSurge]

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@bryandrev wrote:

I have the Fitbit Blaze. I walk in place regularly while I am at my desk job...(I have a standing desk and march in place --- better than sitting) In either case I decided to track how many calories I burn by doing this. I noticed it is about 100 calories every 15 mins can this be soo?  

I am about 5'10 male and 192 pounds. 

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It seems to be in the ballpark. You could compare it to 15 minutes of working without stepping to see what you are gaining. 

[WendyB]

You also burn calories just by sitting around

Read this http://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/How-does-Fitbit-know-how-many-calories-I-ve-burne...

[bryandrev]

ya but it just seemed like a lot I guess.

[Dominique · Accepted solution]

If you check the Compendium of Physical Activities, it has no such activity as "walking in place". However, it does has one labelled "jogging, in place". Its MET is similar to "running, 5 mph" (arguably a slow running pace):

So it’s conceivable walking in place would translate into a similar energy expenditure as walking slowly. You can do your own math with the METs from the compendium and your own BMR if you feel inclined to.

[DarkestShadow]

I just got the Fitbit Alta HR and I love it, yesterday I finally got the Dongle for it since my laptop is not Bluetooth Compatible. My question(not sure if this is the place for it) what ways can I get my Active up, would push ups, sit ups, and going up and down stairs work as being active? 

[bryandrev]

It's not the right place but yes that would get your heart rate moving which makes you active.

[DarkestShadow]

Okay, thank you. 🙂 

[Dominique]

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@DarkestShadow wrote:

what ways can I get my Active up, would push ups, sit ups, and going up and down stairs work as being active? 

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Check this help article on active minutes.

There is a duration threshold (10 minutes) you need to exceed before you start earning active minutes. It’s not all about intensity / HR: you can earn them doing moderate intensity activities like walking, but your activity needs to be continuous.

[GershonSurge]

We don't want to fall into the same fallacy Dr. Ken Cooper did when he designed the Aerobics program back in 1968. He found a strong negative association between exercise and cardiovascular disease. The fallacy was those who exercised more tended to have a better diet. He later wrote some books that corrected this. You can find his books on Amazon. Online, the information tends to be hidden by paywalls.

Check out this website. Click on scatterplot in the upper right corner of the white area. You will find those states whose people average more steps have a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. The same is true for activity minutes. The scatter grams indicate that 30 minutes of activity minutes a day have the highest incidence of the three diseases. In other words, 30 minutes a day isn't enough. 

To improve the risk to better than average, steps need to be above about 8,200. Keep in mind, these three diseases need not exist. They are mostly diet related.

In my opinion, a person can be get most of the benefit from exercise by getting 10,000 steps or more steps a day. Another way to track activity is total calories burned a day. A person your age should strive for 1,000 calories above their BMR. I started out close to your height and weight. This is the number that seems reasonable to me.

Bottom line is there isn't much research that finds a causal relationship between exercise and longevity independent of diet. 

So, how does a person make a decision? I suggest doing the best you can given the limitations of your lifestyle. Start where you are and gradually increase your exercise. Stay below the level that results in injuries.

While you are doing this, I suggest focusing on a healthy diet. I won't get into what constitutes a healthy diet.

[Dominique]

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@GershonSurge wrote:

Check out this website. Click on scatterplot in the upper right corner of the white area. You will find those states whose people average more steps have a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity.

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The link you included in your post redirects to fitbit.com. Could it be it can only be accessed by users who have subscribed to Fitbit Coach? Or who are based in the US?

I assume the distribution of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes would come from an outside source, since this is not information Fitbit would have about their users.

[GershonSurge]

@Dominique

Try this one. https://www.fitbit.com/fitscience

Click on Fitbit Health and Activity index

[Dominique]

@GershonSurge wrote:

Try this one. https://www.fitbit.com/fitscience

Click on Fitbit Health and Activity index

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Thanks! I actually had to use https://www.fitbit.com/us/fitscience for the main page, and https://www.fitbit.com/us/activity-index for the other one. Otherwise some redirection would take place.

These stats are very interesting indeed, even if they are specific to the US!

[naima01]

ya probably. I am not sure.