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I walk, on average, a 15 minute mile and on flat terrain. I weight 150 lbs and I'm about 5' 7" with a medium build.

I'm trying to manage my overall health and want to ensure my exercise is balancing my food intake properly.

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    Just find a calorie burn calculator, select walking ~ 4mph and put in your values. It's approximate (They all are), but it should be close enough for your purposes.
    – JohnP
    Commented Aug 21, 2014 at 17:35
  • I would not depend on calorie calculators, you should monitor your food intake and weight. It is possible to think you are burning more calories because of some app and then eat more because of it Commented Aug 21, 2014 at 19:54
  • Your question depends on how fast you're walking. Your calorie burn depends on the intensity of the activity. Casual walking.......not so much :) Commented Dec 24, 2014 at 1:17
  • See also: fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/22318/…
    – arober11
    Commented Mar 14, 2015 at 15:10
  • See also: fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/51/…
    – arober11
    Commented Mar 15, 2015 at 11:32

2 Answers 2

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A reasonably accurate figure can be obtained by using a heart rate monitor (even one of the App's that use your phones camera will suffice). Assuming you're walking on the flat and not into gale, simply record a post mile heart rate, along with the time taken to estimate your VO2 figure per: Is it possible to measure calorie burn from heart rate alone?, and from the VO2 figure the calories.

You can also plug the heart rate into the Rockport Walking test formula, to obtain an estimated VO2max score.

Or alternatively use the ACSM or MET formula to estimate the calories eg.

ACSM Kcal/Min ~= 0.0005 * bodyMassKg * metersWalkedInAMin + 0.0035
              ~= 0.0005 * 68 * 107 + 0.0035
              ~= 3.6415 Kcal/Min
              ~= 54.6225 Kcal/Mile

MET Kcal      ~= METS   * bodyMassKg * timePerformingHours
              ~= 5.0    * 68         * 0.25
              ~= 85 Kcal/Mile

    where METS = 5.0 (walking, 4.0 mph, level, firm surface, very brisk pace)

See also: Walking Calorie Burn Calculator

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Here is one calorie burn calculator (Shapesense.com) for walking.

I walk a lot and I have a walking tracker with calorie counting on the phone but I never use it. Calories burnt just don't tell me anything. I use the holes on my belt as a measure, seriously.

Walking alone is not that great to lose calories, unless you walk really a lot. A relatively easy way is to stop eating some types of food, for example all dairy or all sweats and such, and to eat whole-grain bread and vegetables, which prevents food craving a bit.

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  • Why shouldn't you eat dairy? Commented Dec 24, 2014 at 1:21
  • It's not that you shouldn't eat dairy. I just mentioned it can help if you remove one whole category of foods from your diet and make a "principle" from it, for example, you can say from now on I don't eat any dairy or any sweetened beverages. It just helps to fight with temptations.
    – Jan
    Commented Jan 8, 2015 at 8:16
  • Egg's very good for you; so is milk :). A lot of bodybuilders consume an enormous amount of eggs daily :). I guess it's all based on preferences. There's nothing wrong with dairy.....if the OP wants them. But yeah, I understand your intention; just ensuring that future readers don't misconstrue the intention :). Commented Jan 8, 2015 at 14:43
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    Any diet that relies on removing an entire category of food is dumb and potentially harmful.
    – JohnP
    Commented Feb 18, 2015 at 14:42
  • @JohnP You can stop eat sweets or sweetened beverages or fruit juices without any harm. I'm not saying removing carbs or fats or proteins.
    – Jan
    Commented Feb 19, 2015 at 18:01

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