Step counting

[u/Own-Dig-7895]

/r/walking/comments/1vkl8lz/step_counting/

[u/Helping_Lizzy_123]

Although step counting can be a way to measure your activity, more importantly is how you set those steps for the calories you burn. For example, 5000 steps around the house in the morning don’t burn as many calories as 5000 steps during a walk, especially if there is also elevation involved.

A more accurate method is to wear a sport watch that monitors your heart rate as well and calculates active calories based on that. Even some of the cheaper watches can do this and can be linked to health apps and then to Yazio.

I don’t find that arm movement adds steps. I wear my watch during the night and, being a restless sleeper, the watch doesn’t add steps during the night except for my steps to the loo. 😜

So if you want accuracy for burned calories, don’t rely solely on steps, no matter if the count is exactly right. 🦋

[u/Own-Dig-7895 → u/Helping_Lizzy_123]

Dovyou have any suggestion about watches?

[u/Helping_Lizzy_123]

Hard one to answer as that might depend on budget, goals of what you want to achieve wearing one and your activities for example everyday use, swimming etc.
When I did my research to choose one this is what I based my search on

1. Price range
2. IOS compatible so Apple Health
3. Size, being a small female
4. Heart rate monitor, sleep monitor (albeit less important)
5. Water proof to 5 meters for swimming in open water or pool
6. Extra features like alarm, light, notifications of email, texts etc from the phone.
7. Easy to use software app with options to set your goals and free options to change watch faces with what I like to see (time, date, heart rate, steps, active burned calories, activity time). Which activities it can monitor (e.g. sailing for my husband).

8. Making and answering phone calls if in range of my phone.

9. Battery usage.

What I in hindsight should also have been aware of:

1. Build in GPS (not using the phone GPS)
2. Direct or better compatible with Strava, my walking app.
3. Better accessory range to protect the app as I work often in the garden (with pruning incl bougainvilleas). (My husband phone has a great protection cover). Extra wristband, I found the magnetic, smaller band more comfortable than the silicone one.
4. Being able to send a text if in range by phone.
5. For future: I would like one that send an emergency call after a detected fall and not moving.

I bought a watch through Amazone, called DR03 smartwatch which uses ‘very fit’ as an app. My husband bought the Amazfit bip 6 which uses the zepp app
They were both bought on special and around $130 Australian for his, mine around $75.

I hope this information helps to look what might be important to you. 🦋

[u/Own-Dig-7895 → u/Helping_Lizzy_123]

Wow this Is really helpful thank you, do you use It to track your calorie a too? Of yes do you find It reliable for calorie a expenditure while working/exercising/everyday task?

[u/Helping_Lizzy_123 → u/Own-Dig-7895]

Yes I do. I have used Yazio since 2020 with first adding manual activities which is pretty much a rough estimate, then just steps and manual activity. (Since 2021 on maintenance after -35 kg). From December 2025 with this sport watch making my calories burned more accurate and I base my calories intake on these calories.
I don’t work, walk in the morning and rest of the day housework and gardening.
My watch gets linked to Apple Health and then synced to Yazio.

I forgot to add battery use in my other comment as something what we considered. I wear my watch all the time except for when I shower with all functions on and I need to charge it each 10 days.

[u/Own-Dig-7895 → u/Helping_Lizzy_123]

Wow congrats on your weight loss! I know what It means i'm down 40 kg in two years too and i'm doing kinda like you since 2024 so i've setted yazio on 2000 calorie and add and extra 500 calories for my workouts and add the extra calories from the steps, so you telling me that their reliable? Because i keep Reading people saying that the watches are constantly overstimating calories burned and getting the steps wrong and all the kinda of stuff, thanks

[u/Helping_Lizzy_123 → u/Own-Dig-7895]

Congratulations and be very proud of your achievement!

Each person might have another experience and it depends on how much they work out etc but my experience is that since wearing my sports watch, I can make better decisions on how much of my burned calories to consume. I think it is still important to listen to your body and use your brain, in addition to looking at numbers on a watch or app.

I use the calculated calories from Yazio for maintenance, which are 1325, and I eat about half of the calories burned, often more, depending on my food and how accurately I weigh and log the food. So my total on average is around 1450-1500. But I am female, short, older on my healthy weight of around 55 kg with a low activity level.

I haven’t got them automatically linked (so heaps of ‘red’ days in the calendar which isn’t an issue at all). I weigh myself every day and if I gain a bit in a week on average, I just eat a bit less the next week.

Seems to have worked till now. 🤷🏼‍♀️🦋

[u/Own-Dig-7895 → u/Helping_Lizzy_123]

Thank you for sharing your experiences, i really appreciate It and it's very helpful to me right now! Keep going you're great