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How to Manually Add and Log Steps in MyFitnessPal App

MyFitnessPal (MFP) is a popular calorie counting and fitness tracking app. By default, it connects to apps and devices like Apple Health, Google Fit, and Fitbit to automatically import your step count data. However, if you don’t use any of those or want to add additional steps, you can manually enter steps in MyFitnessPal.

When You Might Want to Manually Enter Steps

There are a few situations when entering steps manually can be useful:

  • You don’t use any fitness tracking apps or wearable devices
  • You did an activity where you walked a lot but didn’t have your tracker, like hiking or shopping
  • Your tracker didn’t properly record all your movement
  • You want to log steps for strength training or other non-step activities
  • You want to set a daily step goal independent of other trackers

Manually adding steps allows you to fully capture all your movement in MyFitnessPal.

How to Manually Add Steps on Mobile

Adding steps manually in the MyFitnessPal mobile app only takes a few taps:

  1. Open the MyFitnessPal app on your iPhone or Android phone
  2. Tap the “More” tab at the bottom
  3. Scroll down and tap “Log Steps”
  4. Enter the number of steps you took under “Additional Steps”
  5. Tap the blue “Save” button

The steps will instantly be added to your daily tally on the main MyFitnessPal dashboard.

Pro Tip: You can add multiple entries of steps throughout the day. So if you walked an extra 3,000 steps in the morning and 5,000 more later in the day, log them separately.

How to Manually Enter Steps on Desktop

If you prefer to use MyFitnessPal on your computer, manually adding steps is easy:

  1. Go to www.myfitnesspal.com and log in
  2. Click the “Exercise” tab at the top
  3. In the “Cardio Exercises” section, click “Add Cardio Exercise”
  4. Select “Walking” as the exercise type
  5. Enter your additional steps in the “Distance” field
  6. Leave duration as 0 if you just want to log steps
  7. Click the blue “Complete Exercise Entry” button

The steps will immediately be credited toward your daily goal.

Tips for Accuracy

To make sure your manual step count is accurate:

  • Use a fitness tracker for 1-2 days to determine your average step cadence and distance
  • Use maps to measure distances you walked without a tracker
  • When in doubt, underestimate rather than overestimate
  • Sync other trackers first before manually adding to avoid double counting

Getting as close as possible will allow MyFitnessPal to properly calculate calories and impact your daily goals.

Using Steps to Log Other Activities

In addition to walking, manually adding steps can be a way to get credit for strength training, yoga, pilates, and more activities that MyFitnessPal doesn’t track automatically.

The basic formula is:

  • Determine the number of calories burned
  • Divide by 0.04 (roughly the cals per step)
  • Log that many steps

So if you burned 300 calories doing yoga, log 300/0.04 = 7,500 steps. This satisfies MyFitnessPal’s algorithms while getting your workout counted.

Daily Step Goals

One of the best things about manually logging steps is that it allows you to set a customized daily step target.

Having an independent goal just for MyFitnessPal means you can make it align with your personal health objectives rather than an arbitrary number from Apple or Fitbit.

To change your goal:

  1. Tap the “More” tab
  2. Tap “Goals”
  3. Scroll down and tap “Step Goal”
  4. Enter your desired daily number of steps
  5. Tap “Set”

Summary

Even if you actively use fitness trackers, there are many good reasons to manually log steps in MyFitnessPal. It allows you to capture all your movement in one place, get credit for workouts that don’t involve steps, and set a customized goal.

Both the mobile app and desktop site make it incredibly simple to add additional steps on any day. Just tap a few buttons and enter a number.

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