Should I log my work shifts as exercise?

jen_092

I keep my MFP activity level at "sedentary" because I only work two days per week. But I wanted to get some opinions about whether or not I should log exercise calories after my shifts.

I work at a grocery store stocking shelves. I work a 9 hour shift and my breaks total 90 minutes so I am on my feet for 7.5 hours per day. It is a constant switch between walking, standing, and lifting - unlike when I was a cashier when I was just standing.

I decided to log this as walking 3.0 mph for 60 minutes because I estimate that might be the total amount that I'm actually walking around during my shifts. Does this seem like a good idea or should I just skip it? It ends up being 232 calories for me which seems like a lot but I am typically pretty exhausted by the end of the day so maybe it's about right. On other days of the week I'm doing schoolwork either on the couch or at a desk and jogging 2x per week. Any input? Thanks!

FatFreeFrolicking

No. It's already accounted for in your TDEE.

flabassmcgee

No.

You did this before, so it should not count as exercise.

You should not, however, be logging as sedentary. Being sedentary literally means you do nothing. Consider upping to Lightly Active, at least.

lmr0528

furioushummingbird wrote: »

No.

You did this before, so it should not count as exercise.

You should not, however, be logging as sedentary. Being sedentary literally means you do nothing. Consider upping to Lightly Active, at least.

This. You did it before. It's not anything extra that you're doing.

jen_092

Okay, I will bump up to lightly active. So, lifting/stocking shelves for 7 hours doesn't burn any more calories than a typical day for me, you think?

FatFreeFrolicking wrote: »

No. It's already accounted for in your TDEE.

furioushummingbird wrote: »

No.

You did this before, so it should not count as exercise.

You should not, however, be logging as sedentary. Being sedentary literally means you do nothing. Consider upping to Lightly Active, at least.

jen_092

lauraripson wrote: »

furioushummingbird wrote: »

No.

You did this before, so it should not count as exercise.

You should not, however, be logging as sedentary. Being sedentary literally means you do nothing. Consider upping to Lightly Active, at least.

This. You did it before. It's not anything extra that you're doing.

Oh okay I understand. Thanks

flabassmcgee

If you're interested in TDEE/BMR and eating to account for your activity level: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

asciident

There's 2 approaches here:

1 is that you keep your activity level sedentary (which MFP more or less treats as bed-to-desk chair-to-couch-to-bed) and try to log your work shifts. The problem you run into here is trying to accurately assess how much you're burning at work because you're probably not doing steady state cardio and can't really wear a HRM to measure it. You can head this off to some extent by not eating all of your exercise calories back.

2 is that you change your activity level to lightly active and then only log actual workouts (jogging etc). This gives you more calories on a daily basis because it's built into your TDEE, but may give you a few too many calories on days you're not working (if you happen to be a couch potato on those days).

Keep in mind that TDEE, BMR, the MFP calorie goals, exercise logs, etc. are all just estimates. Either way you're going to have to be cautious about how you treat your activity. You may need to experiment for a while and adjust once you have a better understanding of how much you're really burning.

Codefox

I'd keep it at sedentary and get something like a Fitbit or Vivofit and allow it to adjust your calories for you. Its not perfect but it'll do a good job of differentiating days you're active and days you're not. And maybe inspire you to move on the "not" days

jen_092

asciident wrote: »

There's 2 approaches here:

1 is that you keep your activity level sedentary (which MFP more or less treats as bed-to-desk chair-to-couch-to-bed) and try to log your work shifts. The problem you run into here is trying to accurately assess how much you're burning at work because you're probably not doing steady state cardio and can't really wear a HRM to measure it. You can head this off to some extent by not eating all of your exercise calories back.

2 is that you change your activity level to lightly active and then only log actual workouts (jogging etc). This gives you more calories on a daily basis because it's built into your TDEE, but may give you a few too many calories on days you're not working (if you happen to be a couch potato on those days).

Keep in mind that TDEE, BMR, the MFP calorie goals, exercise logs, etc. are all just estimates. Either way you're going to have to be cautious about how you treat your activity. You may need to experiment for a while and adjust once you have a better understanding of how much you're really burning.

Thank you so much, very helpful! I kind of am a couch potato about three days a week and I hope to change that soon (one step at a time). I feel truly very sedentary on these days. Two days, I go to classes and jog on the treadmill afterwards. And two days I'm working. So I found it hard to decide what to set as my activity level, as these three "types of days" are very different.

I will certainly give it time and feel it out. Thanks again!

jen_092

Codefox wrote: »

I'd keep it at sedentary and get something like a Fitbit or Vivofit and allow it to adjust your calories for you. Its not perfect but it'll do a good job of differentiating days you're active and days you're not. And maybe inspire you to move on the "not" days

Nice idea!

DavPul

it's an extra 230 calories 2x per week? go ahead and log it if you like. no harm, no foul

jen_092

Update - I bumped my activity level to lightly active and it gave me an extra 210 calories. So maybe I wasn't so far off.
If I keep these settings, I will make up for it by finding a way to be more active on those three days that I usually sit around.