Is this worth logging?

Spatia

I'm a customer service associate at Lowe's, so when I'm at work, I'm on my feet 95% of the time. I've gotten a pedometer app to track my steps which is great, but a good portion of the time, I'm not only walking, but going up and down ladders, lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, etc. and I do work up a bit of a sweat! I'm wondering if it's worth trying to track more than just the steps I take, and how I'd even go about doing that.

usmcmp

Since it is your job I would just make sure that your activity level is appropriate (moderate or very active versus sedentary or light). If it's a job you only do once or twice a week you could log extra activity on those days.

Spatia

Well....I am part time so I guess it is only 2 or 3 days a week.

usmcmp

You could either set your activity level to what you normally do during the week when you aren't working there and log that activity or you could pick a middle ground for your approximate activity level across the week (the higher and lower activity would even out at the end of the week).

segacs

Two choices:

1. Get a heart rate monitor and try to figure out how many calories it says you burn in an average day. Be aware that HRMs aren't magical -- they're only monitoring your heart rate and extrapolating calorie burns from there -- but they might at least give you a general idea.

2. Change your MFP activity level to something a bit higher than your current setting. Eat at the higher calorie amount that it gives you for a few weeks or a couple of months, and see whether you're losing weight faster or slower than MFP says you should be. Adjust accordingly.

alittleturtlegirl

Get a Fitbit One - it will count your stairs as well as steps.

kenmiller75

If you want to track how many flights of stairs you climb in a day from going up and down a ladder, look into Fitbit One or Fibit Charge. The Zip and Flex do not count floors climbed. Fitbit can sync with MFP and adjust your daily calorie goal based on how active you are each day if you want it to do so.

erickirb

segacs wrote: »

Two choices:

1. Get a heart rate monitor and try to figure out how many calories it says you burn in an average day. Be aware that HRMs aren't magical -- they're only monitoring your heart rate and extrapolating calorie burns from there -- but they might at least give you a general idea.

2. Change your MFP activity level to something a bit higher than your current setting. Eat at the higher calorie amount that it gives you for a few weeks or a couple of months, and see whether you're losing weight faster or slower than MFP says you should be. Adjust accordingly.

Don't do #1, HRMs are only somewhat accurate for steady state cardio, not low levels of activity over an extended period of time.