Not logging exercise?

KrunchyMama

I've seen a few comments about people not logging exercise. I have my settings as 'lightly active', and I log any exercise that I do. I'm wondering if I change my setting to 'moderately active' could I just then not log my exercise? I've been really tired lately, but the scale isn't going down as much so I'm afraid to eat a bit more to combat the fatigue. I do a lot of activities like jumping with my kids, and carrying them, or playing with them in the snow, and none of that gets logged. Today I walked for 15 minutes carrying a 2 year old while pulling a 3 year old in the sled, and that just gets logged as 'walking, moderate pace, walking dog'. Does anyone have any insight? Hubby seems to think I should be at 'lightly active', but he usually only sees me at the end of the day when I'm exhausted! I'd love to just change my setting to 'moderately active' and not log exercise, but I don't know if that's a good or bad idea? Thanks for any insight!

MoiAussi93

I don't log weight trainging. If I run and use runkeeper, it will sync with myfitnesspal automatically. However, I do not eat back those exercise calories...unless I do much more than normal and feel hungrier than normal, and even then I only add a small portion.

If you aren't losing, try just not logging the exercise. Or log it but don't actually eat the calories back. Or only eat 1/3 of them back.

You could also change it to moderate and not log, but you say you already aren't losing much. If you eat even more that won't help.

Play around and see what works best for you.

joneallen

I log everything. Weight training, cardio and food. It gives me the best idea where to tweak once I hit a plateau.

tibby531

I glanced over your diary. you could definitely eat more. maybe find a setting for -/+ 1700, don't log your workouts, and see how you feel after a few weeks. still exhausted = eat more, etc. this is for life, figure out what works for YOU.

MoiAussi93

I just looked at your diary for the past two weeks. You ate OVER your calories (even including 100% of exercise calories) by almost 800 one week and almost 1700 the other. You eat under on certain days, but go way over on others...like 1000 calories over.

That is why you aren't losing as much as mfp predicts. The exercise logging probably isn't your problem. Either eat less or exercise more to close the gap...it is easier to eat less. It is very hard to burn an extra 1000 calories when you eat 1000 extra.

sympha01

Getting your activity level right is just a tool for helping MFP get your estimated calorie needs right. Don't forget that another piece of the estimated calorie needs puzzle is how fast you told MFP you want to lose -- this is a big factor that most people underestimate the importance of. You've complained that "the scale isn't going down as fast." That's okay, as long as it's going down, you know. If you're feeling exhausted, it's very possible you've told MFP that you want to lose at an unsustainable fast pace. A lot of people choose 2 lbs a week because it's an available option, but unless you are obese that is way too fast for any sustainable period of time unless you are obese. Non-obese people can handle that speed for a few weeks maybe, but a month or so in (or earlier!) yeah, you'd start feeling exhausted. A good rule of thumb I think is to set your loss to about 0.5%-1.0% of your total bodyweight per week, and slower is okay.

For what it's worth, it took me a while to build the habit, but I've learned I feel much better if I exercise hard and consistently and eat quite a lot to fuel that. It doesn't really make much sense to eat so little that you can't exercise at all -- that's a clear sign that you're not eating enough, period.

Also, especially for women, "slower" is actually hard to determine. Because it's perfectly normal to be eating at a deficit, losing fat, but not losing weight on the scale because of water weight. Water weight is nothing to worry about -- you just have to wait it out, and that can take as much as 6 weeks for some women. It can be caused by a lot of different things: a lot of it is hormones/TOM for us. But it can also be dietary sodium, intestinal bulk (i.e. poo you haven't passed yet / getting off your normal poo schedule), joint/muscle inflammation from exercise (unlikely in your case) etc. etc.

You've described doing 15 minutes of light-to-moderate exercise, but it's unclear if this is a typical day or not.

If this is a typical day, you should be "sedentary." MFP's "sedentary" isn't real sedentary LOL. It assumes that you're not actually lying in bed all day -- that you're a human who does minimal stuff to take care of yourself. 15 minutes total activity -- even lugging kids around -- and nothing else is pretty darned inactive.

If this is an atypical day and you're usually notably more active than this, it would depend on /how/ active. If you move around for 30 minutes but don't sweat or breathe hard (moderate-to-heavy household chores that include lots of bending over, lifting and toting small loads like groceries and babies, casual but sustained walking), lightly active. If you move around for 30 minutes and do sweat a lot and breathe hard (actual exercise, heavy yardwork for sustained periods of time, running), MAYBE moderately active, but not if you just get a light misting of perspiration on your brow and huff once or twice -- you have to be working hard for 30 actual minutes.

KrunchyMama

MoiAussi93 wrote: »

I just looked at your diary for the past two weeks. You ate OVER your calories (even including 100% of exercise calories) by almost 800 one week and almost 1700 the other. You eat under on certain days, but go way over on others...like 1000 calories over.

That is why you aren't losing as much as mfp predicts. The exercise logging probably isn't your problem. Either eat less or exercise more to close the gap...it is easier to eat less. It is very hard to burn an extra 1000 calories when you eat 1000 extra.

Yes you're right, I did go over a few times. The day I went over by 1041 calories I was chasing after 4 kids all day, and we were out walking, sliding, building forts, walking through snow, up and down the stairs all day etc. So I don't think I actually went over at all that day. I was wiped by the end!

The Saturday that I went over by 660 (pizza at the in-laws house) I did a bunch of jumping jacks and lifted some weights, and tried not to eat as much while being more active with the kids over the next couple days.

And the 468 day I was so fatigued, and (probably tmi) but had just started my cycle and I was drained! So I tried to eat a lot of high iron foods that day, because I'm not usually as exhausted as I was that day.

I'm not trying to give excuses, I just feel like there are a lot of things I can't log accurately in MFP. When I first started logging I had so much energy, and I felt like my body was revving (is that even possible?). Now I just feel like everything I do requires a lot more effort, but I'm pushing through anyway.

KrunchyMama

sympha01 wrote: »

Getting your activity level right is just a tool for helping MFP get your estimated calorie needs right. Don't forget that another piece of the estimated calorie needs puzzle is how fast you told MFP you want to lose -- this is a big factor that most people underestimate the importance of. You've complained that "the scale isn't going down as fast." That's okay, as long as it's going down, you know. If you're feeling exhausted, it's very possible you've told MFP that you want to lose at an unsustainable fast pace. A lot of people choose 2 lbs a week because it's an available option, but unless you are obese that is way too fast for any sustainable period of time unless you are obese. Non-obese people can handle that speed for a few weeks maybe, but a month or so in (or earlier!) yeah, you'd start feeling exhausted. A good rule of thumb I think is to set your loss to about 0.5%-1.0% of your total bodyweight per week, and slower is okay.

For what it's worth, it took me a while to build the habit, but I've learned I feel much better if I exercise hard and consistently and eat quite a lot to fuel that. It doesn't really make much sense to eat so little that you can't exercise at all -- that's a clear sign that you're not eating enough, period.

Also, especially for women, "slower" is actually hard to determine. Because it's perfectly normal to be eating at a deficit, losing fat, but not losing weight on the scale because of water weight. Water weight is nothing to worry about -- you just have to wait it out, and that can take as much as 6 weeks for some women. It can be caused by a lot of different things: a lot of it is hormones/TOM for us. But it can also be dietary sodium, intestinal bulk (i.e. poo you haven't passed yet / getting off your normal poo schedule), joint/muscle inflammation from exercise (unlikely in your case) etc. etc.

You've described doing 15 minutes of light-to-moderate exercise, but it's unclear if this is a typical day or not.

If this is a typical day, you should be "sedentary." MFP's "sedentary" isn't real sedentary LOL. It assumes that you're not actually lying in bed all day -- that you're a human who does minimal stuff to take care of yourself. 15 minutes total activity -- even lugging kids around -- and nothing else is pretty darned inactive.

If this is an atypical day and you're usually notably more active than this, it would depend on /how/ active. If you move around for 30 minutes but don't sweat or breathe hard (moderate-to-heavy household chores that include lots of bending over, lifting and toting small loads like groceries and babies, casual but sustained walking), lightly active. If you move around for 30 minutes and do sweat a lot and breathe hard (actual exercise, heavy yardwork for sustained periods of time, running), MAYBE moderately active, but not if you just get a light misting of perspiration on your brow and huff once or twice -- you have to be working hard for 30 actual minutes.

Yeah, that's why I chose lightly active

I do move a lot, the 15 minutes was just an example of what I did today that I would actually log as exercise. It doesn't include running around the gym with my 3 year old, picking him up and swinging him around, I usually haul wood 2-3 times a week, 5 loads each time, chasing my kids around the house playing 'catch' daily etc. I'm never sitting down, except maybe for dinner, and MAYBE if I'm lucky, for 30 minutes on Wednesdays when my FIL takes my son to the pool lol. It's hard for me to break a sweat though. Even yesterday when I shovelled 3 driveways I wasn't sweating lol, and the snow wasn't exactly light (especially the stuff left at the end of the driveway by the plow!)

KrunchyMama

I will try to move around more, and not try to 'meet' my calorie goals for the day, to see if that helps. I do want to lose 2 lbs a week if I can. I'm currently 185ish, and trying to get to 154ish by June or July. I appreciate all the advice

MoiAussi93

KrunchyMama wrote: »

MoiAussi93 wrote: »

I just looked at your diary for the past two weeks. You ate OVER your calories (even including 100% of exercise calories) by almost 800 one week and almost 1700 the other. You eat under on certain days, but go way over on others...like 1000 calories over.

That is why you aren't losing as much as mfp predicts. The exercise logging probably isn't your problem. Either eat less or exercise more to close the gap...it is easier to eat less. It is very hard to burn an extra 1000 calories when you eat 1000 extra.

Yes you're right, I did go over a few times. The day I went over by 1041 calories I was chasing after 4 kids all day, and we were out walking, sliding, building forts, walking through snow, up and down the stairs all day etc. So I don't think I actually went over at all that day. I was wiped by the end!

The Saturday that I went over by 660 (pizza at the in-laws house) I did a bunch of jumping jacks and lifted some weights, and tried not to eat as much while being more active with the kids over the next couple days.

And the 468 day I was so fatigued, and (probably tmi) but had just started my cycle and I was drained! So I tried to eat a lot of high iron foods that day, because I'm not usually as exhausted as I was that day.

I'm not trying to give excuses, I just feel like there are a lot of things I can't log accurately in MFP. When I first started logging I had so much energy, and I felt like my body was revving (is that even possible?). Now I just feel like everything I do requires a lot more effort, but I'm pushing through anyway.

You don't have to justify anything...sorry, I didn't mean to sound judgmental. I have days where I eat a lot more than usual as well for all sorts of reasons. I only pointed it out because unless you look at the week as a whole, it can be really easy to not realize how much of an impact the higher calories days can have.

I would suggest looking at the calories you ate for the past few weeks, the exercise calories you logged, and see where your actual weight loss is compared to what mfp would tell you it would be. You know a 3500 calorie deficit generally equates to a one pound loss.

In any given week, that doesn't necessarily hold, especially for women. Water weight gains can temporarily mask fat loss and the scale may not accurately reflect true progress. But over the course of several weeks, you should be in the ballpark.

If you're not, then you should try adjusting something. It can be hard to accurately log everything if you're active. Maybe it would be good based on your lifestyle to try setting the activity level higher and then not adding the exercise calories. It will simplify things since you seem to do a lot of little things throughout the day instead of one hour long workout. If you do that for 2 or 3 weeks, you will have a better idea of what the issue is and whether your calorie level is appropriate for you.

I think a lot of people have a bit of trial and error in finding what way of logging works best for them. Just stick with it and give it some time and you'll see the results you want.

sympha01

KrunchyMama wrote: »

I will try to move around more, and not try to 'meet' my calorie goals for the day, to see if that helps. I do want to lose 2 lbs a week if I can. I'm currently 185ish, and trying to get to 154ish by June or July. I appreciate all the advice

If you're dead set on losing more than 1% of your total bodyweight per week for several months, get used to feeling weak and exhausted all the time. It's going to be your usual state.

Liftng4Lis

What's the rush? You should lower your goal, to lose slower, so you get more to eat.

KrunchyMama

sympha01 wrote: »

KrunchyMama wrote: »

I will try to move around more, and not try to 'meet' my calorie goals for the day, to see if that helps. I do want to lose 2 lbs a week if I can. I'm currently 185ish, and trying to get to 154ish by June or July. I appreciate all the advice

If you're dead set on losing more than 1% of your total bodyweight per week for several months, get used to feeling weak and exhausted all the time. It's going to be your usual state.

LOL! Yes, I think I realized that today

Good news is that I replaced the battery in my kitchen scale today, and apparently my meat and cheese weight estimates are way off (I was over estimating, bonus!), so I am going to try and log more accurately now. I think I will keep it at lightly active, and not log my exercise. If I eat more salads I should stay full (parsley, arugula, and feta is my favourite by far, soooo good!). And if I find that my butt really starts to drag, then I will bump up my lifestyle to 'moderately active'. I just don't want to lose my momentum, and I really appreciate all the feedback that I received today, because it's put me back on track. Thanks so much!!

KrunchyMama

Liftng4Lis wrote: »

What's the rush? You should lower your goal, to lose slower, so you get more to eat.

I'd rather eat less and lose more It's kind of like that saying "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels". And I'm pretty addicted to food, if I have more calories then I will probably use them on things like bagels and cereal, and that will just set me down the wrong path (it already has in the last week, with hubby bringing home chips - ulgh, 5 bags too, just staring at me, while he can eat the whole thing and not gain a pound - and teddy grahams for the kids, and shreddies for my son as a means of getting more fibre into him... they all tempt me!)