Do I log this as exercise?

sijomial

gabrielleelliott90 wrote: »

You guys are aware that I only eat 1440...... I always burn at least a couple hundred from walking around town, I'm a fast walker, I go to a lot of shops, and walking= using energy= burning calories. Please don't treat me like I'm new. Chances are I've been here longer than you. I am quite close to my goal weight.

Calm down - you asked for opinions and you are getting opinions.

The answer depends on your rate of weight loss which should be slowing as you near goal weight.

kpkitten

I have a very active job and a Fitbit, so when people tell me "oh but having a job where you walk around a bit doesn't count except for sedentary--> lightly active" I can comfortably ignore them.
Only you really know how active your job is, and you have to accept that without a definite way of knowing exactly how many calories you burn doing it, you may well overestimate it (because, let's face it, we all like to think we're burning lots of calories!) or underestimate it (because "everyone" says walking around isn't worth much).
FWIW, on a 7hour shift in my job, my Fitbit gives me 1450ish calories JUST for the 7 hour window. If I take 1/4 of my BMR (7/24) out of the equation, I get 1000 "exercise" calories for doing my job. Yes, I'm carrying a lot of extra weight, so my burns are probably higher than yours considering you're also female, and close to goal. But even so, 1000 calories isn't the difference between MFP sedentary and lightly active, or even sedentary and active.

If your Fitbit was working when you did this job at some point, I'd recommend you calculate the EXTRA calories it gave you during a shift (so work out your BMR, then calculate (hours worked / BMR) and subtract that number from the Fitbit burn for the shift - you can check the exact burn by manually making an activity record for the time of the shift).
Then add these calories to your diary on days where you work. If your MFP settings are more than sedentary or lightly active, only add X% of the number you get from Fitbit, so that you're not double counting in your daily activity and the added calories.

I totally get why this close to goal you want to eat maximum calories to still lose weight, but a lot of people don't realise how much impact an active job can have. Plus, if you're only active at work part time, it's difficult to make your activity level reflect this!


Failing all of the above, you could use a TDEE calculator that works out how long you spend doing things like slow walking, standing, sitting, sleeping, exercising etc. (can't find the link, sorry!) and use that for work days and non-work days to get a rough estimate.

hhnkhl

Don't log your personal life...
Just log when you are actually "exercising"...

PeachyCarol

gabrielleelliott90 wrote: »

You guys are aware that I only eat 1440...... I always burn at least a couple hundred from walking around town, I'm a fast walker, I go to a lot of shops, and walking= using energy= burning calories. Please don't treat me like I'm new. Chances are I've been here longer than you. I am quite close to my goal weight.

If you're not new, why are you asking such a question?

The fact remains that burning energy from daily activities is part of what is calculated into basic "sedentary" allowances.

You are free to do what you want with your weight loss goals, though. You don't need our permission.

kristinegift

Personally, I wouldn't log it. I walk 2-3 miles every day walking to, from and around my university campus, and I don't log any of it. I only log the exercise I do when I throw on my workout clothes and intentionally burn some calories. I have my stats set to sedentary, and I net 1480. Works just fine for me, but since you've already had success by logging your round-town walking, then by all means, keep doing it!