Need your help with activity level/excercise entries

lemur_lady

Hello. I am quite new to MFP so still not completely sure I am setting my activity level properly and what constitutes as exercise.

I am a SAHM and don't really find the time to exercise. To be honest I don't really move around that much and so I have set my activity level to sedentary. I do usually go out for a walk once a day with my baby just to get out the house for a while. I don't go really far, usually just to the town and back or the baby group, probably 1/2 hour walk in total. Would this still count as sedentary? As I assumed people with desk jobs may walk to work etc so this would be similar. Or do I need to be logging in the 1/2 hour of walking?

How also do I try to ensure I don't lose muscle and only lose fat? Are there any small excercises I can do that wont take that much time? As obviously I cant do long workouts as I have bubba to look after.

I am trying to eat to my calorie goal each day so I don't create too big a deficit and trying to include more fruits, veggies and wholegrains into my diet. Has anyone got any advice for me nutrition wise? I have over 100lbs to lose but wish to do it slowly.

Thanks for any advice

JenMc14

I would keep your activity level as sedentary and log the walk. For me, personally, unless it really gets your HR up, I wouldn't eat those calories back unless I felt really sluggish or hungry right after the walk.

As for not losing muscle, you'll need to add resistance training. Heavier weights are probably the best for ensuring loss comes from fat, not muscle, but you can start with bodyweight exercises and work your way up. Squats, push-ups (start on the wall, work your way to doing them on the stairs, then modified, then regular), planks, lunges, etc.

How old is your child? Does (s)he nap? Can you get up earlier? I work fulltime outside the home and have two kids. I get up before they do and get my workout in then.

prgirl39

I am a SAHM also and I use to get my 30 minute walk at the park with my 3 kids. Now that they are older I do my exercise before they wake up. With little ones was always hard to make the time to exercise. Try and keep your calorie count in check. When I cannot exercise I clean the house and 30 minutes or more of chores helps you burn calories and I add those to my exercise log. Hope this helps.

5ftnFun

I personally wouldn't count the walk if it is just a stroll or casual walk, but if you are walking briskly & getting the old ticker pumping, then yes, count it. And yes, keep the setting at sedentary.

savithny

A 30-minute stroll once a day isn't enough to kick you out of "sedentary" if you're not doing anything the rest of the time.

(In fact, if you sit on your butt at work all day and sit on your butt in front of the TV all night? Even going to the gym 3X a week might not kick you out of "sedentary.")

A good place to start is to try to get out and moving at least 30 minutes a day. Find an excuse -- schedule something that makes you do it. Do it at a good pace, too -- move fast enough to feel your heart rate going up.

Whether or not you lose weight doing it, just walking for 20-30 minutes a day has a HUGE health benefit. If you're sedentary, most of the statistical health improvements from increasing activity come from that first 20 minutes of moderate exercise. You get huge health benefits whether or not you ever lose a pound. You have HUGE health damage and risk from sitting around, even if you aren't overweight. Human bodies, like classic cars, don't do well if you park them in the garage and never drive them.

Mokey41

You are definitely sedentary and I wouldn't log the walk unless you were really briskly walking it. That said, why can't you take a brisk 30 minute to an hour walk with your baby each day? Fresh air is good for both of you and you'll have the bonus of getting some exercise. There's also lots of DVD's you can buy to work out at home. Having a little one isn't an excuse to sit around all day.

lemur_lady

Thanks for the replies.

I realise being sedentary is NOT a good thing. This is why I am trying to change

I have promised myself though that this time I am going to take it slow. Previous attempts at weight loss have proved that changing diet and activity level at the same time do not work for me and I end up quitting. I have already increased the amount I go out as before it was maybe 3 times a week, which I again recognise was not healthy. But as I said I am currently working on changing my bad eating habits and so exercise will be put on the back burner for a while (but will still make sure I do some!)

My baby girl is 11 months and quite an active little bean so no doubt once she is walking I will have fun running round after her She does not particularly like being restricted in her pram so long walks are not really an option every day, neither does she stand sitting in her jumperoo or highchair for more than 10 mins. Can anyone think of any activites I can do with my bubba that wont mean she has to be left sitting in something for too long?

prgirl39

At 11 months old depending on her energy level you can do just about anything. Baby Center website was one of my favorites and I used it a lot when my children were smaller. Hope this gives you some ideas:

http://www.babycenter.com/0_lets-play-weekly-activities-for-your-babys-first-year_1501475.bc

I use to take my kids to the park, even when little, at least once a day for 30 minutes. Running around after them was quite the workout. Good luck! Baby steps and you will get there.

mom2cba

Good idea to work on changing one thing in your routine at a time. Let the change become your 'norm' then work on the next thing you need to change. Too much change at once can be overwhelming. Also good for you to lose the weight slowly.

TheStephil

Make sure you get enough protein in your diet, that will help you keep you from losing too much muscle mass. They say 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass. Figure out your body fat percentage (plenty of free calculations online), use that to calculate your lean body mass then eat that much in protein a day. For instance, I am 155lbs, 27% ish body fat, I have 115 pounds of lean body mass. i try to eat 115 grams of protein a day. It doesn't always happen but thats my goal. Increasing your protein and any sort of resistance training will help. Do 20 squats after you change diaper, do wall push ups during commerical breaks, etc. Little bursts of exercise will help you feel better and get a bit more activity.

Challenge yourself on your walks, even if you speed walk for 5 minutes then casually stroll the rest. Anything helps!

Going slow is the best way to keep it off. You are doing a fantastic job just by joining a site and coming up with a plan.

Mokey41

Get your baby involved in what you do. My granddaughters loved to exercise with me to DVD's or while I did fitness games on the Wii. They had their own little resistance bands and I bought "remotes" (they had candy in them) for them to hold for the Wii. One of the best things you can do for your baby is to teach good habits by example. Let her crawl around on the floor while you do an exercise video. There's lots of excuses to be made. If you want to lose weight slowly, that's great, but don't sabotage yourself by not trying.

herblackwings39

Being a SAHM doesn't necessarily mean sedentary. If you clean the house, cook, shop, do dishes, do laundry, play with your child, do the shopping, etc. I'd go with lightly active setting.

savithny

Get a pedometer. It doesn't have to be expensive. Wear it for a week. If you're taking more than 5000 to 6000 steps a day? Call yourself "lightly active." If you're not, youre safest basing your numbers on "sedentary."

then set yourself a goal of getting your total over 5000 every single day.