Logging work as exercise

ksalcido8

I am a full-time student, so when I made my profile I set it to sedentary since I spend a lot of my time at a desk. But I also work part time in food prep/service and in retail a few days a week.

Should I change my settings to lightly active? Or is work just something I should log as exercise? I'm not sure because that seems like a lot of extra calorie allowance. (on the days I work, I get anywhere between 2.5-7 hours, usually 3-5) Today I worked 4 hours. Even if I only logged 3 hours of "cooking or food preparation," that's almost 700 extra calories.

On the one hand, that seems like a lot and I don't want to log too much exercise calories and then, if I eat extra to make up for it, screw up my net calories. But on the other hand, I'm afraid that if I up my activity settings, I will overeat on days that I actually am sedentary. Does that even make sense?

What do you all think?

editorgrrl

Work (including commuting, housework, yard work, and child care) is part of your activity level, and should never be logged as exercise. Work = activity level. Workouts = exercise.

Increase your activity level, give it a few weeks, then reevaluate your progress.

maggiemay530

I agree with editorgrrl/ if anything, change your activity setting to lightly active.

It's tough being a full time student and working crazy hours that fluctuate week to week as I'll bet yours do... esp. finding a flow for a decent and healthy eating plan plus workout time, but you can do this!

macgurlnet

ksalcido8 wrote: »

I am a full-time student, so when I made my profile I set it to sedentary since I spend a lot of my time at a desk. But I also work part time in food prep/service and in retail a few days a week.

Should I change my settings to lightly active? Or is work just something I should log as exercise? I'm not sure because that seems like a lot of extra calorie allowance. (on the days I work, I get anywhere between 2.5-7 hours, usually 3-5) Today I worked 4 hours. Even if I only logged 3 hours of "cooking or food preparation," that's almost 700 extra calories.

On the one hand, that seems like a lot and I don't want to log too much exercise calories and then, if I eat extra to make up for it, screw up my net calories. But on the other hand, I'm afraid that if I up my activity settings, I will overeat on days that I actually am sedentary. Does that even make sense?

What do you all think?

Do you spend a lot of time walking around at these jobs? If so, you may want to look into getting a step tracker or even just a basic pedometer. The Fitbit Zip is $60 (though you do have to replace its battery every couple of months as it is not rechargeable) and you can sync it to MFP so it will adjust your calories based on that day's activity. It would help ensure you're eating the right amount.

If getting a step tracker isn't something you can afford right now, try upping your activity level and eating that number of calories for 4 weeks. Then see how you've progressed. If you lost more slowly than you expected to, either switch back to sedentary or you can manually set your calorie goal a little lower - I would knock off 100 cals - and then do another 4 weeks to evaluate.

~Lyssa