To count or not to count???

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brooklynfc
brooklynfc Posts: 7 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Last week I started a "seasonal" job in retail. Normally, I sit at a desk 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. But now with the retail job about 4 days a week for 4-5 hours I will be on my feet either at customer service or out on the floor putting things up. Last night I spent 4 hours in motion. Nothing too fast paced, but consistent. I used the auto goal setting system on MFP and I of course chose sedentary for my daily action. I don't include exercise in my equation either.

Question is, since this "movement" is new to me, something I don't do on a normal basis, do I count it as exercise? According to MFP last night I burned 1,889 calories (obviously based on my weight of a leisure walk over 4 hours).

Right now with the full time job and the seasonal, I can usually do a gym workout about 2-3x a week (right now, my back is healing from a disc injury). I just don't want to cheat myself on either end of the spectrum; either by counting it and thinking I'm getting exercise or not counting it and not getting enough nutrition to fuel myself.

Thanks.

Replies

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    I wouldn't count it as exercise. I'd lean toward upping your activity to lightly active instead. Normally I would say leave your settings as they are for 4 week and then evaluate your progress and tweak up or down from there. Since it's a seasonal job (short-lived) I would suggest figuring out what your base calories would be if you set your activity level to lightly active. Then leave your setting at sedentary but on the 4 days a week you are working the extra job, add in the difference in calories.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    I would temporarily up my activity level setting...i would not count it as exercise.
  • strong_curves
    strong_curves Posts: 2,229 Member
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    I wouldn't count it as exercise.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    I would temporarily up my activity level setting...i would not count it as exercise.

    This. If I did anything at all it would be this.
  • bubble_wrap0428
    bubble_wrap0428 Posts: 88 Member
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    I can't imagine burning that much walking 4 hours? I walk 8 hours a day at my job and never burn upwards of 400 extra calories. Something is off. Anyways I wouldn't count it.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    brooklynfc wrote: »

    Question is, since this "movement" is new to me, something I don't do on a normal basis, do I count it as exercise? According to MFP last night I burned 1,889 calories (obviously based on my weight of a leisure walk over 4 hours).

    Thanks.

    MFP is way off on that........using Runners World's formula for net calories expended walking a 200lb person would burn an additional 480 cal walking 16 miles (.30 x weight in lbs x distance in miles) which would be walking at 4mph for the 4hrs.

    Like others have suggested temporarily bump up your activity level.

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