Log it or is it just a bonus?

Mrsindepenant1

I just finished work and I’m buggered. I didn’t clock up too many steps, about 6000 in 4 hours. However I spent an hour bucketing water out of 2 very large stock troughs in the sun, I do this about 3-4 days a week. It was a killer workout. I was also assigned to the feed room, where I lifted about 20 25kg sacks of feed. Do I just count that as bonus workout or log it as something? I’m only on 1200 cal for a loss rate of 1kg a week. My activity level is at lightly active since I only log 6000ish steps. However I do have a very active lifestyle working with horses and don’t always clock up steps with some of the activity’s. My weight loss is steady at about 1.5-2kg a week.

NorthCascades

Although lifting heavy things doesn't burn giant numbers of calories, you're at the minimum already. You should either log it, or up your activity level.

Mrsindepenant1

NorthCascades wrote: »

Although lifting heavy things doesn't burn giant numbers of calories, you're at the minimum already. You should either log it, or up your activity level.

The lifting sacks wasn’t much work but the bucketing out the troughs is a killer, I try and do it at a fast pace and it’s the middle of summer so I pour with sweat. Takes me about 15-20mins to complete each trough.

AnnPT77

If you're doing this routinely, I'd say that you should up your activity level, which should up your daily calorie goal.
Activity level is supposed to be everything about your life outside of intentional exercise, not just steps. You literally typed "My activity level is at lightly active . . . . However I do have a very active lifestyle". Um??

At 1200 to lose a kg a week (and actually losing 1.5-2kg), you're already being aggressive. Unless you're very super petite, I'd advise against either the 1200, or the "take it as a bonus". Undereating is dangerous.

If nothing else, log it as calisthenics or circuit training, whichever seems closer subjectiely - way more accurate than zero.

How big are you? Very active, 1200, kg a week - very aggressive. Aggressive weight loss rate of 1 kg/week is for people over 100kg . . . 2kg/week is for people over 200kg. 1200 calories daily is mostly only sensible for people who are very petite, which is not mostly people over 100kg. Undereating is a health risk.

Apologies if I seem brusque: I'm concerned. I like to see everyone stay strong and healthy while achieving weight loss goals! :flowerforyou:

This may be a good read: https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/1200-calorie-diet/

Mrsindepenant1

Thanks for your help guys! I am 25, 168cm and currently 86.5kg. My bmi says I’m obese however people always say I have a nice figure and don’t need to loose weight. Some people say I just need to tone up. However I would like to loose 16.5kg, a couple kg over my pre pregnancy weight 5yrs ago.

I do have a very active lifestyle however 2 days a week I can be very sedentary and besides house work and a stroll around town or the farm I don’t do much else on those days.

AnnPT77

Mrsindepenant1 wrote: »

Thanks for your help guys! I am 25, 168cm and currently 86.5kg. My bmi says I’m obese however people always say I have a nice figure and don’t need to loose weight. Some people say I just need to tone up. However I would like to loose 16.5kg, a couple kg over my pre pregnancy weight 5yrs ago.

I do have a very active lifestyle however 2 days a week I can be very sedentary and besides house work and a stroll around town or the farm I don’t do much else on those days.

OK, for other idiots like me who read in USAian, that would be about 5'6" and 190 pounds currently, wanting to lose maybe 37 pounds. You're targeting (again, speaking USAian) 2.2 pounds a week weight loss, and actually achieving 3.3 to 4.4 pounds a week.

Based on personal experience (starting at 5'5" and 183, a.k.a. about 165 cm and 83kg), I really would suggest you seriously consider slower weight loss, to reduce health risk. Something like 0.5 kg/week would be ideal, 0.75kg/week at the outside.

I lost too fast when I first started on MFP - only about a kg a week - and got weak and fatigued, which took multiple weeks to recover from. Though at that point I was older and lighter than you are currently, I was not massively lighter. I think you're taking a risk, especially since activity is such an important part of your life.

We can quibble about whether your activity level overall should be lightly active or active, but a slower rate would be sensible. I'd argue that since you're losing 150% to 200% more than intended weekly, it wouldn't be crazy to think that in practice, your activity level is actually active or very active.

If you're eating 1200, and losing 1.5kg/week, your TDEE is actually something like 2850 calories a day, and you have a daily calorie deficit of about 1650 calories, if I'm doing the conversions and math right! (A 2kg weekly loss would be a TDEE of about 3400, and a deficit of 2220 calories - yikes!).

At the absolute minimum, if you want to stay at lightly active, I'd say log the extra activity, and maybe as circuit training, since it sound like you're moving some weight (buckets of water or bags of feed).

I'd encourage you to set your loss rate goal slower, regardless. When I was undereating, I felt great . . . until I didn't. I know it's frustrating to think about losing more slowly, when it's been so gratifyingly fast so far, but please be careful!

sijomial

Your weekly calories are pretty clearly too low by a significant amount.

Whether you fix that by simply increasing your activity setting to get more calories every day or have a rough estimate at logging your busy days is really personal preference. Do you want to eat a bit more every day or a bit more on busy days?

Tacklewasher

Mrsindepenant1 wrote: »

My weight loss is steady at about 1.5-2kg a week.

All else aside, this is too fast of weight loss. That's 3-4 1/2 lbs per week.

Up your activity level on MFP and eat more before you hurt yourself.

cwolfman13

If you have a very active lifestyle then why do you have your activity level set to light active. You're losing 3-4 Lbs per week which is too fast.