stay at home mom settings ?

sybiltoney

I've been on here for a week now but I was wondering because I'm extremely anal and don't like cheating myself (I'm the type that will stay on the treadmill every last second) about my settings. The part that says in settings if your occupation is inactive, light active, and so forth I need opinions on. I'm a stay at home mom to a 9 month old. So with taking care of him, cleaning house, and my climbing 3 floors of our house (laundry is in the basement), am I considered very active? At first I put light active (nurse, etc) but now that I'm thinking about how much jumping around to "entertain" the baby and all the stair climbing I changed it to very active (waitress, postman). I'm usually under or right at my allowed calorie intake when the setting was at light active.

Thoughts?

123nikki123

Lightly Active is what I have my setting for.

Foxilady

hi, I think light active sounds right.I have mine set to that too as I don't work out of the home everyday. if u are right on target with calories then its all good.

DJJW

I'm a SAHM too, and I've got my settings set to light activity. I also do housework all day, and run my kids around. But when I think back to when I worked my retail job, I was more "active" there. I figure if I'm more active than what I'm putting in my settings, then I'm just getting more calorie burn than what its claiming, than more weight loss for me.

NoAdditives

I'm a stay at home mom with a 2 year old and a 9 month old. I have my activity set at lightly active.

ymbarber

I upped mine this week from lightly active to the next one up. I was feeling totally exhausted and I know I only get to sit about 2 hours a day (I have four kids). I will see later this week if this has affected my weight loss ... but at least I don't feel like I am in a haze anymore!

misty589

I'd say lightly active. I would consider my husband who is a bricklayer very active, he does heavy labour all day. I'm a waitress and I set mine to lightly active I'm at home with my kids all day and go to work at night.

baby81girl2003

I'm a stay at home mom too, to a 15 month old. How much time do you spend sitting? That's the real question. From there you can figure it out. It sounds like you're pretty active.

cmrich0511

With that, I'd say you fall somewhere in between lightly active & active-- I'm a stay at home mom to 2 kiddos (3 & 1), and am always on the go with them, playing, and I go to the gym, but I listed myself as lightly active. I'd rather underestimate myself and say I'm lazier than I really am, because then it helps map out a more strict routine for myself. Maybe I'm weird LOL. I get into a routine, and I like to keep it that way. But honestly, your activity level is all based on perception. If you consistently meet or remain below the calorie levels for lightly active, you could try staying there so you won't be tempted to eat additional calories that your body may not necessarily need. Totally up to you

Jitteryspork

Honestly if you are having no problems staying under your calories at the light setting then I would leave it there. If you put VERY active then have a down week where perhaps you dont do as much then you might over eat that week and that could be dissapointing.. You are probably very active, with all those stairs but I have heard that repetition tends to be less exercise.. which is why they mix up routines. Going up and down the stairs repeatedly is a good workout but after a while its not as effective as it was.

I would stay at light.

ajbeans

I would agree with "lightly active" for you, and then gauge how you're feeling. If you're hitting your recommendations for protein and all that and still feel hungry on the calorie allotment it gives you, you can add some calories manually. I set mine to "sedentary" because I'm pretty lazy for a SAHM, but I was starving on 1200 calories so I bumped it up to 1350 and I'm feeling better and still seeing results. Changing your calorie intake is always an option if you're unsure of where your activity level would fall.

ladyhawk00

I would think light active would be appropriate. I know when my son was little, I was more active than I am now (work at home, but at the desk most of the day) but I wouldn't have ever called it very active.

If you're doing well meeting goals, stay with lightly active for a month or so. Give it time to get an effective reading on it; if you're not losing at goal then, maybe try changing it up.

ellisor1230

I'm a stay at home mom of 3, and I also babysit 2 little boys. I'm constantly on my feet, running around with the kids, etc. I have mine set for lightly active. I used to waitress, and staying home with all these kids doesn't touch what I used to do then, although being a stay at home mommy is definitely more challenging!

Mawskittykat

When I set mine I wondered the same thing but I decided I know some days I am more active than others. The main thing I was thinking of was I want to lose weight each week whether I exercise or not. So I put sedentary, like I do nothing. Then when I exercise I lose even more. That may not be the right way but it works for me.

lesliemk

Light active here too. I loathe hauling the laundry around though!

sybiltoney

Thanks for the opinions. I am probably at the active setting (not a lot of sitting around for me) but I'm going to say that I'm lightly active since there's the point that I'm doing fine on my calories at that setting.

kelligonzales

Im a say at home to a three year old and a 7 month old... I stuck mine to lightly active if you burn more calories you just benefit from the difference. Im ocd about tracking everything too. Im getting HRM so i can see what i burn a day so Im for sure and exact.

InsatiateHope

My son is 34 mos. and potty training right now, which means lots of running around for me! But I'm using the lightly active strategy too--I may move a lot more than that, but I'd rather err on the side of caution.