Hi there! i am new-do you count your shift as exercise?

cakeums

I would switch your activity level to active. I'm a waitress, in school (I try to take walks around campus when I have breaks), and have two small children. I have a FitBit and I usually average 10,000 steps per day (some days are around 8000, others as much as 16-17000) so I have my activity level set to "active." I had it at lightly active before, but am losing better since I changed it. Then I add in intentional exercise - strength and cardio, things I would use my heart rate monitor for. The FitBit gives me an adjustment on calorie burn too (it links to MFP, so if I burn more than MFP estimates I would in a day based on the FitBit, it gives me exercise calories) but I don't typically eat them back unless it's after a 12 hour double or I did walk upwards of 15,000+ steps that day.

ratie

Hi there fellow nurse.
I work with the registry and do all kinds of nursing including psych. I hear you about spending almost all of my shift on my feet sometimes, at least 4 hours of pushing the cart and running after patients/residents.

So..yes I feel justified in counting calories either as fast paced or at times slow walking, I think it counts, and I do feel it too !

Feel free to add me to your friendship, I have a few months with this MFP and am really enjoying it!

Good luck!

louellenlehman

Hello, your shift is physical, to be sure, but work is work! Exercise should be a specially carved out "you" time--I believe. I wear a step counter too and my work adds quite a few steps, but it is stop and go--not sustained. You deserve to take care of yourself by doing an activity you like--don't just care for others--this is something women tend to do, especially nurses. good luck

mccarol1956

I have intentionally set my self at sedentary, I work only 3 nights a week, the others I have various levels of activity. I count my walking at work as well as my exercise when I am not at work. This is what works for me. I do not eat back the calories from work only from exercise. I am steadily losing 1-2 lbs a week at 1600 calories a day plus my exercise calories. I think what I am doing works well for me! Thanks for the advice though.

hanniejong

You certainly can count your walking at work, they say for us to walk 10k thru the day if we can and you are doing that. Having said that it would also be beneficail if you included other exercise to ofset your walking at work. I also wear a pedometer and I will be adding my walking too.

jennpiller

thanks for all the feedback, so far, i am keeping in check with calories NOT taking into account how active i am at work, so hopefully i will keep losing.

jpfost

It does not count sad to say. Your body has adapted to your day to day walking around. Need to elevate your heart rate to burn calories.