Stay-at-home Moms activity level?

mooglysmom

I've been a stay-at-home mom for a little over 6 months now. When I first set up MFP, I listed myself as Sedentary... but I'm wondering if that's correct? I mean, I do spend a lot of time on the computer, but I also spend a lot of time up - doing laundry, dishes, etc etc... running all over creation to pick kids up from one thing or another, lol . At any rate, would lightly active be a better describer? I've been stuck at the same weight loss for awhile now, and I'm frustrated. I'm wondering if I'm not eating enough or too much?? I started out at 1200/day, but I was always hungry at the end of the day, and yes I eat my exercise calories back. So, I dropped it to lose 1/2 a pound/week which gave me 1310 calories/day, and I started losing again... but now I'm at a stand still again.

I'm also very short (just a hair over 5', not even enough to call it half an inch), and have approx. 20 lbs to lose, so not much. Pretty much everything I eat is homemade (I have a severe gluten intolerance). I exercise every other day, and use our weight machine a few times a week. I have noticed that I am starting to tone up. I am definitely gaining muscle (which, I suppose is why my weight is at a stand still?).

I guess I just want to make sure I'm doing this right! I'm OK with losing slowly, but I feel like I've been at a stand still for so long now...

lauravasseur

Don't know the answer, I am a stay at home mom too...but I am bumping for you

psuLemon

Who do you think burns more calories, stay at home moms chasing kids or people who sit behind a desk for 8 hours?



BTW, you generally should be set up as lightly active.

Mrsbrandnewmeslimandtrim

Bump

LorinaLynn

I'd say lightly active. Peg Bundy, who sat on the couch all day watching soaps and eating bon-bons, was sedentary.

psuLemon

Another thing, if you are weight training, you are probably cutting fat, but your muscles are storing additional water to repair them. If you want a confidence booster, set your diary at maintain for a week and don't exercise. The water should go away.

sarahbear119

I was a nanny for a whole year. I would say Lightly Active to Active depending on the ages of the kids and how much work you do.

skinyZ

as a stay at home mum, i put lightly active to be safe

but i personally think I'm a little more than that, i don't drive, with school runs, shopping, cleaning, errands etc, im almost always on my feet

katysmelly

I'd say lightly active. Peg Bundy, who sat on the couch all day watching soaps and eating bon-bons, was sedentary.

Somehow, her house was always clean. I never understood that.

momof2winsplus

I have an 8 year old and 4 year old twins. I didn't think I was very active when I started either.

I would suggest to track your activity for a week and calculate your TDEE.

I ended up having to keep adjusting my activity level up until it was at Very Active. That matched my TDEE, and I lost exactly 1lb/week.

Now, I have a Fitbit that measures my activity. I burn about 700-800 over my BMR each day.

beccaboo0713

As others have stated, lightly active is safe. I doing some strength training and I have noticed the scale go up a little too.

auroranflash

I'd say lightly active. Peg Bundy, who sat on the couch all day watching soaps and eating bon-bons, was sedentary.

Somehow, her house was always clean. I never understood that.

And she always had a teensy waist.

amnski

I put lightly active myself, but always wondered if it was accurate. Hmmm....

RuthieCass

I've been a stay-at-home mom for a little over 6 months now. When I first set up MFP, I listed myself as Sedentary... but I'm wondering if that's correct? I mean, I do spend a lot of time on the computer, but I also spend a lot of time up - doing laundry, dishes, etc etc... running all over creation to pick kids up from one thing or another, lol . At any rate, would lightly active be a better describer? I've been stuck at the same weight loss for awhile now, and I'm frustrated. I'm wondering if I'm not eating enough or too much?? I started out at 1200/day, but I was always hungry at the end of the day, and yes I eat my exercise calories back. So, I dropped it to lose 1/2 a pound/week which gave me 1310 calories/day, and I started losing again... but now I'm at a stand still again.

I'm also very short (just a hair over 5', not even enough to call it half an inch), and have approx. 20 lbs to lose, so not much. Pretty much everything I eat is homemade (I have a severe gluten intolerance). I exercise every other day, and use our weight machine a few times a week. I have noticed that I am starting to tone up. I am definitely gaining muscle (which, I suppose is why my weight is at a stand still?).

I guess I just want to make sure I'm doing this right! I'm OK with losing slowly, but I feel like I've been at a stand still for so long now...

First, never specified how long you were at a "standstill." Staying the same weight for a week or even two is to be expected sometimes, especially when you are close to goal weight and small. You may retain water for various hormonal, exercise, or diet reasons, which can mask weight loss. Keep eating at a deficit and you will eventually lose. While BMR can vary from person to person, you can be pretty confident that 1310 is lower than your maintenance level. You will not gain weight from muscle either if you are eating at a deficit. Exercise can make your muscles retain water when you're on a deficit, but your muscle mass will not increase.

Second, if you do notice that your weight has stalled for, say, a month you should reevaluate your logging. You have less leeway than many others on here since you are relatively small and close to your goal weight. If you don't use a food scale to measure your portion sizes, you should start now. If you "eat back exercise calories," you have to remember that the numbers on MFP database are overestimates. So you should only "eat back" maybe 3/4 of those calories. If you ever eat out, multiply the given calories by 1.2. It's harder to lose when you have less to lose, but if you keep at it, you will get there. It may help to focus on other measurements (strength/fitness levels, clothing size, etc.).

auroranflash

I put lightly active myself, but always wondered if it was accurate. Hmmm....

Amski - my washing machine broke, can you come over so I can do my laundry on your abs? TY ahead of time. :flowerforyou:

sarahrbraun

I have an 8 year old and 4 year old twins. I didn't think I was very active when I started either.

I would suggest to track your activity for a week and calculate your TDEE.

I ended up having to keep adjusting my activity level up until it was at Very Active. That matched my TDEE, and I lost exactly 1lb/week.

Now, I have a Fitbit that measures my activity. I burn about 700-800 over my BMR each day.

I am marked as sedentary also...I just got a fitbit about 3 weeks ago. You would be amazed how much I HAVE to eat to keep a decent Net calories going. I went to the gym this morning and burned about 500cal....I have another 300 or so calories in fitbit adjustments so far today. I have eaten over 1100 calories so far, and still have almost 1300 left for the day ( this morning I started with 1530 available). Due to some metabolic issues, I eat lower carb than MFP suggests, and recently I have been losing about 1.3lbs a week.

katysmelly

I feel like I spend a fair amount of time sitting on the computer. I try to schedule myself to clean for a couple of hours a day. After all, it says "like a nurse or salesman." (I assume they mean a guy working the floor at Best Buy or something.)

sjschewlakow

I put lightly active myself, but always wondered if it was accurate.

sweetpea129

I've been wondering the same thing. I have 2 kids, a 1 year old and a 2 year old and boy do they keep me busy! But there are a lot of times that i also sit on the comptuer (nap times and when they watch tv). I put sedentary and have been losing at a good rate. When i start slowing down i think i will change it to lightly active. Or i may change it soon now that its summer and we are at the park/amusement park a couple times a week.

amnski

I put lightly active myself, but always wondered if it was accurate. Hmmm....

Amski - my washing machine broke, can you come over so I can do my laundry on your abs? TY ahead of time. :flowerforyou:

hahahahaha!!!!

veganpoler

I'm a stay at home mom and I have it set to "Active." Kind of from trial and error. I have three kids ranging from 2 to 8 years old and I do spend a lot of time on my feet.