Logging 'exercise' ..??

pink_butterfly

Hi everyone. So I've been back on this site since May 23rd (17lbs down and 15 'everywhere' inches lost) and doing pretty good so far. My daily calories that I can have is 1200 and I do pretty good most days at sticking to it.. some days I am under if I eat too many veggies but most days I try to be just a tad over. I try to exercise 3 times a week whether I jump on my elliptical, use my exercise ball, do some aerobics in the pool, go for a walk/bike ride or go play some tennis with hubby (we are not pro's, pretty much we just hit the ball back and fourth with no score or rules, its just to make us run for the ball lol).. So other than time in the pool, I do log all that other stuff I just listed... I don't always eat the extra calories, and if I do its not all of them. If I clean my house for 2 hours I do not log it as exercise. When I used the site before my weightloss was much slower and I was logging all my housework and things like that. So this time around I only log my actual exercise and no cleaning or anything. Is that wrong?? Just wanting to see what other's do and what success they have had with doing it either way? I'm not saying that people that do log it are in the wrong, please don't think that's what I am saying. I just feel that when I logged all that before it didn't do me any good. Once in awhile if I work really hard scribbing for hours I might log a lil to give a lil extra calories if I can feel I did a lot and need that extra, but that's not often at all... Any advice would be great! Thanks!

myfitnessnmhoy

There is no "right", and there is no "wrong". There is what works for you, and what does not work for you.

The calories on MFP are estimates. If the estimates are perfect, you should lose weight at the pace you set. The estimates are rarely perfect, however, so you should consider them a baseline from which to experiment.

When you logged everything, you felt your weight loss was too slow. How fast was it? The ideal to target if you have more than 30 pounds left is about 2 pounds a week. Much faster, and your body may start making metabolic reductions to save energy and those can result in disheartening plateaus (some people like me experience this, and others do not, so you'll have to find what works for you).

If NOT logging the cleaning (or eating back the calories) is leaving you feeling healthy and energetic and losing about 2 pounds a week or less, and you're happy with your pace, then you are doing it right. You've done exactly what you should - experimented with something, found it hasn't worked, and made a mindful adjustment. Keep an open mind about things and you'll do great.

Keep it up, and understand that as you get closer to your ideal weight the weight loss will naturally slow down and you'll probably have to adjust your calories (probably upward!) to accommodate that slowing weight loss pace while supporting an energetic metabolism and great workouts.

pink_butterfly

myfitnessnmho...
Thank you for responding. I started with 59lbs to lose and am now left with 42lbs to go. Right now I am losing 1.5-2lbs a week. Normally only 1.5 though. That's with not logging cleaning and stuff like that. After my first child, I was trying to lose 30lbs and it took me months to even hit that 10lb mark.. and then I was logging all cleaning.. and now after my 2nd child and having an extra 30lbs to lose, it seems to be going a lot faster and with not logging cleaning this time. Of course I wish it'd go even faster but I know that 1.5lbs a week is a healthy loss.. and hey, it's more than what I was losing before when I wasn't trying! lol. And if I've been scrubbing floors or anything and feel like I do need extra I will eat a little extra. During my 2nd pregnancy, I had gestational diabetes and when I'd even just clean the livingroom my sugar would drop to a very low # and I'd have to drink juice.. so I do know that even just cleaning can make you need a lil extra food.. I just don't want to log it and get comfortable with doing dishes and gaining 100 extra calories... if that makes sense.

And so as time goes on I will need to start eating more to keep up the weight loss and not hit a plateau?

About 5yrs ago I weighed 150lbs, and lost 25lbs in 2 months. (pre babiesIt honestly just fell off from me walking and eating healthier, and I didn't realize I was losing so much til I was almost back to my normal BMI (I am only 5'1)... So I've never hit a plateau, and not sure what you are supposed to do when you do hit one... I have a friend that I've seen struggle with hers.. I have worried that if I do hit one it's going to be really hard to keep focus and keep trying if I no longer see change... I see you are 2/3 of the way to ur goal, and you have hit a plateau?