What do you include?

FeebRyan

In your exercise bit on here?

I have set my lifestyle to 'lightly active' and i put in any training or workouts that i do aside from that but i am wondering if that is correct?

I am a stay at home mum, so for example today i cleaned for 2 hours, carried a 35 pound toddler up and down the stairs 3 times, walked around 2 miles (didnt go far today) on the way back up a nearly vertical hill...

I see some people putting in cleaning as an excercise but its just what i do all day. I only sit down in the evenings or when i am breastfeeding really, the rest of the time i am on my feet putting washing out, folding stuff, picking up the kids, getting stuff out the shed, making sure the log pile is stacked etc etc

But thats just life? Isn't it?

deksgrl

I only log workouts that I do specifically for exercise, not every day activities. Or something that is really out of the norm for me. Like one day I went to an auction and I was walking and standing all day, and it was cold out and I know I burned a lot of calories. Where normally, I sit mostly at my job.

lilRicki

sounds about right. I log my cleaning because I'm sedintary, and i bust my *kitten* for minimum 3 hours when I clean on sundays. I do just as many squats washing walls as I do in the gym.

LindseyRoot

I also only log workouts that are specifically for just that...the rest of it i just consider "life". i am a mommy of two so i know what you mean but since i do that stuff on the daily without thinking about it i just leave it be...just a bonus i gues

DebbieMc3

I also only log actual exercise.

diadojikohei

I'm a mum of 4, I classed myself as lightly active and do the normal mum stuff, what I log is any thing that's different from my normal way of life. For example since doing this I now walk my daughter to school whereas before I drove. I tiled a floor last weekend, which was exhausting, so i logged that, etc.
Hope it helps! x

PurpleTina

My job is quite active, but I only log 'proper' exercise that makes me sweaty!

kikicooks

I have my calorie goal based on my TDEE so I don't use MFP's settings. But, if I was and had your lifestyle, I'd probably set it for active, not lightly and log only actual exercise, not cleaning, etc. It sounds like you are moving around most of the day and that burns a lot of calories.

FeebRyan

Thanks guys, all uber helpful, especially from you other mamas x

ndj1979

I just log my acutal work outs...like a previous poster said, the stuff that I do during the day is just an added bonus...

Akimajuktuq

I have my settings as "sedentary". I don't log everyday chores but I DO log my major weekend cleaning. It IS exercise for me and it's strenuous. I only log half the time I clean and don't eat the calories. I see people talking about deleting people who log cleaning; so be it. They don't know my life, or the criteria that I use when I log it. I also log my strenuous off-road atving (as riding lawnmower) and I do the same thing; only count half the time. I'm a pretty good judge of what is strenuous for me, since I'm the one there having the experience. lol

I also just moved into a house with a second floor. I'm not logging my 50 trips or so per day climbing the stairs, so why is it such a huge issue (for a few people) that I log my intense cleaning?

FeebRyan

I have my settings as "sedentary". I don't log everyday chores but I DO log my major weekend cleaning. It IS exercise for me and it's strenuous. I only log half the time I clean and don't eat the calories. I see people talking about deleting people who log cleaning; so be it. They don't know my life, or the criteria that I use when I log it. I also log my strenuous off-road atving (as riding lawnmower) and I do the same thing; only count half the time. I'm a pretty good judge of what is strenuous for me, since I'm the one there having the experience. lol

I also just moved into a house with a second floor. I'm not logging my 50 trips or so per day climbing the stairs, so why is it such a huge issue (for a few people) that I log my intense cleaning?

I think the only reason it would be an issue for people is because they are either

1. Pedants
or
2. Unclean.

Either way, you're probably best off not being 'friends' with them xx

yoovie

only dedicated exercise and any time I walk faster than 3mph for more than 90 minutes sustained.

zaph0d

I'm doing a different approach now. I've calculated my TDEE, less 500, and eat that amount every day. It has simplified my life. And I no longer have to worry about micro-managing all these calorie counts, and don't freak out if my HRM isn't charged.

verptwerp

I do a little yoga each morning & go to the gym 5-6 days a week for cardio, weights & either a yoga or Zumba class ...... the "cleaning" stuff gets logged on days when we're moving furniture around or putting up sheetrock .... something out of the norm ...... basically, If I break out in a sweat, I log it ...... but then I usually eat only half my exercise calories back :drinker: