Activity Level/Logging Walks?

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futiledevices
futiledevices Posts: 309 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I work on my feet 5 days a week for a total of around 30 hours. I'm off on weekends and spend a lot of my 2 days off just sitting on my butt.. If I plan on walking 8 km/5 miles, should I log that?
It is out of my norm, but my activity level is set to "lightly active," so I don't know if that amount of walking would be accounted for or not..I guess I would only be considered "lightly active" 5 out of 7 days.
I also log my exercise and I'm not entirely sure if I should be doing that. I probably made this sound far more complicated than it actually is. I hope it made sense to SOMEONE.

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  • fluffykitsune
    fluffykitsune Posts: 236 Member
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    What is your job? You're on your feet, but are you running around like a waitress ? Or do you just kinda stand there?
    How often do you work out and for how long ?
    How often do you plan on walking ?

    If you work 30 hours a week for 5 days, does that mean you're on your feet for 6 hours a day ?
  • futiledevices
    futiledevices Posts: 309 Member
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    I guess my job would be considered a "food service" type of job. I am mostly always moving while at work. Usually walking around, cleaning, prepping food, serving people, etc. Sometimes lifting 30 lb or so boxes. I am on my feet for the full 6 hours a day.

    I go to the gym 3 days a week, usually and work out for an hour or so. Right now, I'm doing C25k, as well as elliptical and other cardio exercise plus some weight machines. I usually burn around 300 calories at the gym.

    The long walks are not really a routine right now, but since the weather is warm I was hoping to get one in this weekend. it would be about 2+ hours of walking, which, right now, I wouldn't normally do outside of work, especially on a day off.

    just for some more info: my goal is 1350 calories a day. I am 5'1" and 133 pounds. I really just want to know if my activity level is at the appropriate setting, and if I should consider an 8 k walk as "exercise."
  • Caperfae
    Caperfae Posts: 433
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    I log all walks.
    I try to walk twice a day. Mornings (between 1-2 hours) while pushing a stroller and evenings(45 mins-1 hr.), alone to de-stress.
  • fluffykitsune
    fluffykitsune Posts: 236 Member
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    I would say you are Moderately active, I would bump your cals up to 1600 cals each day, regardless if you go to the gym or not.
    In addition, I would log the walking eat back 50 - 75% of the calories.
  • futiledevices
    futiledevices Posts: 309 Member
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    Well, I did the 8 k walk today. That, plus what I burned at the gym = 540 calories burned through exercise today. That's great, but.. I ended up eating 2000 or so calories today, making my NET around 1500. I feel extremely guilty.. I never eat that much. I just feel like I need to restrict a lot tomorrow so that I don't gain or slow my progress. I have so much food related guilt.. it just weighs on my mind.

    Are you saying that you think I should be netting 1600 on a daily basis? So, I shouldn't be eating back any exercise calories, right? That seems so high.
  • foleyshirley
    foleyshirley Posts: 1,043 Member
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    If you feel like you need to restrict tomorrow, and you have a lot of guilt, it sounds like you are developing a problem.
  • herblackwings39
    herblackwings39 Posts: 3,930 Member
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    Well, I did the 8 k walk today. That, plus what I burned at the gym = 540 calories burned through exercise today. That's great, but.. I ended up eating 2000 or so calories today, making my NET around 1500. I feel extremely guilty.. I never eat that much. I just feel like I need to restrict a lot tomorrow so that I don't gain or slow my progress. I have so much food related guilt.. it just weighs on my mind.

    Are you saying that you think I should be netting 1600 on a daily basis? So, I shouldn't be eating back any exercise calories, right? That seems so high.

    If your calorie goal is 1600 then yes, you should be netting that daily. MFP already has your deficit figure into things so eat back your exercise calories. You've earned them and don't want your deficit to be so large it ends up stalling your loss.
  • NaomiJFoster
    NaomiJFoster Posts: 1,450 Member
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    I'm a preschool teacher. I originally set myself as 'lightly active' and logged all of my exercise and stuck to the calorie goals that gave me. Recently, I started wearing my pedometer to work. On an average work day, I log about 18,000 - 21,000 steps! So I changed my setting to 'active' or 'very active', whichever it says in here. That bumped up my calories, which I felt guilty about. But I started losing at a more steady rate. I do log anything I do specifically as 'Exercise' with a capital E. Not grocery shopping or going to get the mail, those are everyday life and that's included in my being 'very active'. But if I take a 30 minute walk? Yes, I log it. Working out in the morning, logged.
  • futiledevices
    futiledevices Posts: 309 Member
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    Well, I did the 8 k walk today. That, plus what I burned at the gym = 540 calories burned through exercise today. That's great, but.. I ended up eating 2000 or so calories today, making my NET around 1500. I feel extremely guilty.. I never eat that much. I just feel like I need to restrict a lot tomorrow so that I don't gain or slow my progress. I have so much food related guilt.. it just weighs on my mind.

    Are you saying that you think I should be netting 1600 on a daily basis? So, I shouldn't be eating back any exercise calories, right? That seems so high.

    If your calorie goal is 1600 then yes, you should be netting that daily. MFP already has your deficit figure into things so eat back your exercise calories. You've earned them and don't want your deficit to be so large it ends up stalling your loss.

    MFP never sets me to more than 1250 calories, even if I put that I want to lose .5 lb/week, because of my height, I'm assuming. My BMR is only 1300-1400, so I set my calorie goal to 1350.. but the poster above (flufflykitsune) was suggesting I eat 1600, based on my activity level.
  • futiledevices
    futiledevices Posts: 309 Member
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    If you feel like you need to restrict tomorrow, and you have a lot of guilt, it sounds like you are developing a problem.

    I am aware that it looks that way, but I'm not willing to give up on my fitness goals. I have always had an unhealthy body image and relationship with food, so I'm not worried. I'm here to better myself and in turn hopefully FEEL better about myself. I don't have a problem or eating disorder.. just some guilt, like a lot of people do (especially women).
  • fluffykitsune
    fluffykitsune Posts: 236 Member
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    Futile, you burn about 100 cals per mile, so if you walked 5 miles that is 500 calories burned right there.
    And you said you burn about 300 cals at the gym.
    What I was proposing as an idea, was you eat 1600 cals + 50 to 75 % of your walking calories.
    So everyday you eat 1600 cal and don't eat back the 300 calories from the gym.
    This means on days you go to the gym you net 1300 cals.
    This puts you at an average of 1450 cals.
    If you do a walk, then eat back those calories (250 to 375). But don't eat back gym calories.

    BUT. If you are hungry, then eat!
  • herblackwings39
    herblackwings39 Posts: 3,930 Member
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    Well, I did the 8 k walk today. That, plus what I burned at the gym = 540 calories burned through exercise today. That's great, but.. I ended up eating 2000 or so calories today, making my NET around 1500. I feel extremely guilty.. I never eat that much. I just feel like I need to restrict a lot tomorrow so that I don't gain or slow my progress. I have so much food related guilt.. it just weighs on my mind.

    Are you saying that you think I should be netting 1600 on a daily basis? So, I shouldn't be eating back any exercise calories, right? That seems so high.

    If your calorie goal is 1600 then yes, you should be netting that daily. MFP already has your deficit figure into things so eat back your exercise calories. You've earned them and don't want your deficit to be so large it ends up stalling your loss.

    MFP never sets me to more than 1250 calories, even if I put that I want to lose .5 lb/week, because of my height, I'm assuming. My BMR is only 1300-1400, so I set my calorie goal to 1350.. but the poster above (flufflykitsune) was suggesting I eat 1600, based on my activity level.

    Okay 1350 +300 calories for the gym, which I believe are outside of your every day activities, then adding in the walking you'll do. This sounds right to me. I'd eat back at least half of those calories or more if you have something like a heart rate monitor.

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