Do you count carrying babies all day as calories burned?

you are ACTIVE, not even lightly...

set it at active, choose "lose 1 pound a week", and eat it all plus extra for purposeful exercise above and beyond normal life activities.

once you are within "healthy range" and looking for vanity pounds only, change it to half a pound per week and eat more.

Carrying babies around is exhausting, but it isn't excercise. I don't even count walks with my daughter in the stroller, even if we go for 5 miles plus. Of course I don't believe in owning a car, so walking to me is the equivalent of getting in my car. It's transportation not exercise.

I do run and sometimes I run with my daughter in the stroller. I just count it as running at whatever speed I'm running, so an 8 mile run with my daughter I'd log as 90 mins running at 5.2mph so I'd actually log it as fewer calories than i would if I went for an 8 mile run solo run because I would run that at a pace of 6 to 6.7 mph.

So why am I so careful about this stuff? Because after I went back to work after my daughter was born, I thought I was active because I was constantly on my feet (single mom, no car), but between 2010 and 2012, I gained 10 lbs (hadn't lost all the baby weight before that either) so I started running, counting calories and purposely underestimating my calorie burn and now I'm just a tiny bit above my goal weight.

The point is if you want to change your activity level to lightly active for a little while, you could always try it out, keep notes about your progress and see if it's working out for you. Change back if you're not progressing.

I have my activity level set at sedentary and eat at my TDEE based on that, figuring that daily activities + exercise create quite a deficit. What I didn't think about until recently is how active my life actually is - constantly holding, carrying a baby and toddler, chasing the toddler around, lifting the huge stroller and car seat in and out of car, and of course bouncing baby to sleep multiple times a day. I am basically only sitting down at night when they are sleeping, or when I'm giving a bottle or driving. That has to add up to a lot of calories burnt right? Would you set your activity level to lightly active instead?

I would definitely consider that lightly active! I have two boys myself, and am constantly moving.

i just want ppl on my FL seeing this title show up on my feed.

So why am I so careful about this stuff? Because after I went back to work after my daughter was born, I thought I was active because I was constantly on my feet (single mom, no car), but between 2010 and 2012, I gained 10 lbs (hadn't lost all the baby weight before that either) so I started running, counting calories and purposely underestimating my calorie burn and now I'm just a tiny bit above my goal weight.

This part is exactly what I was worried about and why I just set my activity level at sedentary to be sure, sure, sure that I was in a deficit and not underestimating calories.... especially considering part of my workout is lifting.

Just remember that different people do have different TDEE's. I am 5'2" and very small. I was eating 2500 to 3000 calories a day after having my babies and was back to not only my pre-pregnancy weight, but also fitness level 7 months postpartum and did not look like I had ever had any children (and I was extremely fit before my babies, as a professional dancer). I was very active (sounds like you are as well).

My opinion is a bit different...I was sedentary when I worked full time in an office. I have mine set to moderately active now that I'm a busy mom of a two year old and a six month old (I wear him for hours every day). I still count exercise points on top of all that if I take the kids out for a long walk and am wearing/pushing them.

This sounds exactly like my life (I wear my 4 month old a lot too). Do you have workouts on top of your daily dealings and walks or do you just count your lifestyle without workouts as moderately active?

What has been working for me is to log any exercise that I do independently of my kids (like a DVD) and all of the big walks, hikes, or Baby & Me aquafit that I do. I eat back those calories. I don't log the regular, around-the-house or grocery-shopping wearing because i figure those calories burned are the ones that are built into my activity setting, but I have wondered whether I'm underestimating my calories burned sometimes because my baby is already over 25 lbs and wearing him around sure feels like I am living a very "active" lifestyle.

I'm 5'10" and 36 years old. I currently eat 1700 + 500 (breastfeeding) + activity calories. I'm losing an average of 1.1 lbs a week. I'm about 21 lbs under my pre-pregnancy weight at six months post partum. I think this alone shows how active being a mama to two little ones can be.

I'm glad you posted this question, because I've been wondering the same thing. As tempting as it may be to buy a device that can measure this for us, I've been giving it the "trial and error" approach, with a leaning towards trying to eat as many calories as i can and still lose weight, and am happy with my results so far. Add me if you'd like - it would be good to have another mama friend in the same boat!