Include Work as Part of My Workout?

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Hhawkins29
Hhawkins29 Posts: 2 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have an active job as a waitress. When I developed my plan, I chose active lifestyle due to this. My calorie limit is 1200. On days when I work, I think I need more than this. I used an app on my phone and found that I walk about 2 miles every hour at work. Should I include this as part of my workout?

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  • EdTheGinge
    EdTheGinge Posts: 1,616 Member
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    Personally I wouldn't as you've already set it to active
  • Lizajane42
    Lizajane42 Posts: 133 Member
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    I agree with the others that if you are set to active then you shouldn't log work as exercise. I am surprised it set you to 1200 though at an active level. You may change your goal of lbs lost per week to a smaller number and see how that adjust the calorie suggestion. Sometimes it is better to eat a little more- especially if you move that much at work!
  • MzManiak
    MzManiak Posts: 1,361 Member
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    You probably need more than that every day. Change your weight loss goal to 1 pound/ week and make sure your height and weight was entered correctly.

    Or just figure out your BMR, TDEE, and subtract the deficit yourself so you can manually set your goals, instead of having MFP do it.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    You probably need more than that every day. Change your weight loss goal to 1 pound/ week and make sure your height and weight was entered correctly.

    Or just figure out your BMR, TDEE, and subtract the deficit yourself so you can manually set your goals, instead of having MFP do it.

    Fab answer - I was just about to post the same thing! OP, with the amount of weight you have to lose, somewhere between 1/2 a pound and 1 pound per week is a healthy goal.

    Another option is to find out your BMR for your goal weight and use that as a daily calorie goal as it already includes a deficit (BMR is the # of calories you'd burn if in a coma so just getting up and moving around burns more). In this case you would still want to eat back your calories burned.
  • Hhawkins29
    Hhawkins29 Posts: 2 Member
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    I went ahead and changed my goal to lose a little less. Sometimes, especially in the summer, I work 12 hour days. I can't see only eating 1200 calories these days! Thanks for all of the input!
  • JeSuisPrest
    JeSuisPrest Posts: 2,005 Member
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    MFP is a bit stingy in their calorie goals, bump up your activity level.
  • joehal99
    joehal99 Posts: 3
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    I would suggest you get a pedometer to see how many steps you do a day. That can easily be converted into feet (2-3 feet/step) then miles. My guess is you can convert the steps either into minutes or miles and can be entered under leisurely walking pace of 3mph. I would guess you're probably walking = 1-2 hours, or maybe 300+ calories. I'm just guessing on the caloric but you get my point.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    I went ahead and changed my goal to lose a little less. Sometimes, especially in the summer, I work 12 hour days. I can't see only eating 1200 calories these days! Thanks for all of the input!

    In that case, you may also want to change your activity level to "very active". Or at least try it and see how many more calories it gives you then on those days, you can do an exercise entry for that same amount of calories to make sure you're eating enough. Also go by how you feel. Make sure you have healthy snacks on hand and eat more if you feel hungry and/or need the energy boost.

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