Hard time tracking activity calories?!

golden_sunshine14
golden_sunshine14 Posts: 13
in Fitness and Exercise
Anyone else have this problem? See, MFP says that because I am lightly active that I should be burning 1700 calories being lightly active. The thing is, I work on my feet all day (I'm a nurse working 12 hr shifts) and some days are busier than others. I find it hard to judge when I should be adding a cardio workout to my exercise log because I sometimes walk all day long at work. Also, on my days off I go to the gym but other than that I try to relax. So what I did today was add an extra 2 hours of walking because I barely got a break today. Does this count? Should I change my activity level to sedentary and track everything I do?

Replies

  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Walking at work doesn't count and if you try to add those activities to your exercise diary you're going to find yourself overeating by a wide margin
  • wannabpiper
    wannabpiper Posts: 402 Member
    How about investing in a fitbit? I bought one (the fitbit one) and really like the way it tracks all of that for me.
  • realme56
    realme56 Posts: 1,093 Member
    I would stick to lightly active and just add calories when you do major exercise. I also use my fitbit to judge my activity level.
  • snazzyjazzy21
    snazzyjazzy21 Posts: 1,298 Member
    If you have the funds, get a fitbit. I'm on my feet all day at work, but I generally lounge around at home on my days off. My fitbit seems pretty accurate with its numbers, and I'm still losing steadily based on the calories it's giving me!
  • golden_sunshine14
    golden_sunshine14 Posts: 13
    Thanks for the replies everyone! I will look into the fitbit. Sounds great! :) Does any have a suggestion as to which one to get? Or which one is the best? Seems to be a number of different ones.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Keep in mind that FitBit is just another way of guessing/calculating the same set of numbers. There's no magic to it, it isn't any more or less accurate than anything else.

    Whether you pick an MFP activity level or a FitBit, you will still need to track and adjust for your specific outcomes.
  • lesteidel
    lesteidel Posts: 229 Member
    I like the fitbit flex.
  • lesteidel
    lesteidel Posts: 229 Member
    Keep in mind that FitBit is just another way of guessing/calculating the same set of numbers. There's no magic to it, it isn't any more or less accurate than anything else.

    Whether you pick an MFP activity level or a FitBit, you will still need to track and adjust for your specific outcomes.

    It's still way easier though :)

    And it you are trying to lose weight, it's a pretty nifty tool. It lets you see exactly when you are moving most, and when you are sitting still for longer than you thought.

    Just seeing the difference in movement from my days off of work (even including an hour at the gym) and my work days was eye opening for me. It made me realize I was spending way more of my days off not moving than I thought.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    I wear a pedometer, its cheaper than a fitbit. I set my activity level to lightly active, so if I walk over 7500, I log it as walking 2.5mph. Any other exercise is also logged separately. This week, I averaged about 10,000 steps a day at work, so I am going to change my activity setting to active for next week. I lost weight, so this seems reasonable, as I'm trying to maintain.
  • stacyhaddenham
    stacyhaddenham Posts: 211 Member
    I too work a job where I am on my feet all day. I set my activity level to moderately active and then only input actual time I block out for exercise into MFP. Since I have dropped 10 lbs. since I started doing this I am counting it as working for me. I started walking on the treadmill but after 8-10 hours on my feet it is about the last thing I wanted to do, swimming has worked much better and after a long trying day at work I find it refreshing and in a way relaxing.

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