How do i add Child care to my exercise "diary"?

believeinfamily
believeinfamily Posts: 242
in Getting Started
There isn't a child care exercise so I can add that to my diary. I think it is a great work out. Specially because mine are 1 and walking around and 2 1/2 and running. They keep me on my toes with new things they decide to either break or move. Plus I don't know how many calories I am burning throughout the day.
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Replies

  • tegalicious
    tegalicious Posts: 629
    Well it kind of depends. If this is something you have been doing for a while you will burn calories but not as many as if this is something new. You would probably be better off changing your activity level to lightly active (teacher as a job) and then logging any extra activity you do outside of the normal routine (stroller rides, dancing to kids music, etc).
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    I'd just bump up your activity level and then not try to add it as exercise.
  • markiend
    markiend Posts: 461 Member
    I'd just bump up your activity level and then not try to add it as exercise.
    Yes, this.

    I only add exercise that I actually go out of my way to do as exercise specifically
  • GadgetGuy2
    GadgetGuy2 Posts: 291 Member
    My wife is a nanny of 1 and 3 year olds. She wears a FitBit (digital pedometer and more) which records her chasing around after them.

    It gives her a nice calorie credit for the exertion. FitBit can be linked to MFP, so the calorie credit shows up in MFP automatically.
  • joolywooly33
    joolywooly33 Posts: 421 Member
    I have 2 wee ones as well, but I am sorry it is NOT exercise....stuff like child care and cleaning etc didn't stop us getting fat in the first place!
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    I'd just bump up your activity level and not add it as exercise.

    this
  • beachlover317
    beachlover317 Posts: 2,848 Member
    I have 2 wee ones as well, but I am sorry it is NOT exercise....stuff like child care and cleaning etc didn't stop us getting fat in the first place!

    This is so true.....

    hWgeH.gif
  • angelamangus1
    angelamangus1 Posts: 164 Member
    I would change your activity level and make adjustments a couple of weeks later with no improvement.
  • moominpoo
    moominpoo Posts: 31 Member
    When I was on here before someone I was friends with used to log "standing" as exercise. I'm not even joking!
  • GadgetGuy2
    GadgetGuy2 Posts: 291 Member
    Any exertion will burn more calories than no exertion (sedentary, BMR).

    Exertion is any movement......whether you call it exercise or not.

    The only question is........was it enough exertion to make a difference (1 calorie or 100 or ?).

    The FitBit is good at approximating the calorie burn from moving around with your legs.
  • RoseTears143
    RoseTears143 Posts: 1,121 Member
    Childcare, cooking, cleaning, lots of walking around for a job (unless you do a lot of heavy lifting like a manual labor type job), and normal day to day stuff is NOT exercise. That's my opinion anyway. That's just bonus calorie burn if you are moving around all day.
  • GadgetGuy2
    GadgetGuy2 Posts: 291 Member
    On an active day of moving around, I can burn an additional 800 calories over just sitting at my desk job, and watching TV at home.

    Nope....I don't call it exercise. I do recognize it as exertion.

    If there is enough moving around......the calorie burn can be significant.
  • soldiergrl_101
    soldiergrl_101 Posts: 2,205 Member
    I would not log child care because the amount of calories you are actually burning vary greatly depending on the task. By adding it to your daily calorie goals you could be counter productive by eating more then you are burning thus you wont loose weight. Its better that you track your actual exercise and consider the calories burnt from child care as extra :)
  • soldiergrl_101
    soldiergrl_101 Posts: 2,205 Member
    When I was on here before someone I was friends with used to log "standing" as exercise. I'm not even joking!

    I stand for up to 8hrs straight at a crap table some weekends, trust me its a work out, but I dont log it just count it as extra :)
  • HollieDollieeeex
    HollieDollieeeex Posts: 116 Member
    I have 2 wee ones as well, but I am sorry it is NOT exercise....stuff like child care and cleaning etc didn't stop us getting fat in the first place!

    AMEN
  • GadgetGuy2
    GadgetGuy2 Posts: 291 Member
    Tracking my calorie consumption and energy expenditure (including calories burned from lots of walking) taught me that I have a calorie deficit barrier.

    If I eat about 600 or more calories less than my TDEE, I start to feel very hungry to the point it is hard to avoid eating more than my TDEE.

    I learned that by keeping my daily calorie deficit around 500 calories less than TDEE made weight loss easy.....slow....but easy.
  • fionarama
    fionarama Posts: 788 Member
    what a ridiculous thing to say! Its like saying you have to log LIVING! Its already accounted for in your basic calorie count . Personally I've been at home with my little one, we do loads together but I still find the very act of not being out and about working makes for a quite low activity lifestyle.
  • GadgetGuy2
    GadgetGuy2 Posts: 291 Member
    Exercise won''t help you loose weight if you compensate for the calories burned by eating more calories than you burned in the exercise.

    It doesn't matter whether you call it exercise or not.

    Calorie burn is calorie burn.

    What matters in weight loss is that you burn more calories (however that is done) than you consume (and assimilate into the body).
  • DeltaZero
    DeltaZero Posts: 1,197 Member
    If you put a leash on them, you could call it "Walking the dog. 3.0mph"
  • rmchapman4
    rmchapman4 Posts: 152 Member
    I have 2 wee ones as well, but I am sorry it is NOT exercise....stuff like child care and cleaning etc didn't stop us getting fat in the first place!

    Agreed!!!
  • GadgetGuy2
    GadgetGuy2 Posts: 291 Member
    If you put a leash on them, you could call it "Walking the dog. 3.0mph"
    ^----This
  • spiritledyoga
    spiritledyoga Posts: 3
    Child care and house cleaning should be in ADDITION to your regular routine. It is not in place of. Just think of it as the desert after a yummy healthy dinner! :)
  • tegalicious
    tegalicious Posts: 629
    If you put a leash on them, you could call it "Walking the dog. 3.0mph"



    Bahahahahaha
  • SailorKnightWing
    SailorKnightWing Posts: 875 Member
    I only log exercise if it's an activity I don't do daily, like going for a jog or a long grocery shopping trip (and a lot of people don't count that, but since I work from my laptop in bed all day I'm the most sedentary person in the world). You presumably take care of your children daily, so bump up your daily activity level to lightly active instead.
  • redheaddee
    redheaddee Posts: 2,005 Member
    Personally, I would not add things like child care, cooking, cleaning, etc. If I burn extra calories doing so, I call it a bonus. Because if it were a significant burn, there would be zero stay at home moms who are fat.
  • Mia_RagazzaTosta
    Mia_RagazzaTosta Posts: 4,885 Member
    If you put a leash on them, you could call it "Walking the dog. 3.0mph"

    :angry:
  • arghbowl
    arghbowl Posts: 1,179 Member
    If you put a leash on them, you could call it "Walking the dog. 3.0mph"

    :angry:

    Why you hatin?
  • DeltaZero
    DeltaZero Posts: 1,197 Member
    If you put a leash on them, you could call it "Walking the dog. 3.0mph"

    :angry:

    Why you hatin?

    If you use bungee cords, it's resistance training as well.
  • Cindy311
    Cindy311 Posts: 780 Member
    If you put a leash on them, you could call it "Walking the dog. 3.0mph"
    But what if the leashed child pulls? Should it then be logged at 3.5mph?
  • CookNLift
    CookNLift Posts: 3,660 Member
    I'd try to avoid using your daily routine as "exercise" and keep it separate and just bump your TDEE.

    Exercise should be something you do outside of your normal routine....which is clearly why some people never log steamy "encounters" as exercise

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