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

2

Replies

  • LosingExtraKristy
    LosingExtraKristy Posts: 164 Member
    When I was on here before someone I was friends with used to log "standing" as exercise. I'm not even joking!

    I used to be friends with someone who went on a trip and logged driving! Like 1000+ calories burned for sitting in the car! Although maybe it was a Flintstone's car...
  • sassyrayofsunshine
    sassyrayofsunshine Posts: 499 Member
    If you put a leash on them, you could call it "Walking the dog. 3.0mph"

    omg - dying.:laugh:
  • 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?

    If you use bungee cords, it's resistance training as well.

    If the child is carrying weights and you drag the child, does that count as lifting? I mean, eventually you'll have to pick them up, right?
  • GadgetGuy2
    GadgetGuy2 Posts: 291 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.

    This is good advice since I presume the OP doesn't have a device that actually measures how much moving around is done each day (it can vary greatly from day to day).
  • arghbowl
    arghbowl Posts: 1,179 Member
    which is clearly why some people never log steamy "encounters" as exercise

    I always log my showers.
  • Vivian06703188
    Vivian06703188 Posts: 310 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!

    I disagree. House cleaning, gardening and household chores do count as exercise if you have set you activity level at sedentary. But if you have it set as anything above that it does not. I would rather have a more accurate account of my activity due to being disabled and limited in what I can do. I have lost 42 pounds in 5 months and believe me it counts.
  • LosingExtraKristy
    LosingExtraKristy Posts: 164 Member
    I'd just bump up your activity level and then not try to add it as exercise.

    I'd have to agree with this one right here.
  • 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.

    If the child is carrying weights and you drag the child, does that count as lifting? I mean, eventually you'll have to pick them up, right?

    Depends, if you only pick them up once, it should be: Walking, carrying infant or 15-lb load

    If you are doing it for reps... then, curls?
  • LosingExtraKristy
    LosingExtraKristy Posts: 164 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.

    If the child is carrying weights and you drag the child, does that count as lifting? I mean, eventually you'll have to pick them up, right?

    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
  • Mia_RagazzaTosta
    Mia_RagazzaTosta Posts: 4,885 Member
    which is clearly why some people never log steamy "encounters" as exercise

    I always log our showers.

    Fixed
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
    I dunno. I totes got fat when all I did was play with my kid. Consider it a bonus, but don't log it unless you are doind calisthenics or playing tennis with them or something.
  • 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?

    If you use bungee cords, it's resistance training as well.

    If the child is carrying weights and you drag the child, does that count as lifting? I mean, eventually you'll have to pick them up, right?

    Depends, if you only pick them up once, it should be: Walking, carrying infant or 15-lb load

    If you are doing it for reps... then, curls?

    When I'm curling a kid I usually drug them. It's too hard to curl wiggly kids.
  • moominpoo
    moominpoo Posts: 31 Member


    Depends, if you only pick them up once, it should be: Walking, carrying infant or 15-lb load

    If you are doing it for reps... then, curls?

    :laugh:
  • arghbowl
    arghbowl Posts: 1,179 Member
    which is clearly why some people never log steamy "encounters" as exercise

    I always log our showers.

    Fixed

    You jeally? There's room for one more boo! :wink:
  • Vivian06703188
    Vivian06703188 Posts: 310 Member
    When I was on here before someone I was friends with used to log "standing" as exercise. I'm not even joking!

    I saw on the morning show this morning that standing an extra 2.5 hours per day can lead to a weight loss of 36 lbs per year. It was under a topic of why skinny people are skinny :) I don't personally log standing though.
  • twinmoon
    twinmoon Posts: 108 Member
    Get a FitBit - it'll record your steps and syncs with MFP, giving you extra calories, just like exercise entries would. Personally, FitBit was an integral part of my weight loss journey. Good luck!
  • DeltaZero
    DeltaZero Posts: 1,197 Member
    When I was on here before someone I was friends with used to log "standing" as exercise. I'm not even joking!

    I saw on the morning show this morning that standing an extra 2.5 hours per day can lead to a weight loss of 36 lbs per year. It was under a topic of why skinny people are skinny :) I don't personally log standing though.

    Unless they are standing in the kitchen eating an entire container of ice cream like...

    <<<<<< THIS GUY.
  • Oh_Allie
    Oh_Allie Posts: 258 Member
    Raising your kids may feel like exercise, but sadly, it's not. Unless you're bench pressing with your kids as weights, then just count them as reps...

    Side note: I'm absolutely going to try to bench press my 50-pound squirmy child today. Ha.
  • anewlife1980
    anewlife1980 Posts: 225 Member
    I do full time child care & I do not log it because its not possible. I am constantly busy too, I am up & down the stairs doing laundry, doing dishes, making meals etc plus I am outside playing with them esp all summer we were outside all day but its just my daily routine so I can't log it. If I take them for a walk then yes I log it but otherwise I don't.

    I mean yes I chase them around all day but honestly if you actually think about it, its in small spurts here & there. Supervising them, playing ball with them, doing crafts, playing frisbee, carrying them from one place to another etc isn't really stuff you can log. But just because you can't log it doesn't mean it doesn't pay off. I haven't been able to exercise in a month due to being extremely sick but my daily activities have still helped me lose every single week.
  • kjimmie4848
    kjimmie4848 Posts: 123 Member
    I nanny an almost 2 year old. I logged it as exercise when I took her for a 2 mile walk in the stroller. Sad it's too cold for that now. It is hard to find time to exercise with her so I can see why you are reaching. I play on the wii fit or ride the bike while she naps.
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 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!

    I disagree. House cleaning, gardening and household chores do count as exercise if you have set you activity level at sedentary. But if you have it set as anything above that it does not. I would rather have a more accurate account of my activity due to being disabled and limited in what I can do. I have lost 42 pounds in 5 months and believe me it counts.

    I was going to join in the jokes in this thread, but, just to respond to this: Sedentary is different than your BMR. BMR implies no movement throughout the day. Sedentary implies no active exercise, but daily tasks. Walking to and from your desk to the bathroom, prepping dinner, doing "daily" things. People tend to confuse the two, and sedentary calories DO account for daily movements--if you find you're doing gardening and house cleaning everyday, then you'd be lightly active.
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
    What is your activity level set at. I for sure don't think you should have it as sedentary or even lightly active. Maybe set it one notch higher than that and then it's already worked into your cals. If you choose to do this you will not have to worry about logging it as exercise, figuring out how many calories it has or anything.
  • stillnot2late
    stillnot2late Posts: 385 Member
    Maybe I'm confused, it seems MFP bases whether you are sedentary on whether you work outside the home. I exercise twice a day, have to walk wherever I need to go, carrying giant backpacks of food, etc. but I'm sedentary. When I was working, I had someone do my house cleaning and cooking. All I did was work and party. But when I retired I had to start doing it myself. It took me 3 hours to cook meals for a week, and an hour to clean house. It was new to my body, and I logged that 4 hours a week. After a year I stopped logging it, heck I gained weight counting those as burned calories, ate more than I should on a false security.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    Maybe I'm confused, it seems MFP bases whether you are sedentary on whether you work outside the home. I exercise twice a day, have to walk wherever I need to go, carrying giant backpacks of food, etc. but I'm sedentary. When I was working, I had someone do my house cleaning and cooking. All I did was work and party. But when I retired I had to start doing it myself. It took me 3 hours to cook meals for a week, and an hour to clean house. It was new to my body, and I logged that 4 hours a week. After a year I stopped logging it, heck I gained weight counting those as burned calories, ate more than I should on a false security.

    I would not call that sedentary. When I was a housewife I only did house chores and my results showed that I was lightly active. My advice if unsure about activity level is to pick one and then evaluate your results after 4 weeks.
  • emirror
    emirror Posts: 842 Member
    Because the OP is new and hasn't logged any weight loss yet, I would think the best course of action would be to wait a week or so and see how quickly she loses weight. If it seems to fast, she can bump up her exercise level then. It seems a bit early in her process to need to tweak anything yet.
  • parrotlover
    parrotlover Posts: 143 Member
    If you put a leash on them, you could call it "Walking the dog. 3.0mph"

    AHHAHAHAHAHH! Too funny! :)
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    :laugh: ......I would just do real exercises. :happy:
  • believeinfamily
    believeinfamily Posts: 242
    Thank you everyone. If you have kids then you may agree that it is a work out, especially having two on the move. I don't allow myself to sit down except when we are all eating together at the kitchen table. I would definitely consider anything I do around the house as a workout be cause I am not lazin out on the couch that we don't have. I am definitely burning a ton of calories especially because I don't sit. Thank you again!!!????????
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    Thank you everyone. If you have kids then you may agree that it is a work out, especially having two on the move. I don't allow myself to sit down except when we are all eating together at the kitchen table. I would definitely consider anything I do around the house as a workout be cause I am not lazin out on the couch that we don't have. I am definitely burning a ton of calories especially because I don't sit. Thank you again!!!????????

    I have 2 boys, though they are teenagers now, but when they were young they were non stop and so was I......I was still fat!!! You may think your burning more but really are not burning as much you think. Maybe taking your children on a walk or something like that.

    Good luck. :smile:
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    Thank you everyone. If you have kids then you may agree that it is a work out, especially having two on the move. I don't allow myself to sit down except when we are all eating together at the kitchen table. I would definitely consider anything I do around the house as a workout be cause I am not lazin out on the couch that we don't have. I am definitely burning a ton of calories especially because I don't sit. Thank you again!!!????????

    I don't think anyone is arguing that you're not active. I definitely would not set your activity level to sedentary. But the calories you are burning are going to be difficult to quantify, which is why I'd go with a higher activity level. It will give you a few more calories without you trying to "eat back" calories for housework, since MFP will most likely overestimate your burns for those activities.

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