How do i add Child care to my exercise "diary"?
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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 think a lot of us have kids. It is not exercise. Try it and see if you lose weight. You somehow gained weight being super active with your kids?0 -
Keep in mind that in the activity level that you choose, it is saying that you are burning a certain amount of calories per day already, 1800, 2200...when you enter exercise, you are saying that you have done something outside of the calories that you are already burning. When i used my fitbit, i was burning 500 calories while i was sleeping. if you count those toward your exercise and what you can eat in a day, you wil gain tons of weight. So yes, sleeping, standing, cleaning all burn calories, but not the extra calories that are needed to go toward a deficit to lose pounds. I hope that makes sense.0
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I think that most of this weight is still my baby weight. I have been not myself since the pregnancy. I got a little depressed and not sleeping good anymore and I k ow that may have been some of the issue. Since I have admitted being depressed from everything my body just went through I have been better. I am really excited about losing this weight now. My body needs it . I want to have friends to help me stay on tract. I don't have any since I have been with my man. I got involved with what he did and lost my friends in the process. I do appreciate all of your input and if you wanna be friends just friend me.0
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Ok. I understand now. Sorry still in baby mode. Trying to snap out of it. So if I do something extra then add it and that will be more calories burn then my normal everyday stuff. I get it.0
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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 know it seems crazy, but being active does not always mean lots of calories burned. I wear a BodyMedia, so I can track how many calories are burned by my day to day activities. I've had some surprises. Every Sunday night, I have a flurry of activity. I do laundry, dishes, cook all my food for the week, change the sheets on the bed, clean the catbox, etc.. It hardly burns anything! The reason is that the activities I am doing don't actually require that much energy (and by energy I mean calories, not my own feelings of fatigue). I'm not really engaging large muscle groups. My kitchen is about 3-4 steps across, so that's as far as I am moving at any given time when I am wearing myself out with cooking and washing dishes. I also discovered, much to my dismay, that a good ab workout that leaves me sweating and crying doesn't burn much more than lying on the couch watching Frasier reruns. :sad:0 -
If you put a leash on them, you could call it "Walking the dog. 3.0mph"
Hahahahahah love this idea! But yeah bump up your activity level and you should be fine0 -
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!!!????????
If you are so active with your kids, then why are you overweight?
Tart comment aside, think you would have more success by making an honest effort - add in a structured exercise plan, honestly log your food intake and call it a day.0 -
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 know it seems crazy, but being active does not always mean lots of calories burned. I wear a BodyMedia, so I can track how many calories are burned by my day to day activities. I've had some surprises. Every Sunday night, I have a flurry of activity. I do laundry, dishes, cook all my food for the week, change the sheets on the bed, clean the catbox, etc.. It hardly burns anything! The reason is that the activities I am doing don't actually require that much energy (and by energy I mean calories, not my own feelings of fatigue). I'm not really engaging large muscle groups. My kitchen is about 3-4 steps across, so that's as far as I am moving at any given time when I am wearing myself out with cooking and washing dishes. I also discovered, much to my dismay, that a good ab workout that leaves me sweating and crying doesn't burn much more than lying on the couch watching Frasier reruns. :sad:
Sadly, my Fitbit agrees :sad: The two biggest surprises of my Fitibit were how much where I park my car at work (college campus) impacts my calorie burn for the day and how little my weekend cleaning/laundry/errands do.0 -
I would just move your activity level to lightly actively or moderately active. It will give you more calories this way.0
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Io use a fitbit and you can certainly tell the periods that I'm doing housework/ chasing after kids but unless it a very busy day it tend to add up to my daily goals rather than take me over.0
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From some of the comments on this thread, it seems many people think you can't loose weight unless you do "formal" exercises.
I lost 40 pounds without doing formal exercises, ever. If the folks just mentioned are right, I must be living in a fantasy.....and my scale must be also.
I work a garden. I take stairs instead of elevators. I walk fast when I'm walking alone. I do all my "normal daily activities" but I do them the hard way (e.g. I haul water in my garden to water, I don't use garden hoses and tap pressure to get the water to where it needs to go).
Because I wear a FitBit, I set my profile on MFP and FitBit to sedentary since that is the type of job I have. On days were "doing things the hard way" adds up to a significant number, I get additional calories added to my daily budget. Whether I eat all, part, or none of those calorie credits back, depends on the situation at the time. I NEVER do formal exercises.
Based on all that I know, I will continue to believe that loosing weight is simply a matter of eating less calories (diary) than I burn (BMR + all exertion=TDEE).
Others, it appears, think you have to do more than eat less/burn more to loose weight.
Keep in mind, we are not talking about healthier diet (e.g. less pesticides) or healthier heart (aerobic level of activity.....something I need to address more than the occasion SCUBA diving). We are just talking about loosing weight. Period.0 -
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. We took care of the kids with the weight on, not exercise.0 -
I'd just bump up your activity level and then not try to add it as exercise.
^^^ This0 -
hahahahaha0
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I'm a CNA. I don't log all of that time lifting, being on my feet, etc. I don't log all of the housework I do or all of the driving I do. I just log exercises that 'seem' like exercises (swimming, going to the gym, taking a walk around the neighborhood with my boyfriend, etc). Basically anything I do where my intention is to burn calories for weight loss is counted as exercise. Everything else is my lifestyle.0
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If you are as active with your kiddos as you say, don't have a couch to sit on, and haven't lost weight I suggest you focus more on your eating habits. It's 80% diet 20% exercise, you can't out exercise your fork. I'm a mom to a toddler so I know how hard it can be to eat sensibly. It appears you have just recently joined, feel free to add me if you're looking for support.0
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I'd just bump up your activity level and then not try to add it as exercise.
This - OR get a pedometer (i have a fitbit) to count your steps throughout the day. If you get the fitbit it will sync with MFP and add in your calorie burn that you get through how active you are0 -
If you put a leash on them, you could call it "Walking the dog. 3.0mph"
Bwahahahahahaha this is the MFP winner right here0 -
When I was on here before someone I was friends with used to log "standing" as exercise. I'm not even joking!
SWEET! I'm standing RIGHT NOW!0 -
I don't see an issue with logging child care as an exercise. Everything can technically be an exercise as long as it's consistent, measurable and for a period of time. Get an HRM and figure out how much you burn while "Momming".
The problem with a generic entry is that everyone has different views on what being a mom/housewife is.
I submit exibit A:
And exibit B:
Both will claim they work very hard at what they do and want to log with the same exercise entry.0
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