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

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Replies

  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 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 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?
  • kjbutcher
    kjbutcher Posts: 5
    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.
  • believeinfamily
    believeinfamily Posts: 242
    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.
  • believeinfamily
    believeinfamily Posts: 242
    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.
  • Mouse_Potato
    Mouse_Potato Posts: 1,512 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 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:
  • THECaptainObvious
    THECaptainObvious Posts: 399 Member
    If you put a leash on them, you could call it "Walking the dog. 3.0mph"
    ^----This

    Hahahahahah love this idea! But yeah bump up your activity level and you should be fine
  • bombedpop
    bombedpop Posts: 2,228 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!!!????????

    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.
  • fougamou
    fougamou Posts: 200 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 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.
  • briabner
    briabner Posts: 427 Member
    I would just move your activity level to lightly actively or moderately active. It will give you more calories this way.
  • Flab2fitfi
    Flab2fitfi Posts: 1,349 Member
    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.
  • GadgetGuy2
    GadgetGuy2 Posts: 291 Member
    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.
  • MGreensides
    MGreensides Posts: 173 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. We took care of the kids with the weight on, not exercise.
  • Danny_Boy13
    Danny_Boy13 Posts: 2,094 Member
    I'd just bump up your activity level and then not try to add it as exercise.

    ^^^ This
  • fit4lifemomof4
    fit4lifemomof4 Posts: 9 Member
    hahahahaha
  • bumblebreezy91
    bumblebreezy91 Posts: 520 Member
    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.
  • MGreensides
    MGreensides Posts: 173 Member
    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.
  • crystal2point0
    crystal2point0 Posts: 52 Member
    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 are
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    If you put a leash on them, you could call it "Walking the dog. 3.0mph"

    Bwahahahahahaha this is the MFP winner right here
  • ThatSoundsHard
    ThatSoundsHard Posts: 475 Member
    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!
  • IPAkiller
    IPAkiller Posts: 711 Member
    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:
    busy-mom.jpeg

    And exibit B:
    o5dig2zienpwpjpgwm5s3ju.jpg

    Both will claim they work very hard at what they do and want to log with the same exercise entry.
  • pawnstarNate
    pawnstarNate Posts: 1,728 Member
    I just used this gif but, it fits here too....so, ahem.

    PUUUHHHLEASE
    4763_211d.gif
  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 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.

    I'm with this guy. I'm a dog walker & I wear a fitbit zip to calculate my daily activity...I was an overweight dog walker doing the same amount of activity previous to the fitbit, but with it, I can stay within a caloric budget quite easily.

    eta: activity level is just as important as exercise but they are not interchangeable :blushing:
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  • IPAkiller
    IPAkiller Posts: 711 Member
    And exibit B:
    o5dig2zienpwpjpgwm5s3ju.jpg

    Is that a glory hole circled on the wall back there?
    What do you know... It must be a family portrait.
  • runshellersrun
    runshellersrun Posts: 21
    As a mother of young children, I will say that when I am playing with my kids, it is great exercise. I chase them around the yard for 20 minutes at a time, swing them in circles, run up and down hills repeatedly, pull them in a wagon, ect.... I also wasn't sure at first if I should log it as exercise. I decided just to set my activity level at lightly active and only log formal exercise. I would rather do that than end up overestimating how many calories I should eat. I look at it as a bonus and LOVE that I get to run around like a goof withmy kiddos all day!
  • redheadmommy
    redheadmommy Posts: 908 Member
    Instead of logging as an exercise, change your settings to active or very active. I have a bodymedia, which supposed to be the most accurate gadget to measure calorie burn, and taking care of children burns a LOT of calories. A couple of months ago when I stayed home with my baby and my 4.5 yrs old, my bodymedia recorded around or above 12 ,000 steps a day on average and one and half hrs moderate exercise activity daily. My daily calorie burn without any exercise was around 3200 a day! Now I am back to work to my sedentary job, and on weekdays my step count is around 5,500 a day with an average 35 minutes of moderate exercise a day and around 2500/day calorie burn on average. The difference is 6,500 step 55 minutes moderate exercise, and 700 calorie a day!!!


    \
  • gigglesinthesun
    gigglesinthesun Posts: 860 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.

    If I logged all my cleaning, school walking, household and kids stuff I would gain about 600-800 calories, whereas when I put up my activity level from sedentary to lightly active I gained 150 calories. It does count, just not for quite as many calories. I don't log it if it is something I do regularly. I did add some calories when I did spring cleaning for 9 hours (200), but otherwise I stick to 'extra' exercise.

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