life calories....

People do this? MFP already calculates your basal metabolic rate which is the amount of calories your body burns resting (or doing nothing), it's based on age, weight, sex, and height. The daily allotted calories MFP gives you is already below your BMR.

You can check your BMR on the tools tab of MFP. Good luck with your weight loss

When we signed up for MFP we were asked about lifestyle (sedentary, lightly active, etc.)....Our cleaning, basic living calories are already figured in to the lifestyle. I do not count those calories either. I choose to put my "exercise calories" as only my workouts. We have horses and daily barn chores, which could easily be counted as "exercise"....BUT, I put that into my lifestyle (which I noted as active).
Thanks for the challenge! It's a great idea to mix it up a bit....Let's keep the fun in fitness!

Usually when I put in "life" calories it too, is above my everyday stuffs. My job can be anything from very busy to sedentary. For this reason I am glad I have an hrm. On a normal fall day, my hrm may only read 2000-3000 calories burned. That would mean I am just doing "normal stuffs. On other days, I am calculating hrm at 5000-6000. Those are the days I know I need to eat more because I am really hungry! Example, this morning I believe I put in cleaning intense, but what I was doing was folding laundry and cleaning my room while dancing to fast songs on IPOD to keep heart rate up. Kind of worked for the day I really didn't feel like exercising, yet knew I needed to move!

I only count cleaning calories if it's something I had to put A LOT of effort into. I don't count doing the dishes or doing laundry, cooking dinner, or even vaccuming. But I would count something that required a lot of heavy lifting, like lugging boxes up and down stairs for half an hour, or mowing the lawn. (I have a huge lawn, and since it is mowed only every other week, it is not part of my everyday lifestyle.)

This is a great post! For the first month I was on MFP I tried counting every extra calorie I could!!! Allso I could eat more! As you would expect I didn't lose much! Getting my heart rate moniter really helped me go for the extra calories only when I was purposely working out! I lost more weight the first week with my HRM than I did the whole previous month! It really makes a diff to only count the calories of purposeful exercising. However I do count extra cleaning calories for stuff I don't do ususally...like mowing, washing the car, etc, etc. But only if I'm breaking a sweat!

life will burn calories. even just sitting in front of the TV breathing requires calories. and grocery shopping and cleaning house also burns calories.

when it comes to MFP, i do not count life calories when i am looking at my food and exercise. why? because it is life. life happens and we do that daily.

exercise is purposefully movement with the intent on being healthier.

if you are one that counts your life calories as exercise, i would like to challenge you to NOT count them for the month of November. Eat healthy balanced meals (lean protein, fresh/frozen veggies and fruits, whole grains), exercise in moderation and see what the scales do for you. try this for three weeks from November 1st till Thanksgiving morning. If you don't see the scales move, then you can go back to doing what you have been doing.

we all need challenged from time to time. who's in for a November challenge?

I don't mean to be rude, here, but your "challenge" almost seems like a jab at those who choose to log calorie burn including the tasks that others might consider "life" calories. For example a 20, 30, 40 year old person may be able to accomplish a lot more than a 50, 60, 70 year old person. So, the person that is 50 years old, has identified they need to reduce their weight by 100 calories shouldn't count the calories burned doing their housework even if before they began their journey, they barely moved off of the sofa. That hardly seems fair. Also, my understanding of calorie burn is that if your heart rate is elevated for a certain length of time you are burning calories. For example, I am 56 years old, I have arthritis in both knees and problems with my lower and middle back. I usually try to walk or use the stationary bike for at least 30 minutes a day - except on the weekends. I work 10 - 12 hours a day, so cleaning the house is just not my priority during the week - I save that for the weekend. I have a very large 100 year old house that is in various stages of remodeling (most of which I do myself on the weekends). This morning, I was up at 4:00 a.m., began doing my laundry (washer and dryer are in the basement of this huge 2 story house), so I hauled the 2 large baskets of laundry (including sheets and blankets from both beds) to the basement. After that, I began cooking for the weekend/week because today my stove will be incapacitated when I begin to work on the last wall in my kitchen (one more piece of drywall to cut and put up and then 2 wall cabinets to hang - 30 and 36 inch respectively). After that, I went upstairs and flipped my extra thick mattress, then vacuumed the dog fur from my precious pet Willow off of the upstairs landing and the 16 steps that lead to the down stairs. I was definitely perspiring after all of that - so did I not burn calories? Hmm... I'm thinking that can't be right. Will I not be burning calories when I go up down the basement stairs today to collect the laundry, hang it out on the line, etc? Hmmm... I'm thinking once again - that simply can't be right. And if, at the end of the day I don't have the energy to do an additional 30 minutes of the stationary bike or walk will I have failed to "exercise" today and so can feel like I've failed to reach my goals for today?

Here is what I think, that each person absolutely MUST decide for themselves what is considered appropriate and adequate exercise for themselves. We can suggest, encourage, and advise, but to indicate that what they are currently doing isn't good enough or doesn't/shouldn't count is callous and insensitive. It is, after all, THEIR JOURNEY TO A HEALTHIER AND HAPPIER LIFE.

Vickie

life will burn calories. even just sitting in front of the TV breathing requires calories. and grocery shopping and cleaning house also burns calories.

when it comes to MFP, i do not count life calories when i am looking at my food and exercise. why? because it is life. life happens and we do that daily.

exercise is purposefully movement with the intent on being healthier.

if you are one that counts your life calories as exercise, i would like to challenge you to NOT count them for the month of November. Eat healthy balanced meals (lean protein, fresh/frozen veggies and fruits, whole grains), exercise in moderation and see what the scales do for you. try this for three weeks from November 1st till Thanksgiving morning. If you don't see the scales move, then you can go back to doing what you have been doing.

we all need challenged from time to time. who's in for a November challenge?

I don't mean to be rude, here, but your "challenge" almost seems like a jab at those who choose to log calorie burn including the tasks that others might consider "life" calories. For example a 20, 30, 40 year old person may be able to accomplish a lot more than a 50, 60, 70 year old person. So, the person that is 50 years old, has identified they need to reduce their weight by 100 calories shouldn't count the calories burned doing their housework even if before they began their journey, they barely moved off of the sofa. That hardly seems fair. Also, my understanding of calorie burn is that if your heart rate is elevated for a certain length of time you are burning calories. For example, I am 56 years old, I have arthritis in both knees and problems with my lower and middle back. I usually try to walk or use the stationary bike for at least 30 minutes a day - except on the weekends. I work 10 - 12 hours a day, so cleaning the house is just not my priority during the week - I save that for the weekend. I have a very large 100 year old house that is in various stages of remodeling (most of which I do myself on the weekends). This morning, I was up at 4:00 a.m., began doing my laundry (washer and dryer are in the basement of this huge 2 story house), so I hauled the 2 large baskets of laundry (including sheets and blankets from both beds) to the basement. After that, I began cooking for the weekend/week because today my stove will be incapacitated when I begin to work on the last wall in my kitchen (one more piece of drywall to cut and put up and then 2 wall cabinets to hang - 30 and 36 inch respectively). After that, I went upstairs and flipped my extra thick mattress, then vacuumed the dog fur from my precious pet Willow off of the upstairs landing and the 16 steps that lead to the down stairs. I was definitely perspiring after all of that - so did I not burn calories? Hmm... I'm thinking that can't be right. Will I not be burning calories when I go up down the basement stairs today to collect the laundry, hang it out on the line, etc? Hmmm... I'm thinking once again - that simply can't be right. And if, at the end of the day I don't have the energy to do an additional 30 minutes of the stationary bike or walk will I have failed to "exercise" today and so can feel like I've failed to reach my goals for today?

Here is what I think, that each person absolutely MUST decide for themselves what is considered appropriate and adequate exercise for themselves. We can suggest, encourage, and advise, but to indicate that what they are currently doing isn't good enough or doesn't/shouldn't count is callous and insensitive. It is, after all, THEIR JOURNEY TO A HEALTHIER AND HAPPIER LIFE.

Vickie

I completely agree with what you are saying. I, personally, have recently been counting the calories I burned while doing these household activities. I joined this challenge to help myself stay focused on going to the gym. Then, the EXTRA calories I'm burning doing the household cleaning, etc... will be bonus for me! So, Yay! I agree that you make a very valid point though.

I don't think the original poster was making a stab at anyone, but just wanted to motivate us who count little silly stuff, like only one load of laundry...etc.

I completely agree that your activity level does warrant counting the calories burnt. I think this challenge was made just to push some of us a little further.. and only for those who chose do so!

Hope you have a wonderful day. (by the way...you are amazing! I would never know how to hang drywall.... Wonder woman!) :happy:

Just for the record, I have been working on what I WILL log as cleaning house, vigorous and carpentry general for the last 3 or so hours. I have cut and put up a piece of drywall, moved the stove, the refrigerator, a base cabinet, hung up two wall cabinets and installed two more base cabinets. Then I moved the stove and the refrigerator back into their places. After that, I cleaned up the kitchen (the mess I had made doing what I had been doing). In the mean time, I also took the clothes off of the line, and hung another load on the line. I now am moving to the bathroom where I will remove the toilet to take out what I think is a container of deodorant that is lodged in there, then put it back in place. So, I'm quite sure that by the time I am done doing my "vigorous housework" today, I will not have the energy to walk 4.0 miles per hour for 30 - 60 minutes or even to do the stationary bike for 30 minutes. I still have to clean my front porch and then make all the beds - my son and his family will be here in about 2 hours and they will be staying the night. So, while some might consider my day to be "life calories" being burned, I happen to think that it is a heck of a lot of work and I am definitely going to count the calories on my daily exercise log.

Did I mention that I am a 56 year old woman with arthritis in both knees, I live alone - have no help to do what I have done today, and I also have problems with my lower and middle back? Yep - I think I've burnt a lot of calories today and will definitely be claiming them.

Vickie

From my personal viewpoint, I do MFP because I wanted to take a snapshot in time to see exactly how many calories I burn just living my life versus the calories I consume. Yes I have the horses, dogs, chickens and child, not to mention the active job, but if I took all that away there is NO way on earth I will go on an exercise bike, go to the gym or run - I just find all that too monotonous. If at the end of this week I find I'm gaining weight because of all the free calories I'm gaining I may start making some adjustments!