Walking all day at work. How do I count it?

natfunk
natfunk Posts: 15 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi There,

Just started MFP journey after a long lapse! My new Samsung S4 has the MFP app and it is a lifesaver!

I work in retail and walk pretty much all day long. I recently moved stores and at my old store I took a step counter to work and averaged my steps for about 3 months. I would walk anywhere between 2.5 miles on a slow day and 6 miles on a busy one. I am really not sure how to count this in as exercise into my journal.

My new store is smaller by 10K square feet so I know I walk less and it is not as high volume as my last store. I don't often work up a true sweat, but sometimes I do. My step counter broke so I am not sure how many steps I'm doing at this new location.

My questions are:

1.) what is an affordable step counter I can buy that actually works well and will withstand the pressure of use? I live in Canada right now so it has to be something I can buy here or buy on eBay/Amazon and ship up. My last counter i got off ebay and it ended up breaking when I used it.

2.) How can I accurately count what calories I am burning doing my job?

In my profile I put "Active" as I do about as much walking and lifting as a Waitress (clothes, in the volume I deal with them in are heavy). Due to crazy shifts I usually only have time to do situps and pushups and some light weights every other day. So I just put that I do 1 45 min workout a week.

Any tips on how I can record my activity would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Replies

  • knra_grl
    knra_grl Posts: 1,566 Member
    Anything that was regular activity before I started MFP (ie: walking at work) I don't log. I do walking specifically for exercise and log that. I have a job where I do a fair share of walking and stairs but I also did this before MFP so to me it doesn't count.

    My morning walk before work (3 miles) is about 6500 steps according to my Loop. I more than double that by the end of my work day.

    I am also Canadian - I got my Loop from Polar - they have a canadian website. The Loop will also sync with an H7 or H6 chest strap when you are ready to purchase a HRM.

    The loop tracks steps and activity level basically, it does track calorie burn which includes resting calories so I don't use that for my exercise calories I just calculate it online.

    I would change my settings from active to a lower setting then log specific workout calories (that's my personal opinion though)

    edit: if you consider a Loop - it does NOT sync with MFP.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    Work = activity level. Workouts = exercise.

    Activity trackers like Fitbit or Jawbone UP calculate your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). Like anything else they're estimates, but they're way more accurate than MFP or exercise equipment. When you link your accounts (via the "Apps" tab at the top of every page), MFP uses your activity tracker rather than your activity level to calculate your calorie goal.
  • natfunk
    natfunk Posts: 15 Member
    knra_grl & editorgrrl:

    Thanks for the replies. I think I will change my Activity level to "Lightly Active" for now and take out that I am doing one workout a week. In all honesty I am not able to predict how many workouts I will be able to do at this time. When I get time to do them, I will and log them as proper workouts.

    I will also check out the Loop by Polaris. I suppose though it doesn't really matter to count my steps since it doesn't factor in to any exercise tracking.

    Thanks ladies!
  • ladymiseryali
    ladymiseryali Posts: 2,555 Member
    If you have a Wii U or a Wii, get the Wii Fit Meter! I have one and I wear it to work. I also work retail. I basically take the calories the Wii Fit Meter tells me I burned from the moment I leave the house until the moment I get home and log that. Since I'm part-time, I don't include it in my active level. The Wii Fit Meter is the most accurate pedometer out there believe it or not.
  • natfunk
    natfunk Posts: 15 Member
    FitBit looks pretty cool! Maybe I can get one on eBay!
  • natfunk
    natfunk Posts: 15 Member
    ladymiseryali: that sounds great. Unfortunately I don't have a Wii. I am looking at FitBit since it syncs with MFP. It seems they are very similar in features.

    Technology rox!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    You include it in your activity level.
  • RllyGudTweetr
    RllyGudTweetr Posts: 2,019 Member
    If you ran 5k every weekend, and trained for it during the week, while at a caloric surplus, you'd gain weight. Does it really make sense to say that you shouldn't count the activities that you did while at a caloric surplus, once you're striving to achieve a caloric deficit?
  • natfunk
    natfunk Posts: 15 Member
    Should I put Lightly Active or Active? Not sure which to do.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    FitBit looks pretty cool! Maybe I can get one on eBay!

    Yep, that's what I use!
  • knra_grl
    knra_grl Posts: 1,566 Member
    If you ran 5k every weekend, and trained for it during the week, while at a caloric surplus, you'd gain weight. Does it really make sense to say that you shouldn't count the activities that you did while at a caloric surplus, once you're striving to achieve a caloric deficit?

    That would depend on your setting I guess - if you log your exercise separately (which running would be logged that way) then I wouldn't include it in my activity level I would log it separately. What I am saying is daily activity such as the walking you do at work and house work were things I did before so I wouldn't log them (and yes some days at work I walk twice as much and do twice as many stairs but I did it before so I don't consider it an activity level to be honest)

    Anything I do specifically for exercise I log it as exercise - that way days I do exercise I eat the extra calories needed but days I don't exercise I won't. If I included my activity from work in my settings then on days off if I didn't meet that activity level for some reason then I would be eating too many calories. This is what works for me and I guess it's all just a personal choice - even though we expend calories during our daily lives through work and home doesn't mean it is helpful to include it as exercise calories as we were doing these things before we started keeping our food and exercise diaries. To me it negates the extra effort we put into our workouts and deceives us into eating more when we are less active than what we have in our initial settings.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    If you ran 5k every weekend, and trained for it during the week, while at a caloric surplus, you'd gain weight. Does it really make sense to say that you shouldn't count the activities that you did while at a caloric surplus, once you're striving to achieve a caloric deficit?

    Maybe it's just me, but.... That didn't make any sense.
  • RllyGudTweetr
    RllyGudTweetr Posts: 2,019 Member
    If you ran 5k every weekend, and trained for it during the week, while at a caloric surplus, you'd gain weight. Does it really make sense to say that you shouldn't count the activities that you did while at a caloric surplus, once you're striving to achieve a caloric deficit?

    Maybe it's just me, but.... That didn't make any sense.
    What part didn't make sense. Perhaps I can clarify.
  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
    You don't count walking at work
  • Rachel_Virginia_
    Rachel_Virginia_ Posts: 43 Member
    i know i use the pacer app and i absolutely love it. I use it as my pedometer and it syncs with MFP
  • natfunk
    natfunk Posts: 15 Member
    You don't count walking at work

    Should I put Lightly Active or Active in my profile? I carry 10-20lbs of clothing around and walk at a quick pace for 7 hours a day.
  • natfunk
    natfunk Posts: 15 Member
    i know i use the pacer app and i absolutely love it. I use it as my pedometer and it syncs with MFP

    I will check that out!
  • natfunk
    natfunk Posts: 15 Member
    FitBit looks pretty cool! Maybe I can get one on eBay!

    Yep, that's what I use!

    I like that it's small and can clip anywhere.
  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
    You don't count walking at work

    Should I put Lightly Active or Active in my profile? I carry 10-20lbs of clothing around and walk at a quick pace for 7 hours a day.

    I'd put lightly
  • RllyGudTweetr
    RllyGudTweetr Posts: 2,019 Member
    [/quote]That would depend on your setting I guess - if you log your exercise separately (which running would be logged that way) then I wouldn't include it in my activity level I would log it separately. What I am saying is daily activity such as the walking you do at work and house work were things I did before so I wouldn't log them (and yes some days at work I walk twice as much and do twice as many stairs but I did it before so I don't consider it an activity level to be honest) [/quote]
    What you said was:
    Anything that was regular activity before I started MFP (ie: walking at work) I don't log.
    The key word here, apparently, is "anything." So, if Hypothetical Hans regularly participated in, and trained for, 5k races as a hobby before joining MFP, this quote means he shouldn't count the training and 5k runs he does after joining MFP as exercise, or eat calories to help sustain that particular hobby. . . even if before joining MFP, Hans ate 5,000 calories a day and, on MFP, he's set to 1650 calories a day.
  • natfunk
    natfunk Posts: 15 Member
    You don't count walking at work

    Should I put Lightly Active or Active in my profile? I carry 10-20lbs of clothing around and walk at a quick pace for 7 hours a day.

    I'd put lightly

    Ok, that's what I put in.
  • knra_grl
    knra_grl Posts: 1,566 Member
    You don't count walking at work

    Should I put Lightly Active or Active in my profile? I carry 10-20lbs of clothing around and walk at a quick pace for 7 hours a day.

    I set mine at lightly active based on the examples but you could set yours at active I think - I am at a desk part of my day also.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    If you ran 5k every weekend, and trained for it during the week, while at a caloric surplus, you'd gain weight. Does it really make sense to say that you shouldn't count the activities that you did while at a caloric surplus, once you're striving to achieve a caloric deficit?

    Maybe it's just me, but.... That didn't make any sense.
    What part didn't make sense. Perhaps I can clarify.

    Never mind, it's likely the cold medicine I took earlier. :blushing:
  • natfunk
    natfunk Posts: 15 Member
    I set mine at lightly active based on the examples but you could set yours at active I think - I am at a desk part of my day also.

    I'm going to put it at Lightly Active for now. I mean, worst case i am just going to be burning more calories and I'm OK with that! LOL
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    Should I put Lightly Active or Active in my profile? I carry 10-20lbs of clothing around and walk at a quick pace for 7 hours a day.
    Weight loss takes a whole lot of trial & error to find what works for you. And your goal should be to find the maximum number of calories at which you lose weight, not the minimum.

    So set your activity level to active for two weeks, then reevaluate. If you lose, great! If you don't lose, try lightly active.

    Edited to add that with less than 23 lbs. to go, you need to set your goal to .5 lb. per week and be patient.

    Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • knra_grl
    knra_grl Posts: 1,566 Member
    That would depend on your setting I guess - if you log your exercise separately (which running would be logged that way) then I wouldn't include it in my activity level I would log it separately. What I am saying is daily activity such as the walking you do at work and house work were things I did before so I wouldn't log them (and yes some days at work I walk twice as much and do twice as many stairs but I did it before so I don't consider it an activity level to be honest) [/quote]
    What you said was:
    Anything that was regular activity before I started MFP (ie: walking at work) I don't log.
    The key word here, apparently, is "anything." So, if Hypothetical Hans regularly participated in, and trained for, 5k races as a hobby before joining MFP, this quote means he shouldn't count the training and 5k runs he does after joining MFP as exercise, or eat calories to help sustain that particular hobby. . . even if before joining MFP, Hans ate 5,000 calories a day and, on MFP, he's set to 1650 calories a day.
    [/quote]

    You are choosing to take the context of the post so literal that the physical activity which most people would log as exercise to include it in daily activity - when you look at the activity level settings it does not include exercise it includes daily activity (ie: a waitress/waiter is considered to be active) If you are going to include activity you used in your example just what level of activity is that? Is there a setting for that extreme? I didn't say NOT to include the activity I said to log it separately as exercise. By logging it separately the application will add the extra calories needed based on the exercise entered.
  • natfunk
    natfunk Posts: 15 Member
    Should I put Lightly Active or Active in my profile? I carry 10-20lbs of clothing around and walk at a quick pace for 7 hours a day.
    Weight loss takes a whole lot of trial & error to find what works for you. And your goal should be to find the maximum number of calories at which you lose weight, not the minimum.

    So set your activity level to active for two weeks, then reevaluate. If you lose, great! If you don't lose, try lightly active.

    Edited to add that with less than 23 lbs. to go, you need to set your goal to .5 lb. per week and be patient.

    Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    Was just reading the Sexypants post!

    I just started my journey 7 days ago and set my calories to about 1650 per day. I lost 2.6lbs this week. I wanted to start with 25lbs loss. I am not sure losing more that that would be healthy for me. I was thinking .5 to 1lb per week would be good. I think I do need to experiment with calories to see what will work. I had 2 days this week where I went over by 200-300 calories. Like a lot of people are saying, i guess I have to play with numbers a bit to see what works. I did feel pretty tired this week!

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