Fitness question!?

apoteat5
apoteat5 Posts: 12 Member
edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
If I typically spend six hours on my feet at work, walking, cleaning, and doing basic work, should I be logging this as calories burned or is it just a daily routine that my body is used to? I'm really not sure how this part works. My body is used to a certain amount of calories in and calories burned. I don't want to cheat myself by not adding but I don't want to show that I burned 600 calories by daily activity if I really haven't. What to do friends!? What to do!?

Replies

  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,061 Member
    If it's a daily activity you do that's NOT accounted for in your profile (say you put down sedentary), then you count it. If you put down "moderately active", don't count it.

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    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • Carol_
    Carol_ Posts: 469 Member
    I think the first answer you got is the perfect answer! Never heard it put that way. Makes sense!
  • apoteat5
    apoteat5 Posts: 12 Member
    Thanks so much ninerbuff! That makes perfect sense. So it would technically be beneficial to put sedentary and try to log my steps during the day? Thanks!!!
  • apoteat5
    apoteat5 Posts: 12 Member
    I agree Carol!!!
  • scottb81
    scottb81 Posts: 2,538 Member
    If you have a linked step/fitness tracker then you can put sedentary and let the tracker log the activity above that. If you don't have a linked tracker then its probably easier and better to put moderately active.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited May 2015
    apoteat5 wrote: »
    If I typically spend six hours on my feet at work, walking, cleaning, and doing basic work, should I be logging this as calories burned or is it just a daily routine that my body is used to? I'm really not sure how this part works. My body is used to a certain amount of calories in and calories burned. I don't want to cheat myself by not adding but I don't want to show that I burned 600 calories by daily activity if I really haven't. What to do friends!? What to do!?

    you should be using the descriptors next to the activity level settings and including that stuff in your activity level. I personally think that's going to give you a better estimate...say "moderate active" than trying to log all of that seperately.

    If all of that is our day to day hum drum, I don't know why you would put "sedentary"...you're obviously not. Set your activity level appropriately and only log deliberate exercise that is not accounted for otherwise.
  • apoteat5
    apoteat5 Posts: 12 Member
    I'm definitely not sedentary daily but I own a clothing store. So I work 3 days a week. The other days, I'm home taking care of my son. We don't always exercise but I do stay relatively busy with day to day activities. I think that I'm just uncertain about what it's asking. The three to four days that I'm home, I do a lot of desk work. I don't know that I should consume the same amount of calories on those days as I would on days that I work. When I work, my days are long and very busy. So I'm half moderately active and half lightly active each week. I always log the extras such as heavy housework and exercise. I'm just stumped on whether or not to call my lifestyle active or not when it changes daily. Thank you for responding!
  • apoteat5
    apoteat5 Posts: 12 Member
    It's important to me to get this right because I need to lose 25 pounds. If I'm sedentary, it says to eat 1200 calories. If lightly active, it averages 1320 and if moderately active, it says 1600 in order to lose 2 pounds per week. I suppose that I'll just eat the calories based on the day's activities instead of finding that middle ground. The app has helped me a lot. I now understand portion control and the need to take in certain nutrients each day. It's been wonderful to see my progress this way so it's important to me to log correctly.
  • ereck44
    ereck44 Posts: 1,170 Member
    I would choose the 1600 calorie choice. Why in such a hurry if you need to only lose 25 pounds? Keeping it off is way harder than losing it, and it is really hard to sustain a 1200 calorie diet for life? Even if you chose the 1 pound per week option, you would be at maintenance at Christmas.
  • apoteat5
    apoteat5 Posts: 12 Member
    You are right EReck. It will be difficult to sustain. I just want to be healthy and I've started a very healthy lifestyle. I've been at it for a month now which isn't long at all. I've bought a Fitbit and it's helping me log calories and fitness so that I better understand it.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    apoteat5 wrote: »
    I've bought a Fitbit and it's helping me log calories and fitness so that I better understand it.

    Connect your accounts at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/fitbit

    Enable negative calorie adjustments: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

    No need to log any step-based activity—your Fitbit is tracking it for you. You can learn more in the Fitbit Users group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users
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