Am I active or lightly active?

midpath
midpath Posts: 246 Member
edited November 22 in Health and Weight Loss
From 8:30-4:00 about 5-6 days a week I do housekeeping. Generally no A/C so I'm sweating like a mofo and i have to move equipment, climb, bend, etc. I'm usually beat when I get home.

Replies

  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
    I'd guess "lightly active". . .but you could also set it as "sedentary" and then log your work as "cardio"!
  • midpath
    midpath Posts: 246 Member
    Would that work? To log it as cardio? It's says 2.5 hours is like 500 calories. If I worked like 8 hours that would be outrageous. Should I just log my time by half?
  • litsy3
    litsy3 Posts: 783 Member
    I'd just put 'lightly active', wait five weeks, and if you're losing weight faster than you want, change it to 'active'. That's what I did but it actually turned out (from doing the maths) that I would have needed a category in between the two.
  • slaite1
    slaite1 Posts: 1,307 Member
    litsy3 wrote: »
    I'd just put 'lightly active', wait five weeks, and if you're losing weight faster than you want, change it to 'active'. That's what I did but it actually turned out (from doing the maths) that I would have needed a category in between the two.

    +1

    Once you figure it out you can just manually input a calorie goal. I would start on the lower (lightly active) setting as recommended above.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    litsy3 wrote: »
    I'd just put 'lightly active', wait five weeks, and if you're losing weight faster than you want, change it to 'active'. That's what I did but it actually turned out (from doing the maths) that I would have needed a category in between the two.

    + 2

  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
    litsy3 wrote: »
    I'd just put 'lightly active', wait five weeks, and if you're losing weight faster than you want, change it to 'active'. That's what I did but it actually turned out (from doing the maths) that I would have needed a category in between the two.

    +3

    This is better, in my opinion, than guessing how many calories you burned and logging them as exercise. THe MFP calorie burns for stuff like cleaning are kind of ridiculous. Another option would be to buy an activity tracker like a FitBit.
  • petitehealth
    petitehealth Posts: 148 Member
    I suggest investing in a heart rate monitor. I use the Polar H7 and have worn it a few times during my housework and during big shopping trips, I was surprised to see how many calories I was burning! This is a good way to get an accurate assessment.
  • midpath
    midpath Posts: 246 Member
    I looked in a few different places online and they all seem to say that with a body weight of 150 its reasonable to burn 100-150 calories an hour of housekeeping. Can this really be true? I know its tiring as hell and it really is hard work but its hard to believe. Burning calories isnt easy.
  • midpath
    midpath Posts: 246 Member
    I'm 218 lbs
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Lightly active. Your activity level is NORMAL daily activity and exercise is separate.
  • jadams1650
    jadams1650 Posts: 139 Member
    petitehealth wrote: »
    I suggest investing in a heart rate monitor. I use the Polar H7 and have worn it a few times during my housework and during big shopping trips, I was surprised to see how many calories I was burning! This is a good way to get an accurate assessment.

    You were surprised because you weren't really burning those calories. HRM's only really work for steady state cardio and HIIT training. An activity monitor would likely be a better choice.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    petitehealth wrote: »
    I suggest investing in a heart rate monitor. I use the Polar H7 and have worn it a few times during my housework and during big shopping trips, I was surprised to see how many calories I was burning! This is a good way to get an accurate assessment.

    It's a TERRIBLE way to get an "accurate assessment.

    The numbers you're getting are a complete fantasy, because you're mis-using the device.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    Yep, don't worry about getting a HR monitor. I'm partial to fitbit. So I'd go for the zip or ONE. All these do are count your steps.
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