How much exercise does MFP assume?

BrendanHutchins
BrendanHutchins Posts: 2 Member
edited November 23 in Fitness and Exercise
Hey! New here. I'm excited.

I work in construction so I picked the 3rd of 4 options in the beginning saying that I'm pretty active. How much is that all ready calculated into the amount I'm burning? I just tore up a tile floor, heart rate is up (no monitor) and sweating, and I don't feel my iPhone step counter even realized I moved. Should I add in a cardio work out for that time?

Thanks for any suggestions! I'm all ready noticing I'm eating more consciously after tracking for just 2 days.

Brendan

Replies

  • melzy824
    melzy824 Posts: 45 Member
    Hey Brendan! You definitely should be logging that as it is exercise. But also I am guessing you have been doing it all along, so watching what you eat will be the big difference maker. Try wearing a heart rate monitor on a hard part of your day and log it. Hope this helps :smile:
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    melzy824 wrote: »
    Hey Brendan! You definitely should be logging that as it is exercise. But also I am guessing you have been doing it all along, so watching what you eat will be the big difference maker. Try wearing a heart rate monitor on a hard part of your day and log it. Hope this helps :smile:

    The HR monitor is not designed for that and will not be accurate.

    OP was that part of your daily job? If you chose active, MFP accounts for most, if not all, of that.

    If it was a one time deal, I'd chalk it up to a bonus and call it a day.
  • sheldonklein
    sheldonklein Posts: 854 Member
    MFP distinguishes between activity that are part of your daily life and exercise. If your job involves running up and down stairs, you reflect that in your activity level. If you run up and down stairs after work for the health benefits, that's recorded as exercise. Obviously there are other ways to capture the information, but that's MFP's way.
  • BrendanHutchins
    BrendanHutchins Posts: 2 Member
    Thank you both for your advice! It almost seems that they're completely opposite, but possibly not...

    My daily job is active. I'm on my feet all day, either walking or standing. I climb ladders. I lift heavy objects. I balance, stretch and move. But it's not constant or strenuous. There are intermittent times, usually during the demo phase at the beginning of a project, there is a day of much more work like ripping up a subfloor.

    I'm leaning toward tracking those extra heavy work loads. Now I just need to figure out how to calculate the calories... I'm going to google around for calculators, unless there are any suggestions.

    An extra device like a HR tracker is not in my future, but thanks for the suggestion!

    Brendan
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,331 Member
    IMHO it would be easier to pick an activity level rather than trying to figure out calories burned from your daily job, even if the activity level varies from day to day it will average out.
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