Should I count my job as exercise??

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Emilyestelle1
Emilyestelle1 Posts: 21 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi all,

So I have a physically demanding job (nursing) and was wondering if I should or should not add it as exercise when trying to lose weight. For instance: Tonight, for 4 hours I did not stop once. It's walking (sometimes jogging) bending, lifting, squatting, kneeling, more lifting.... Then an hour or a bit more of cleaning. I still have 5 hours to go, but since I do this part time I'm not sure if or how to count it, especially as it affects my recommended daily calorie intake...

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  • MikePTY
    MikePTY Posts: 3,814 Member
    edited November 2019
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    If it is your daily job, you should account for it in your activity level settings. You are likely at either the active or very active settings. That will give you extra calories as part of your daily goal.

    ETA: I read it again, and see that yuu are part time. Whether to count it as exercise or as activity level depends on how "part time" you are. If you do it several days a week, I would still count it as your activity level. If it is something you only do once in a while, then maybe it would be better to log it as exercise.
  • Emilyestelle1
    Emilyestelle1 Posts: 21 Member
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    I do a full 5 day work week of 10 to 12 hour days, then have a week off basically. I am considerably less active on my week off, though I still do exercise on my days off.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    No you count your job in your a activity setting - I would suggest "active". It's an average and doesn't need adjusting for your days off.

    Purposeful exercise is completely separate from your activity setting. You log it after the event.
  • weightliftingbarbie
    weightliftingbarbie Posts: 156 Member
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    Following this post as I'm also a nurse and wondered this!
  • nicsflyingcircus
    nicsflyingcircus Posts: 2,393 Member
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    I am a nurse and work 3 12s a week, sometimes pick up an extra short shift (6-8hrs). I actually set my activity to sedentary and wear a Garmin activity tracker with calorie adjustment, because if I don't make an effort, I can be very loungey on my off days (I've had days under 2k steps, lol).

    Now of late, I've been making an effort to be more active in my day to day life, and am considering changing my setting to light active.

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