counting work as exercise

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hatravers
hatravers Posts: 166 Member
in Introduce Yourself
i work anything from a 4-8 hour shift in a store. this means im almost constantly walking about helping customers going back abd forth to the stockroom, bending lifting etc. sometimes its fast paced sometimes slow. my question is i count 2 hours as walking exercise at 2.0, even if i work an 8 hour shift. am i right in doing this?

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  • lenwie
    lenwie Posts: 240
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    was this not taken into account when you first set up your account? I know I put mine down as office/desk based.
  • JeffGDDG
    JeffGDDG Posts: 252 Member
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    You could maybe wear a heart rate monitor or a pedometer and go by that.
  • pander101
    pander101 Posts: 677 Member
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    It should already have been taken into account in your daily calories when you sign up. Like I'm "lightly active" which is standing a lot and whatnot. So if you haven't done that you should go look at your settings because it will make things a bit more accurate I think. Work shouldn't really be counted as daily exercise.
  • engineman312
    engineman312 Posts: 3,450 Member
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    i would go to settings, update diary/fitness settings, and adjust your activity level to reflect your average day. i recommend setting it to lightly active, because this is something you get used to. also, we all tend to over-estimate how active we are, and under-estimate how much we eat.
  • adrianneboyd
    adrianneboyd Posts: 88 Member
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    I agree, I don't count the daily back and forth walking for my work. I only count excersize that gets your heart rate up. A heart rate monitor is ideal.
  • cookienuts
    cookienuts Posts: 1 Member
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    I agree, you shouldn't count any work as exercise if you have already put that you do an energetic job as it will have taken that into account when calculating your calorie intake.

    You're only cheating youself...
  • sae1316
    sae1316 Posts: 70 Member
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    I personally don't count things that I do in the course of my day as exercise. I only track things I specifically do for exercise like taking a walk, riding a bike, work out dvd, jogging, etc... I think our daily expenditure is figured in when we set up our program.
  • Aussie4870
    Aussie4870 Posts: 120
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    i wouldnt count that as exercise..as everyone has said go into your settings and adjust accordingly...

    i only count my daily workouts as exercise...though im constantly on my feet with small children, a big dog and just the general day to day activities of being a mom with a busy schedule...

    if you feel that you are not getting enough to eat then maybe set your goals a little lower...like loosing 1lb a week rather than 2lbs...
  • almille
    almille Posts: 89
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    It totally depends on what works for you. If you set your calorie goals based on being active at work, you don't log it. My problem is that my exercise at work is so erratic! So I've told MFP I'm sedentary, and log activity at work sometimes. Many calorie counting programs set your goals based on your activity level /including/ your workouts, so you don't add calories for each workout unless your activity level was extraordinary. (I think this is at the root of the eating exercise calories debate). So pick the approach you find logical and convenient, and see if it works. If you lose weight, you're on the right track. If you don't, adjust your calorie goal down or be more conservative with your exercise estimates.
  • pholbert
    pholbert Posts: 575 Member
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    I to have a job that I am on my feet all day walking and lifting. When I registered I put lightly active. So that is taken into account on the calories they reccommed. Sometimes I walk 5 miles or more a day at work. I only put excercise I do after work hours. That excercise I do intentionally.
  • deadstarsunburn
    deadstarsunburn Posts: 1,337 Member
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    i would go to settings, update diary/fitness settings, and adjust your activity level to reflect your average day. i recommend setting it to lightly active, because this is something you get used to. also, we all tend to over-estimate how active we are, and under-estimate how much we eat.

    Do this, don't count work. I stopped counting my job and walking around campus because I changed my setting to active. It gives you a couple hundred extra. =] also don't wear a hrm all day to check it will be inaccurate it's not made to do that type of thing. Good luck!
  • hatravers
    hatravers Posts: 166 Member
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    i had set my life style as sedantry as i only work a couple of days a week, so the days i do work i do feal like i have walked miles! (which is why i count it)

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