Logging daily activities?

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  • Darkskinned88
    Darkskinned88 Posts: 1,177 Member
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    i agree with the OP in the sense that sometimes people overcompensate by logging cleaning or work in addition to a light active/active lifestyle. However i didn't come here to worry about others, i came here for myself. And personally i dont log any activity done outside a gym (sometimes i'll log calisthenics)
  • llamalland
    llamalland Posts: 246 Member
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    There are also times when you might log an exercise that isn't what you actually did, but seems the closest to the effort and/or pace of your actual activity. For example, I log "hiking, carrying a 10# weight" when indeed I tromped through my hilly pasture, carrying hay, grain, and other livestock supplies. I may log 30 minutes of that activity, when I worked maybe an hour, but log less to make up for the lack of consistency of my task.
  • kasgill
    kasgill Posts: 12 Member
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    I also wanted to share something my friend who is a nutritionist explained to me since I was complaining about not losing any weight. I have been training for a half marathon and running 20-30 miles a week and my calorie goal was 1200 a day. I was logging my runs and the calories burned which on some days would total over 600 cals. My mistake was that I was then eating 1800 calories on a day like that because I thought that the 600 burned allowed me to eat that much more. I guess my point is that even if you log your activities and exercises it is not an automatic "ok" to eat away those burned calories. Of course it is important to fuel your body before and after strenuous exercises but the snack should be something small...not 600 calories worth ;) I hope this helps at least helps somebody understand the benefits (or downsides) of logging activity on this site. ;)

    hi there,
    there are lots of misconceptions about a need to eat back your burned calories/
    Could you tell us what did your nutritionist ,as a qualified person, say about eating away your burned calories?

    thanks

    She told me that just because I burned 600 calories or so, running 7 miles, didn't mean I should go and eat an extra 600 calories that day just because I burned those in theory. If I wanted to lose weight I should stick to my 1200-1300 goal daily even if I workout...not eat around 2000 calories just because I ran that day. I was eating my burned calories and working out like crazy since I am training for a half marathon and was remaining the same weight. After 7 weeks of training, I hadn't lost or gained a single pound. I didn't know any better...I thought I could eat all that extra food because I was so active. Not true. She told me that a small carb snack before working out and a lean protein after my workout (I weight train as well) would give me the nutrition and energy I needed for my workout. This would only be an additional 100-200 calories added to my daily amount for my "workout snacks"...not an extra 600+ cals like I had been eating. Her plan for me is to keep my daily goal in the 1200-1300 range and to not increase my intake even if I workout. My body should still get the fuel it needs and I won't have to stay frustrated that I am not experiencing any weight loss or body shape changes. I hope this helped explain things a little bit more.

    How is that working for you? Do you feel like you have the energy to do the training you're doing? Are you losing weight?

    Well to put it quite simply...it is working! :) I was getting very discouraged because I had not lost a single pound in 7 weeks of training for my half marathon and eating back my burned calories bc I thought I could. Needless to say, I started to only eat 100 or so more calories than my original goal of 1200 on days I workout (which is usually 6 days a week) and I have lost 3 pounds in 4 days. I know my weight loss won't continue at this rate but waiting over 2 months to see any change on the scale was certainly testing my patience. I do know that I will not go back to eating more calories just because I worked out a bunch. I am still able to run 4-7 miles right now without any problem that would be contributed to not eating enough.
  • kasgill
    kasgill Posts: 12 Member
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    You are welcome. Once it was explained to me it made obvious sense. Just wish I would have opened up about my struggles earlier so then my friend could have told me exactly what I was doing wrong ;)
  • SLippi
    SLippi Posts: 22 Member
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    Personally I set my activity to Sedentary because I sit at my desk 8-10 hours/day. I lounge around a lot also, watching movies or hockey.

    I do laundry every other week, dishes daily, cleaning weekly, rough cleaning monthly, run around with my neice/nephews a couple hours 3-4x week, walk around and move more frequently than before, and have sex more often. But don't log any of that because to me it's considered normal activity. In the event I'm trying to maintain but losing/gaining I'll adjust my activity level/eating/etc as needed but only count what I do at the gym or walks I go to burn calories. If I go for a leisurely walk around to clear my head but don't get my heart rate up I don't log it.

    I also don't measure my food just take the best guess I can for anything that isn't in individual servings. If I cook a pound of beef and spread it out over 4 meals, I count each meal as .25 lbs even though I'm sure some fluctuate. Others would measure the food and keep everything as accurate as possible.

    It's a personal choice, if someone logs things that's cool and doesn't impact me in any way. As long as they keep track in a way that works for them and are happy with their results more power to them.
  • katysmelly
    katysmelly Posts: 380 Member
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    There are also times when you might log an exercise that isn't what you actually did, but seems the closest to the effort and/or pace of your actual activity. For example, I log "hiking, carrying a 10# weight" when indeed I tromped through my hilly pasture, carrying hay, grain, and other livestock supplies. I may log 30 minutes of that activity, when I worked maybe an hour, but log less to make up for the lack of consistency of my task.

    I do things like that, too!

    I also divide my hill climbs into two separate things - one for going up, the other for coming back down. I pay attention to the time spent on each, my heart rate, etc. and do estimations of how much I burnt on each half.
  • KaciWood19
    KaciWood19 Posts: 553 Member
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    If the activity is something I do during the normal course of my day, like doing dishes or sweeping, then no, I don't log it. But if I do a marathon cleaning session, like vacuuming every square inch of my house (basement, ground floor, upstairs, furniture, etc), then I will log it since it's not something I do every day.

    this is same for me
  • janelleferrell
    janelleferrell Posts: 3 Member
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    Thanks for clarifying this, I am new to app, I love it - however have been troubled by this very issue, the realization that I idiotically and accidentally cheated dawned on me last night as I have been logging stupid daily activities, cleaning, gardening etc, I also push a pram around with 3 kids on board, none of which should count is this right? I am an active mum of 4 children aged 3 and under, 2 of which are breast fed twins, have added breast feeding as an activity that burns 500 cal which I think is fairly accurate as the girls are also on solids now. As of today I will only log proper workout sessions and see how I go... I really have no weight to lose, fairly scrawny, just enjoy health & fitness and there is always room for improvements and this app is awesome for some fine tuning and has stopped the little walk by pantry snackings etc def motivates me to keep on track! J
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    Now I am confused....according to the daily food log after I exercise it does add those calories to my daily caloric intake and since I do my exercise after work I am then strggling in the evening to take in 600-700 calories before bedtime because of the exercise adjustment. So my question is do I stick with my recommended 1200 calories only or do I make up the calories burned during exercise? Any help would be appreciated.

    If you are using MFP to calulate your daily calorie allowance, then it assumes that you will add, and eat, extra calories when you exercise. The numbers work out so that you still have a calorie deficit to allow you to lose weight even if y0ou eat all of those exrcise cals. Of course this assumes that you are logging food and exercise fairly accurately.
    Really though, the only way to know what works for your particular situation is to pick one method, try it out for a month and see how you react.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    Thanks for clarifying this, I am new to app, I love it - however have been troubled by this very issue, the realization that I idiotically and accidentally cheated dawned on me last night as I have been logging stupid daily activities, cleaning, gardening etc, I also push a pram around with 3 kids on board, none of which should count is this right? I am an active mum of 4 children aged 3 and under, 2 of which are breast fed twins, have added breast feeding as an activity that burns 500 cal which I think is fairly accurate as the girls are also on solids now. As of today I will only log proper workout sessions and see how I go... I really have no weight to lose, fairly scrawny, just enjoy health & fitness and there is always room for improvements and this app is awesome for some fine tuning and has stopped the little walk by pantry snackings etc def motivates me to keep on track! J

    I think you're being a bit hard on yourself here! All those activities burn calories every day.
    The trick is just to make sure that you only count them ONCE - ie either set your activity level (probably to active in your case) to include cleaning, gardening, carrying kids, pushing a pram etc OR set your activity level to sedentary and then add those activities.
    In my opinon it is much easier to include all the daily stuff in your activity level and then add extra exercise (like going to the gym) as exercise.
  • aki7chien
    aki7chien Posts: 85 Member
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    I have a pedometer that I wear on the days that I will be doing extra things at work, like building, packing, taping and stacking numerous boxes, plus lots of extra walking back and forth through our warehouse as well as other heavy manual labor. Normally in the off season, I am at my desk mostly so I have my activity level set at the lowest level. After the "bad" days, like today, I just add the extra calories from the pedometer and consider the rest bonus. (My arms don't feel that way tonight btw lol!) I also use the pedometer when my husband and I go for our nightly brisk walks. It's actually pretty interesting on a super busy day at work, how many miles you can walk! Today was 2 1/2 miles and that didn't count all the other stuff that my body is yelling at me about right now. ;-)
  • tammykoon
    tammykoon Posts: 303 Member
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    Thank you everyone. I see some people logging like 20 minutes cleaning every day. That is a daily activity. I agree that moving, spring cleaning, carrying a baby around a zoo, stuff that you do not do daily, should be logged. I personally am only logging actual exercise. The things I did on a daily basis did not prevent me from being fat in the first place.

    okay, logging 20 min cleaning EVERYDAY, that is deluding yourself. Unless this person is like 400lbs and on the verge of dying due to their life-style.


    I was that person. When I started on MFP I weighed almost 400lbs with a BMI of 68. I counted everything because I was truly sedentary. Now that I have gotten a chunk of the weight off I have modified what I "count". Today for example I walked for 30 minutes and climbed up and down a hill for 15 minutes.

    I guess if they are losing weight at the rate that they want then more power to them. But we all know the scale doesn't lie. You can log all the cardio you want but the scale knows the truth. It is an unbiased account of what we do, or do not do.
  • mishtery
    mishtery Posts: 148
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    I log things that are different to my normal. I don't clean every single day. I have added cleaning twice i think, today I should due to I have spent a lot longer and worked a lot harder at it. But won't bother. Know a person whom was so obese they were to ashamed to walk outside. Their daily activity didn't even include housework.
    Oneday they walked outside and did a lap of the clothes line, in a week the weight started to drop. For some of us that won't make a difference cos our bodies are use to it. This person upped the laps, and is now healthy and also thin. So, i think you add whatever your body isn't use to. Bit like if I was doing my strength training, body adjusts to weights so you need to up it. I don't think logging housework is a cheats way unless they are doing the same thing everyday and there is no intensity! I make the housework harder, to make myself work harder!

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