When to log activities for sedentary activity level- help, please

Hi all,

I am trying to figure out how to log activity.  I chose my activity level as sedentary (I study a lot), but when I am not in class or studying I am usually active cleaning the house or working on this and that- today I burned almost 500 calories between cleaning, walking, and my strength training routine. 

So, here is my question: Do you log cleaning and walking (like to the grocery store) if your activity level is sedentary, or do you assume it is included in the burn meter estimate?

If I do something longer than an hour that is considered "normal" every day activities, I will log it.  But I mean, picking up things and straightening a room up for 10 mins... no.

Shopping at a mall for 3 hours, yes.  Shopping for groceries for 30 mins, no.

I dont think your activity level should be sedentary unless you do absolutely nothing but lye in bed or sit on the couch all day long..

I log everything, including sleeping, grocery shopping, driving, preparing meals and cleaning up afterwards, and childcare activities (changing clothes, picking up, etc). I chose sedentary as well, because I'm not doing what is considered traditional exercise (i.e., calisthenics, going to the gym), and I work all day in an office and don't walk around much, except at lunchtime. I like updating the food, activities, and weight logs, but using this site basically boils down to what you want to do with it. Good luck.

I work out (a lot), but, like you, I set my level at sedentary because I have a desk job and essentially sit around for the majority of the day.  I then add each of my activities separately to get a total for the day.  Yesterday's log looked like this:

Spin class, 60 minutes: 465 calories burned
Stairmill, 20 minutes: 192 calories burned
Weightlifting, upper body, 60 minutes: 142 calories burned
Resting time, 1300 minutes: 1365 calories burned
Total Burn for the Day: 2165

Like someone else mentioned, I don't usually add normal activities (grocery shopping, driving, walking the 50 yards from my office to the bathroom, etc.), but I will log out of the ordinary activities (having to walk 14 stories of stairs because the elevator was broken in my building last week, taking friends site-seeing in DC, walking the mall for several hours, etc.). 

So far, it's worked for me :)

I just log, "out of the ordinary things" as someone else said.

For me:  besides typical exercise, if I follow a TV workout, when I helped my cousin vacuum for 2 hrs, driving trips in car, if over one hr, shopping, other than running to store for a loaf of bread.

I know that folks around here are always saying that "sedentary" means that you're just lying in bed doing absolutely nothing all day, but that's not how this particular site's meters define it.  Here's how CC defines it when you choose your basic activity level for the "burn meter" : 

Sedentary: On most days, you find yourself mainly sitting, reading, typing, or working at a computer.

Light Activity: You participate in light exercise, such as walking, for no more than 2 hours daily.

Moderate Activity: You rarely sit during the day and do heavy housework, gardening, or dancing daily.

Very Active: You participate in physical sports such as jogging or mountain-biking each day or you hold a labor-intensive job such as a construction worker or bicycle messenger.

Like me, I'm working at my desk all day.  Hey!  Just like the description of "sedentary," see?    So I choose "sedentary," and then I log my workouts only.  That way I can see what my workouts are doing to boost my calorie burn, and if for some reason I miss a day or two of workouts, I'm not fooled into thinking that I've burned more calories than I really have.  Also, if I have to do some activity that's out of the ordinary, like conduct a training class where I'm on my feet pacing for a few hours, then I might log that.   But I don't log, say, grocery shopping or sex or anything like that. 

Once I move out of my weight loss phase and into maintenance, I'll probably ratchet up to "Light Activity."  Unless my job changes dramatically or they invent some sort of hovercraft computer, I don't think I'd ever qualify for "Moderate Activity."

So, I guess that I need help interpreting the light activity level.  Does that mean you spend two hours walking (on a treadmill, or outside) for exercise per day or does that mean your cumulative total just walking around doing stuff is two hours.  That is what I don't completely know how to interpret.

Here is a snapshot of an average week for me this term.  I go to school so I spend a total of 7 hours per week sitting in class.  Additionally I spend another 1-2 hours everyday studying or working on the computer.  For meals, I spend maybe 1 hour per day sitting.  Other than that, I rarely sit.  I do not watch TV (don't have cable, rabbit ears, or satellite).  I am usually up and getting something done- like cleaning, shopping, playing with kids and dogs, running errands, cooking, etc.  I workout 3 times a week- cardio for 20-30 minutes.  Sometimes I do sit-ups, push-ups, leg-lifts, etc. but not really regularly.  A few times a term I spend a little more time sitting- just before a test or paper is due. 

I put sedentary because this is the least active I have ever been. 

I know, they should really be more clear with exactly what kind of "walking" that walking is--it throws me for a loop, too! Like you said, is it on the treadmill, or walking your dog, or being a teacher and walking around the classroom, or what?  Each is a different intensity and probably a very different calorie need.

I think what many people do--and what I did--is to choose "sedentary" and then log their workouts, but not necessarily running errands or things like that.   Think of your 10+ hours a day sitting in class, studying, etc., as what many people would spend sitting in an office.  Then, you can see what you're really doing outside the sedentary level and plan accordingly.  That way, you also see more accurately what you're actually burning each day, over and above your basic burn.

I started out logging EVERYTHING but that was just to get an idea of how much I was actually burning in a day. I don't bother to log housework now unless I do it for at least an hour or it's extra-strenous work (like scrubbing the bathroom!) I do log shopping though - an hour's walking is a fairly substantial calorie-burner, even around the grocery store, and two hours at the mall can burn 500 calories!

So we are suppose to post for every hour out of every day?

Since I do spend most of my day sedentary I only log  "out of the ordinary" things such as when I walk (for exercise) for an hour or more or if I do major house cleaning. I figure if I log every little thing I move around for I will have a calculation that is very far out of whack.

oic,  and the rest is just automatically calculated as sedentary ( the original one that you picked)?

I've just found this calorie burn calculator:

http://www.stevenscreek.com/goodies/calories. shtml

It allows you to input number of hours of various levels of activity per day - eg sleeping, low activity such as watching TV etc, then it has a separate section for logging the exercise you did that day.

I input the activity I do on an inactive day to check whether this corresponds with the 'sedentary' level of CC.

This confirms that for me, setting my activity level to sedentary, and adding my exercise in separately is about right.

 

 

Sorry - just realised the date of this thread.  I posted in it because it appeared in the list of 'recent topics'.