[loveandlaughalways]

Is everyone counting lifestyle burned calories like washing dishes doing laundry cleaning the bathroom? Do you include this in your calorie deficit and does it mean you need to up your calorie intake? Just curious, because "the more I do around the house the more I can eat to lose?" Eh, not too sure just yet how this works, but am getting there. Thanks

[jillybean720]

Typically, if you use some sort of calculator to get an idea of how many calories you burn in a day, I think it includes the normal day-to-day stuff. I'm of course referring to the calculators that ask your activity level (sedentary/bed-bound, lightly active, moderately active, etc.). So, if you choose "lightly active" because you're doing chores, then you wouldn't add each chore's calories in on top of that, you know? I hope that makes sense

I never use my "calorie deficit" at all. I could NEVER get it to work out correctly (if I had a 500 calorie deficit each day, I would not necessarily lose a pound, a 1000 calorie deficit would not equal 2 pounds lost, etc.). There's really no way to truly know how many calories you burn in a day. You could get your BMR or RMR tested, but even then, it can vary sometimes.

[Get n healthy]

I dont think "everyday" things count...since that is everyday, whether you are dieting or not...your body is too used to it to consider it a big deal, so to speak...you have to work out separately for it to do you any good. I just recently had this same arguement with my son. He says he doesnt have to exercise because he rides his bike all over our town. I told him, that is great, but you ride your bike all over town whether you are eating healthy or not. So you have to go above and beyond what you normally do to actually lose weight. We talked to a personal trainer and she backed us up on this. She said the bike riding will be fine for maintenence *maybe* but for LOSING...bump it up baby.

[floridarusty]

I believe that cleaning house, walking the dog are extra calories burned and you need to add them in. All that extra activity is programmed in Fitday for you to add but I usually only add in things like walking, heavy housecleaning, etc and of course any exercise I do.

Riding the bike is exercise but leaves out parts of the body....he probably needs some arobic, swimming or weight lifting type workouts especially if he is over weight. I would ask his doctor for suggestions.

Phyllis

[loveandlaughalways]

hmmm! I guess if I am normally sedentary which I assume i have been for at leat a year then anything above that would be an improvement or a calorie deficit and "I am going to count it" LoL if it doesn't work, I will let you know. Hey, I put it on in 4 years, it may take four years to take it off. At least i'm not going up!! Thanks all!!!!!!!! I am so lonely without you!!!!!!

[aphil]

Originally Posted by jillybean720

I never use my "calorie deficit" at all. I could NEVER get it to work out correctly (if I had a 500 calorie deficit each day, I would not necessarily lose a pound, a 1000 calorie deficit would not equal 2 pounds lost, etc.). There's really no way to truly know how many calories you burn in a day. You could get your BMR or RMR tested, but even then, it can vary sometimes.

I agreee with Jill on so many levels. The whole "calorie deficit" and figuring it all up on spreadsheets and on Fitday and all that is personally, I believe, a waste of time. It is simply not necessary...and the body doesn't work like a calculator. Just because your figurations say that you should have mathmatically lost a pound by now-does not mean you will.
The calorie calculators that estimate how much you burn per day are "estimates" at best...and due to personal metabolic differences-they can be OFF BY 700 calories PER DAY. That is a LARGE margin for error. Large enough to not even bother. The calories burned estimators for your workouts are the same thing...one may estimate that you burn 150 calories walking a mile at 3mph...but the person's metabolism, their weight/age/genetics/individual body fat and muscle mass/the actual terrain the walk on and SO many other factors can cut that number in half-or triple it!!!!

I have been wanting to make a "sticky" about the whole calorie deficit for ages-I know Meg and Mel (personal trainers and mods here at 3FC who have been maintaining their weight losses for AGES) have discussed this same thing until they are blue in the face. The calculators are way too inaccurate for anyone figuring their daily "deficit" to be accurate at all. You would simply have to go in and have your BMR tested...and have it done during each and every workout for it to be accurate at all.
Also-because of the human body being what it is-you could eat the exact same calories each day and do the exact same workout (making your estimated deficit the same each day) and one week you may lose 2 pounds one week...and nothing the next.

My advice? If you are losing weight at your current calorie and exercise level-then you have created a deficit. Does it really matter what the figures say??

Also-rather than pondering if you should or should not caculate the deficits in your housework, or the walk from the car to the store entrance-you could spend that 5 or 10 minutes doing a longer workout-and actually INCREASE your deficit, rather than spending so much time trying to calculate it-when it is notoriously inaccurate, anyway.

I don't focus on my housework...and I don't eat more on days that I did more laundry or mopping. I do, however, work out HARD...and eat healthfully. That has led to weight loss and a fitter me-with much less calculation.

Yes...we do need to create a deficit to lose weight. But there is no reason to calculate it so exactly. If you are getting smaller through diet and exercise-then you are creating one. That is the TRUE thing. Rather than spending so much time with the figures-step back and look at the actual facts. Are you losing weight? Are you getting fitter/stronger? If so, that is the real goal-not a certain number on a piece of paper.

[Get n healthy]

aphil-Ditto. I do keep track of what i eat and exercise but as far as calculating deficits and whatnot...I would rather just know that i am doing what i should be doing. Not saying, oh, i folded clothes, i can have a bite of an apple...that approach doesnt really seem practical.

[Heather]

I agree with Aphil (as usual).

That said, I do log my food and intentional exercise in my online calculator. I do both for accountability. I think the food accountability is more obvious, but I write down my intentinal exercise, mostly to log the minutes and keep track of what I do. I set goals of minutes/month of exercise. I do that because I don't like to do it, and it keeps me doing it in a way nothing else has.

In doing the entering of calories and exercise, I have come to see that, for me and for now, the calculator is making reasonable estimates. That is, if I says I should have lost 9.5 pounds over 10 weeks, I may have lost 10. That's nice to know, and I sometimes use that information to plan, but as Aphil says, it's not really necessary. I'm eating well, exercising and losing weight, ergo, I have a deficit. More important, I'm healthier than I've been in decades... maybe ever.