Ok, to lose a pound a week I am supposed to have a net caloric intake around 1200. I go to the gym five days a week but consider my lifestyle sedentary. On days when I am like 150 calories over I will find negative calories by counting that two minutes on the stairs or even driving and childcare but I don't count these same activities when the gym allows me to hit my mark. I am feeling guilty and wondering if those are considered part of a sedentary lifestyle or is the sedentary caloric needs essentially your BMR? Just wondering/ confessing.

Ok, I guess this was more a point of clarification. I am not that guilty but wondering if my extra calories are legit to count?

I think you're complicating things more than you need to.

I don't count exercise for this reason. I'll fudge numbers until they look better, lol...

Just count your food and see what you come up with, stairclimbing etc, is bonus.

This. I look at it this way: Even if I wasn't on this lifestyle change, I would have had to go up those stairs anyways to do laundry or whatever, its just a bonus.

Now, if I'm setting aside 10 mins to go up and down the stairs over and over and over again, that would be a work out to me, lol...


Don't make it so hard for yourself. Just keep going.

Indeed. Thanks ladies. Just trying to make sure I am "energetically" counting properly. The last few pounds are really the hardest and I am trying to be disciplined and hopefully successful.

I found myself doing the same thing...counting exercise-like activities that I wouldn't normally because u was over. Truly when I was honest with myself and I reviewed my food diary, I was slipping back into bad habits. So yeah I do think it's cheating but really you are really cheating yourself. When I was at my worst I convinced myself I was too "busy" and couldn't enter that day. I stopped entering for a long time during which I went from 195ish to 225ish gained 20-30 lbs. Now I am back on track! Wish me luck.