Does cooking burn calories? MFP says yes!

_runnerbean_
_runnerbean_ Posts: 640 Member
edited November 10 in Health and Weight Loss
One of my MFP friends logged "cooking" as an activity that burned calories. WTF??? I really can't see how preparing a meal could burn that many more calories than sitting still, unless your fridge was upstairs and your cooker was at the end of the garden. Am I missing something here?
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Replies

  • Tedebearduff
    Tedebearduff Posts: 1,155 Member
    It doesn't count as exercise I hate people who do this and remove them from my friends list all the time!

    I've seen people log
    -reading
    -driving
    -studying
    -cleaning
    -gardening

    All this *kitten* isn't exercise, go to the gym ... put in the work!!!!! stop justifying over eating by logging miniscule daily tasks that your body is already accustom to.

  • clambert1273
    clambert1273 Posts: 840 Member
    haha I log anything I do in the yard because my body is NOT used to that LOL
  • _runnerbean_
    _runnerbean_ Posts: 640 Member
    I can understand gardening and heavy cleaning, if it's prolonged and more than your usual daily activity. Reading and driving!!!! Unless you were previously in a coma I can't see how these would count.
  • charmarbobar
    charmarbobar Posts: 251 Member
    I don't log most of those things, except gardening. When I garden it's serious - lots of lifting, shoveling/digging, tilling, walking, squating...etc....i sweat more than when I jog lol
  • clambert1273
    clambert1273 Posts: 840 Member
    I don't log most of those things, except gardening. When I garden it's serious - lots of lifting, shoveling/digging, tilling, walking, squating...etc....i sweat more than when I jog lol

    for us its raking... OMG the leaves... 1/4 acre of nothing but trees/leaves... . BLECH...

    let's not bring up gutter cleaning :neutral_face:
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
    What people don't understand is that "sedentary" is NOT the same as BMR.

    BMR is the number of calories you would burn if you were essentially in a coma all day. The "sedentary" setting on MFP already includes a certain number of calories over your BMR. This accounts for a normal activity level of someone who sits around most of the day. This includes walks to and from the bathroom, around the house, light cooking or housework, trips to the corner store, using the computer, watching TV, all the normal stuff that forms a part of an otherwise fairly inactive life.

    This stuff is all BUILT IN to your calorie estimate already. Logging it again is double-counting those minimal calories.

    Use "sedentary" and then ONLY log workouts that are over and above your normal daily activity. Otherwise, you'll think you need to eat more calories than you actually do, folks!
  • tracymayo1
    tracymayo1 Posts: 445 Member
    Not for anything, but I have a fitbit and one of the problems some people have is it logs time driving as steps. we are TOLD to log DRIVING as an exercise so that fitbit will remove the extra steps... so some of the people logging Driving, may be doing it for the same reason... although I don't think there should be calories attached to it...
  • clambert1273
    clambert1273 Posts: 840 Member
    edited January 2015
    well that went all goofy.... so NM lol
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    It does, but unless you're preparing some kind of holiday feast where you're seriously on your feet for hours on end, that kind of activity should already be rolled up in people's activity level.

    Unfortunately, a lot of people just like cheating themselves...and then they wonder why it doesn't work, but they're doing everything "right"
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    One of my MFP friends logged "cooking" as an activity that burned calories. WTF??? I really can't see how preparing a meal could burn that many more calories than sitting still, unless your fridge was upstairs and your cooker was at the end of the garden. Am I missing something here?

    I logged cooking once when I spent hours on my feet walking back and foward, bending, chopping, climbing a ladder to get things off of shelves, kneading dough, lifting containers of flour, rice, etc. I do have a large kitchen. It wasn't a calorie burn like a workout might be but it was definitely more work than sitting still. I don't usually spend hours cooking like that so I counted the extra activity that day. If I did that amount every day I wouldn't log it.
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  • evileen99
    evileen99 Posts: 1,564 Member
    [quote="Tedebearduff;30798996"
    I've seen people log

    -gardening

    All this *kitten* isn't exercise, go to the gym ... put in the work!!!!! stop justifying over eating by logging miniscule daily tasks that your body is already accustom to.

    [/quote]
    You must not garden. Gardening is serious work and a great workout for your back, butt, and legs. I burn upwards of 300 calories an hour when I'm out working in the yard (according g to my BodyMedia Fit).

  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    It should be considered your normal daily activity. Exercise is exercise, but it's amazing what people log for an extra cookie.
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    How much does worrying about what other people log burn? :huh:
  • Icandoityayme
    Icandoityayme Posts: 312 Member
    The only time I logged cooking was at Thanksgiving. I was cooking and prepping for 6 hours and barely sat down the whole time. Other than that, I don't count it. I do log gardening or yard work because that is only a once a week thing and not something I do every day and I usually spend quite a bit of time on it. Unless it's a riding lawnmower. I don't see how that counts but they have that on MFP for calories burned as well.
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  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    Everything burns calories, even thinking.

    I think I better eat back a calorie for that thought.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    randomtai wrote: »
    How much does worrying about what other people log burn? :huh:

    So I get a cookie now?
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    Some people log every single movement they make, eat back the calories and then complain they aren't losing weight. You will never convince them that's not the way to do it, so just let it go. Eyes on your own plate as they say.
  • Some_Watery_Tart
    Some_Watery_Tart Posts: 2,250 Member
    It doesn't count as exercise I hate people who do this and remove them from my friends list all the time!

    I've seen people log
    -reading
    -driving
    -studying
    -cleaning
    -gardening

    All this *kitten* isn't exercise, go to the gym ... put in the work!!!!! stop justifying over eating by logging miniscule daily tasks that your body is already accustom to.
    Clearly you don't garden much. I assure you, I'm just as sore from a day in my garden as I am after a good workout.
  • TMLPatrick
    TMLPatrick Posts: 558 Member
    +1 for the people defending gardening.... 4 hours of gardening can really kick your butt, if you're doing it right....
  • kaseyr1505
    kaseyr1505 Posts: 624 Member
    MFP lies.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    The calorie burns and your logs are just an estimate. If you need to invent stuff then its probable that you just end up cheating yourself. Whether you burn calories or not your body knows.
  • dietcoke281
    dietcoke281 Posts: 226 Member
    One of my friends once posted a calorie burn for "self pleasure"!
    But yeah, I hate when people count stupid stuff for calorie burns.
  • allanakern
    allanakern Posts: 245 Member
    lol! people are crazy and in denial.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    randomtai wrote: »
    How much does worrying about what other people log burn? :huh:

    So I get a cookie now?
    As long as you log it. Emoticon_cookie.png

    I don't care what people log as exercise. I blindly click the thumbs up and say "Good job!".
  • stephanieluvspb
    stephanieluvspb Posts: 997 Member
    And then they start a new thread titled not losing weight and I don't know why
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    zyxst wrote: »
    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    randomtai wrote: »
    How much does worrying about what other people log burn? :huh:

    So I get a cookie now?
    As long as you log it. Emoticon_cookie.png

    I don't care what people log as exercise. I blindly click the thumbs up and say "Good job!".

    Laughs, I log gum!
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    And then they start a new thread titled not losing weight and I don't know why

    Yep!
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
    segacs wrote: »
    What people don't understand is that "sedentary" is NOT the same as BMR.

    BMR is the number of calories you would burn if you were essentially in a coma all day. The "sedentary" setting on MFP already includes a certain number of calories over your BMR. This accounts for a normal activity level of someone who sits around most of the day. This includes walks to and from the bathroom, around the house, light cooking or housework, trips to the corner store, using the computer, watching TV, all the normal stuff that forms a part of an otherwise fairly inactive life.

    This stuff is all BUILT IN to your calorie estimate already. Logging it again is double-counting those minimal calories.

    Use "sedentary" and then ONLY log workouts that are over and above your normal daily activity. Otherwise, you'll think you need to eat more calories than you actually do, folks!

    I'm glad there are some people that actually get it. Sedentary can include walking a mile or two, driving, etc. I've seen people claim that they could have an extra slice of pizza because they drove for 5 or 6 hours yet can't explain how that is somehow different from working at a desk.
This discussion has been closed.