Ok I'll bite - is "cooking and food prep" really exercise?
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a lot of these people are disabled or chronically ill. I'm often bed bound so if I manage a small walk, I do log it, even if it is 5 minutes. Some of my friends on here have similar illnesses or physical challenges, a bit of cleaning or whatever is movement or activity that they can't usually manage
It might seem " pathetic" to you, but if that is a small achievement for someone who is normally too unwell to manage it, then yes they'll log it
Thanks, I didn't know that.
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I'm chronically ill and wouldn't put cooking as exercise or the 30+ times a day during a bad flare running to the bathroom. It's just a part of life.0
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Colorscheme wrote: »I don't know, when I cook I take steps so I do end up exercising a little, lol. Thanks, Fitbit.
As you do doing everything else in life, like walking to the bathroom. Thus: lifestyle.0 -
Depends on the prep. Cooking a normal from scratch meal at home? No.
Volunteering for a homeless meal at church where I'm on the go for 4 straight hours in a panicked rush going back and forth for supplies, hauling out garbage, shifting around Nesco roasters, chopping, mixing, serving, wiping down tables, mopping floors, washing dishes, drying, and stacking dishes and working up a sweat the whole time? Yes.
Until you've cooked in the latter situation, I can totally see the doubt. But do that once, and you'll know why it's logged! (Not saying that some people won't cheat, but seriously, that only hurts their weight loss, but for those that do, it's nice to have!)
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I see it all over my feed, people burning hundreds of calories by cooking! I wear a step counter, and I spent 2h cooking today, and my step counter told me I have burned no calories. Is this real?
Some people's cooking is more physically strenuous than other people's cooking. If you were carrying large heavy bags of rice, moving heavy pots of water, peeling and chopping, kneading dough by hand, climbing step ladders or bending to get things out of cupboards repeatedly, walking back and forth across a large kitchen, etc that is different activity and would burn more calories than taking few steps in a small kitchen, cutting a few things and stirring a pot.
I don't usually log it because cooking is normal everyday activity for me.0 -
a lot of these people are disabled or chronically ill. I'm often bed bound so if I manage a small walk, I do log it, even if it is 5 minutes. Some of my friends on here have similar illnesses or physical challenges, a bit of cleaning or whatever is movement or activity that they can't usually manage
It might seem " pathetic" to you, but if that is a small achievement for someone who is normally too unwell to manage it, then yes they'll log it
I did not use the word "pathetic"! I think every person on my feed is fantastic, and I would never criticize someone who had difficulty with "ordinary" things like cooking and cleaning. I myself rarely do it, as I live with my family and just don't have those responsibilities too often.
This is totally a valid point that I didn't think of. I've seen people log it daily. If it was say 10 calories burned for 20 minutes of cooking/cleaning, it would seem reasonable and I'd think nothing of it, I might have done it myself. But I see hundreds of calories logged, something like 200 for an hour, and it seemed off to me. I wondered what people's perception of it was, so I posted to the forum here.
I suppose, from people's responses, either it takes an extraordinary amount of energy for a person to cook/clean (as in the situation you describe), or they live in a setting where it would be difficult to cook/clean (eg. w/o electricity), or they are simply searching for some extra calories (as other people posted).
No you're right I'm sorry I should have made it clearer that it wasn't you that said pathetic.
If I sounded grumpy it wasn't at you personally, as I understand that it is a strange thing for an able bodied person to wonder about. I can be bed bound for days on end therefore I guess I'm literally the most sedentary a person can be and at tdee. So when I have a day when I'm up and moving it isn't the norm for me, so I would then log things that might seem very small or for the average person a normal part of their day. Hope that makes sense
angelamichelle_xo wrote: »pathetic
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no. not for the average person.
neither is cleaning your house, taking out the trash or washing dishes.
now for my ex, who is disabled and partially paralyzed.... yes.doing those types or normal activities takes a HUGE amount of effort for him, and really isn't possible many times.
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VictoryGarden wrote: »Depends on the prep. Cooking a normal from scratch meal at home? No.
Volunteering for a homeless meal at church where I'm on the go for 4 straight hours in a panicked rush going back and forth for supplies, hauling out garbage, shifting around Nesco roasters, chopping, mixing, serving, wiping down tables, mopping floors, washing dishes, drying, and stacking dishes and working up a sweat the whole time? Yes.
Until you've cooked in the latter situation, I can totally see the doubt. But do that once, and you'll know why it's logged! (Not saying that some people won't cheat, but seriously, that only hurts their weight loss, but for those that do, it's nice to have!)
Wow! When I've volunteered cooking for homeless people it was a looooot calmer. It was probably about 3h but you rotated through dif jobs (like I collected plates, washed dishes, and served eggs). But I wasn't in charge of anything, so making things run smoothly wasn't my job. But for sure if you're that busy I'd see it logged, but I'd also see a step counter probably catching that for you.0 -
a lot of these people are disabled or chronically ill. I'm often bed bound so if I manage a small walk, I do log it, even if it is 5 minutes. Some of my friends on here have similar illnesses or physical challenges, a bit of cleaning or whatever is movement or activity that they can't usually manage
It might seem " pathetic" to you, but if that is a small achievement for someone who is normally too unwell to manage it, then yes they'll log it
I did not use the word "pathetic"! I think every person on my feed is fantastic, and I would never criticize someone who had difficulty with "ordinary" things like cooking and cleaning. I myself rarely do it, as I live with my family and just don't have those responsibilities too often.
This is totally a valid point that I didn't think of. I've seen people log it daily. If it was say 10 calories burned for 20 minutes of cooking/cleaning, it would seem reasonable and I'd think nothing of it, I might have done it myself. But I see hundreds of calories logged, something like 200 for an hour, and it seemed off to me. I wondered what people's perception of it was, so I posted to the forum here.
I suppose, from people's responses, either it takes an extraordinary amount of energy for a person to cook/clean (as in the situation you describe), or they live in a setting where it would be difficult to cook/clean (eg. w/o electricity), or they are simply searching for some extra calories (as other people posted).
No you're right I'm sorry I should have made it clearer that it wasn't you that said pathetic.
If I sounded grumpy it wasn't at you personally, as I understand that it is a strange thing for an able bodied person to wonder about. I can be bed bound for days on end therefore I guess I'm literally the most sedentary a person can be and at tdee. So when I have a day when I'm up and moving it isn't the norm for me, so I would then log things that might seem very small or for the average person a normal part of their day. Hope that makes senseangelamichelle_xo wrote: »pathetic
Oh ok! Yes thank you, I hadn't seen that other post. And thank you for your input, I can definitely see the use of logging it now!0 -
Can I just say bravo to the lovely people volunteering with the homeless
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One thing to consider OP, is that although they logged the exercise calories, they may not always be eating them back - either over the course of the day, or week. They may be logging it for the same reason I still log exercise - to have something on the newsfeed, get some encouragement, maybe get some chats and discussions going, etc0
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I.... guess it counts loosely as "activity", if your daily calories are set to your RMR and you're logging absolutely everything you do..........????? I mean, you're burning more calories than if you were sitting on your butt. Though it's still kind of a stretch.
Or maybe the people on your feed are doing squats with 20lb turkeys. You never know.
Hahaha 20lb turkey0 -
CassidyScaglione wrote: »Or, you know... if this is your kitchen:
Or if you are this guy:
I'm just now realizing there are penguins in this kitchen...0 -
One thing to consider OP, is that although they logged the exercise calories, they may not always be eating them back - either over the course of the day, or week. They may be logging it for the same reason I still log exercise - to have something on the newsfeed, get some encouragement, maybe get some chats and discussions going, etc
Noted, thank you!0 -
CassidyScaglione wrote: »CassidyScaglione wrote: »Or, you know... if this is your kitchen:
I'm just now realizing there are penguins in this kitchen...
Lol I did a double take when I saw the Penguins. The first time I looked at the photo, I was too busy thinking I wish that was my kitchen!0 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »Not for me. It's part of "lifestyle".
That's what I'd think too. I'm sure there are people who do a lot of walking/moving etc. for hours prepping food. But if that's a regular thing, like for your job, I'd probably change my activity level from low to medium or something. Not log it every time.
Now if you normally sit on your butt all day and then on saturday spend 7 hours on your feet moving around helping prepare a large meal somewhere, ok, you could probably count that as an hour of walking or something.
But I have a feeling those people are going to be sad they aren't losing weight after burning all those extra calories.0 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »Not for me. It's part of "lifestyle".
That's what I'd think too. I'm sure there are people who do a lot of walking/moving etc. for hours prepping food. But if that's a regular thing, like for your job, I'd probably change my activity level from low to medium or something. Not log it every time.
Now if you normally sit on your butt all day and then on saturday spend 7 hours on your feet moving around helping prepare a large meal somewhere, ok, you could probably count that as an hour of walking or something.
But I have a feeling those people are going to be sad they aren't losing weight after burning all those extra calories.
Other option: get an activity tracker and go by that. They know when the steps are fast or slow and adjust the calorie burn accordingly. After I get my initial ~4500 steps (the level for sedentary) I get maybe 15 calories for 1000 casual steps (like cooking or housecleaning) but get closer to 40-50 for 1000 steps of actual fitness walking (3.5-4 MPH). When I teach, it is kind of in between because I may be on my feet most of the day, but it is a combination of casual steps and purposeful steps when I change classrooms or have recess duty. I do not log anything except swimming and water aerobics. I know my Garmin calorie adjustment is pretty close to accurate because I have been losing at an expected pace.0 -
CassidyScaglione wrote: »CassidyScaglione wrote: »Or, you know... if this is your kitchen:
I'm just now realizing there are penguins in this kitchen...
Lol I did a double take when I saw the Penguins. The first time I looked at the photo, I was too busy thinking I wish that was my kitchen!
I saw them. I first thought that this was probably the hotel in Memphis (I think) that has the penguins that live in the lobby fountain but I see that it is an "eat-in" kitchen. I would love to have about 20% of that kitchen. More space than my little galley.0 -
Nope.I see it all over my feed, people burning hundreds of calories by cooking! I wear a step counter, and I spent 2h cooking today, and my step counter told me I have burned no calories. Is this real?
Cooking isn't exercise.
Picking your nose isn't exercise.
Reaching for something on the top shelf isn't exercise.
Doing laundry isn't exercise.
Netflix marathons aren't exercise (despite the deceptive name).
Rubbing the dog's belly isn't exercise.
Battling internet trolls isn't exercise.
A bubble bath isn't exercise.
Playing armchair quarterback isn't exercise.
Cursing after stepping on a lego isn't exercise.
BUT. You'll find people who log those things anyways. They're just lying to themselves.0 -
Nope.I see it all over my feed, people burning hundreds of calories by cooking! I wear a step counter, and I spent 2h cooking today, and my step counter told me I have burned no calories. Is this real?
Cooking isn't exercise.
Picking your nose isn't exercise.
Reaching for something on the top shelf isn't exercise.
Doing laundry isn't exercise.
Netflix marathons aren't exercise (despite the deceptive name).
Rubbing the dog's belly isn't exercise.
Battling internet trolls isn't exercise.
A bubble bath isn't exercise.
Playing armchair quarterback isn't exercise.
Cursing after stepping on a lego isn't exercise.
BUT. You'll find people who log those things anyways. They're just lying to themselves.
You do put yourself at risk of carpal tunnel syndrome however.
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If Im doing something and someone asks "what are you doing?"...and my answer isnt "exercising" or "working out" it doesnt get logged. And "activity" starts when Ive been doing it for 10-15mins. The rest is just life.0
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Ah yes, the "If it makes a fat person sweat it must be cardio" rule. People will defend that nonsense to the death. Absolutely no one is fooled except the people logging it.
After a while you just start being amused by the bizarre things people want to reward themselves with MOAR FOOD for doing.0 -
CassidyScaglione wrote: »CassidyScaglione wrote: »Or, you know... if this is your kitchen:
I'm just now realizing there are penguins in this kitchen...
Lol I did a double take when I saw the Penguins. The first time I looked at the photo, I was too busy thinking I wish that was my kitchen!
I'd take it with the penguins... probably you'd get lots of exercise chasing them around too.0 -
It depends. I do have people on my list that do it -- in most cases what they are logging falls outside of what they usually do. I log heavy cleaning a few times a year when I clear my house out and wash down walls.
Be annoyed if they do that and complain they aren't losing weight.0
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