Standing - how would you log it for mild exercise?

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  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
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    MidModJenn wrote: »
    Have any of you ever logged "standing" in some way as exercise? I'm not talking about standing in line at the grocery store for a few minutes... I mean like many hours of standing such as at a concert or a party. Last night I was at a cocktail party where I stood / walked around for 5 hours non-stop in heels... Of course it wasn't a major workout, but I want to capture it (and offset my nibbles at the party)... my only real options seem to be choosing "fishing while standing", or choosing "walking 2.0 pace" and lessening the amount of time I did it. Any suggestions? :)

    I have one MFP friend who often logs "Standing at desk, working". I would consider logging it as you were both standing and walking around. Without an accurate count of how much you stopped or moved, I would split the 5 hours in half, and log it as "Walking, 2.0mph, slow pace". Just my opinion.
  • MidModJenn
    MidModJenn Posts: 216 Member
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    @TonyB0588 - thanks. I checked out both options this morning - halving the time and doing 2.0 walking gave me ~300 exercise calories... 5 hours of fishing while standing gave me ~150 calories. I chose fishing so the calorie count would be more conservative.

    @jayemes - not to split hairs, but it was my legs and butt (and back) that hurt this morning, not my feet. which is why I wondered if it could count as mild exercise.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,145 Member
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    zannatagged wrote: »
    Log it anyway, if you're disabled or have any kind of physical issues these things count. Don't let anyone on here tell you something doesn't matter. All the best on your journey ;) xox

    The question you have to ask yourself is ... are you losing weight when you count these things as exercise.

    If yes ... then great. Keep doing what you are doing.

    If no ... then stop logging them.

    You can put whatever you want in your diary . .. but your body follows the real math .
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    You can do what you want. Logging is just an academic exercise--you will lose weight if you sustain a deficit, regardless of how you do your accounting. Some people are motivated by seeing a running total of small activities; others figure ignoring it creates a "cushion" to make sure they don't go over. (Others use the TDEE method and don't log at all).

    The caution I urge about taking the "nickel and dime" approach is not a moral judgement, but a practical concern.

    Even when someone lists their lifestyle as "sedentary", there is still an allowance for everyday activity. That allowance is an average number of calories--it's not an automatic "credit". Some days you might burn a little more, some days a little less. You often can't be really sure if that "standing" or "housework" you are claiming actually represents extra calories over and above your allowance. If you were really sedentary the rest of the day, it might not be any extra at all.

    The second thing to consider is BMR, i.e. Resting metabolism. That has to be subtracted from any activity calorie burn. For these low-level calorie burning activities, the amount may be completely trivial after subtracting BMR. The extra 150 or so calories might only be 75 NET calories.
  • wheelieguy79
    wheelieguy79 Posts: 5 Member
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    I am disabled, I have a degenerative bone disease that is not only painful but limits my mobility as well. I try to move around as much as possible. I had read that every hour you should try to do some type of movement if possible. I set my phone to alert me to get up and just even walk around for a couple of minutes. I also do try to fit in some sort of measurable exercise 3 to 5 days a week, though it depends on how bad the pain is. I think really diet is the more important part of this equation, and I think most of my weight loss has come from use sticking to a calorie deficient.

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