Walking the dog

Lleldiranne

I personally don't log "slow" walks, cleaning or things like that. However, people are at different levels. I always say something is better than nothing.

I don't have a dog, can I log walking my pet rock?! Wish I had a cute doggy, but I'm never home.

Well, depending on how big your pet rock is, and how fast you walk it, that could be a pretty intense workout! :laugh:

bcattoes

I have to rant!!! Walking the dog for 10 min. and "burning" 30 calories is NOT exercise!!!! I am so sick of seeing that and then the person "eats" their "workout" calories back. Then she wonders why she is not losing! Probably because you are eating above your macro goals.

Eating doesn't make you gain but eating above calories "burned" does!!! DUH

OK-I'm done. :drinker:

So ... this person burns 30 calories, then eats 30 calories and this causes weight gain? :huh:

kiekokay

Ha! I wanted to quote one, but I just love all these responses!

In summary though; walking is better than nothing, and walking with a crazy large dog is definitely exercise!! Anyone who says otherwise can take mine out for a stroll :bigsmile:

Duck_Puddle

Then you must really dislike me. I wear a bodymedia armband that tracks my activity level & calories burned all day long. Including walking the dog for 10 minutes or less and such mundane tasks as doing laundry & washing dishes. It's ridiculous to think that any kind of activity really does burn more calories than sitting on the couch. I suppose I really need to reconsider this-I'll never lose weight if I keep going like this.

PS-walking my 100 lb demon spawn puppy is actually a pretty decent full body workout. She's just freaking nuts.

Hey, if this is about you, my hat is off to you, 79lbs lost is nothing to laugh at. CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

BTW, I'm walking two of my dogs for them this afternoon but I'll be wearing my HRM and logging it too!

Ha. No, it's not about me (I don't think. I'm not friends with OP and I only log my time for "workouts"-all my exercise calories come from the armband-regardless of how they were "earned").

And we have 2 dogs as well. The demon spawn yellow lab/satan mix puppy and a nearly 10 year old husky mix. Only my husband can walk both of them together. The husky is good, the lab? Well, maybe someday.

Glndgd63

I am paritally disabled. Walking 10 minutes for me is equivalent to some of you running a marathon. Just because that is the limit of what my body can handle at that moment, doesn't mean it isn't exercise for my body. I am starting with the 10, 20, 30 minutes walking and hopefully over time I can build up to more. But I am proud of my 10, 20, 30 minute walks now, because a month ago, I wasn't even doing that much !

hannamarie88

Guess you don't have a dog or have never walked a dog...? My dog pulls and we walk pretty fast. He's a puppy and rather wild.

And. You are just mean. I wear my HRM when I walk my dog and it is definitely exercise because I am doing physical activity. If she's using MFP to track and has it set to sedentary and the very high deficit then it does count. It makes her feel better to be moving and this is her journey, not yours.

Quit being such a Judgy McJudgerson.

professorRAT

I thought this was going to be about yo-yo tricks. :grumble:

Pixi_Rex

I have a rant!!
I hate judgey people who figure everyone has the same activity level as them. Maybe 10 minutes of walking the dog is exercise. If they do it 3 times a day thats 30 minutes, just split up.

Also my BMF says walking for 10 minutes is exercise... so PFFFTTT...

:flowerforyou:

peeaanuut

The "your level of exercise isnt up to my level so you arent doing any exercise" rants are always my favorite to read because OP always gets tossed like a rag doll by the rest of the forum.

brendaj39

<<<<dog walker for a living...I do 6 30 minute dog walks a day and that adds up to well over 10K steps per day....you bet your sweet @ss I'm logging that *kitten* ::flounce::

I'd quit worrying about other people and keep my eyes on my own paper if I were you :blushing:

I love your posts...you say such wise things... and what a cool job, :flowerforyou:

BeachIron

The "your level of exercise isnt up to my level so you arent doing any exercise" rants are always my favorite to read because OP always gets tossed like a rag doll by the rest of the forum.

They're even better when these turn into "mean people" threads and the OP accuses everyone of being mean in response to the mean spirited OP, and everyone points out the obvious, and then there is white knighting and kitten gifs . . . MFP is nothing if not predictable.

Myhaloslipped

I live in Detroit, so it's smart to take some kind of weapon when you exercise here, even though I live in one of the nice neighborhoods. Lately I have been walking (running) my neighbor's Rottweiler for him. What a workout! Also, walking this dog definitely solves the safety/protection issue. No one will come within 20 feet of me, lol.

sfdf40

10 minutes is 10 minutes. You do what you can.

PaulHalicki

I have to rant!!! Walking the dog for 10 min. and "burning" 30 calories is NOT exercise!!!! I am so sick of seeing that and then the person "eats" their "workout" calories back. Then she wonders why she is not losing! Probably because you are eating above your macro goals.

Eating doesn't make you gain but eating above calories "burned" does!!! DUH

OK-I'm done. :drinker:

I'm inclined to agree with you. I enter walking the dog into MFP, but I don't think it really gives me benefit worth claiming. Also, I ride bicycles with my wife, but compared to my normal pace, she's rather slow, so same thing; I don't think it benefits me at all. I'm thinking I just won't enter them anymore and only enter bike rides by myself or with faster groups, or walking by myself (minus the dog) when I keep a quicker pace.

I don't hate people who are logging everything though. It's in the database so people enter it. I think the calorie credit for that kind of exercise is greatly overstated though.

AlsDonkBoxSquat

Research shows that people who have a good relationship with their dogs tend to have a better relationship with everyone in their lives and tend to have lower body fat overall than those who have no dogs in their life.

Based upon this I suggest the OP 1 - get a dog, or if they already have a dog 2 - improve their relationship with their dog.

Maybe if you focus more on you and less on others?

If the person is struggling to lose weight it's not because of 30 - 50 calories for a dog walk, it's a lot of other reasons (under estimating food consumption tends to be a big one). Maybe you could be a positive influence and suggest other areas that the person can improve . . .

SwitzEngine

When I walk with my 70kg St Bernhard I go for 45-90 min. I burn like 300-400 calories and I log them. Everybody should log what he wants.

slim4health56

I have actually seen someone log calories burned for smoking a cigarette. So, all things being equal, logging a few calories burned for taking a walk with one's dog(s) seems harmless. Too, maybe they've just started their journey and are working up to longer walks. Frankly, I wouldn't know how to log walking my two dogs...there's no place that gives an estimate for controlling two fifty lb. dogs who lunge at rabbits and other critters on the trails. I just chalk it up as a little resistance workout and enjoy nature (and my dogs). Chill.

Stage14

I also have to wonder if 10 min of walking "the dog" isn't possibly part of a larger something (though if that's all she's doing, hey she's still doing SOMETHING!). I know when I first joined on here, before I had a HRM or any clue how to calculate my calories burned, I logged every single thing I did in a workout to try and get as accurate a calorie count as possible. It wasn't at all odd to see my 10 minutes of moderate walking for warm up and cool down logged right alongside my main cardio and strength activities, as well as 4-6 minutes of stretching.

1shauna1

I don't count my dog walking as exercise because, well, the way my dogs go about it, it's no exercise for me! They're all over the place sniffing, and I'm left standing waiting for them! lol

smily_001

Really? How does this effect you in anyway? I walk my dog anywhere between 2-4 miles, wear my hrm and burn over 300 cals. I don't eat them back but if I did that would nit affect you I'm any way. Oh and I've lost over 100lbs.