What physical activity should I log?

cyoung0317

Hi everyone,

I was wondering what physical activity you log. For example, I am a student at the University of Illinois. I walk or bike to and from class and home every day. Then, I go to the store and walk around for another 20 minutes. Should I be logging my walking at the store and in-between class?

I always log my planned exercise like runs, hikes, gymnastics, etc. But, I wanted your opinion on when it's right to log the walking between exercise.

Thank you in advance!

OneThrone

That's a question I think about sometimes, too. I didn't have an activity tracker when I started my weight loss, so I would be wondering how much I burned cleaning on Saturdays and I didn't log it, but I would see others logging their cleaning. There are also times when I'm running around campus. I work at a University, and I'm often walking from building to other building several times a day and I'm not tracking that and wonder how many calories I burn. I use the Mapmyfitness app, but it really only works when you're actually moving distances, so it doesn't calculate if I'm on the treadmill. I can manually plug my work out after completing a workout on the treadmill, but I don't like that for the curiosity of how accurate that is.

Anyway, mapmyfitness is a great to log my walks because it works off of GPS. There are times when I will choose to make my walk to the grocery store if I only need a few items and don't have lots to haul back. For some reason, I pause the app when I get inside. When I leave I think I should have been logging my time walking around inside the grocery store. With that said, I decided to get a fitbit, so that way I can just wear it and sync it to all of my apps and then I don't have to worry about logging certain activities or not. It will always be calculating. My fitbit hasn't arrived yet, but several people at my job have it and love the ease of use. So, I'm excited to get it.

Oh_Allie

Somebody posted on a different thread a few weeks ago that the only activity they log are things that they do specifically to burn calories and I've been following that ever since. It just makes sense to me.

Broderick50

I personaly only log my planned exercises, but if you want to be exact those little walks and cleaning and such adds up quick. My thing is that some of those other things are day to day things and I'm not doing them for the calorie burn I'm doing them cause it has to be done so I don't log it. But as far as the biking to class and walking to class I would def log that on the few days that I walk to work I log that.

SkinnyFatAlbert

Light cleaning, dog walking, shopping, stroller pushing...

a_doublej

Log what you normally wouldn't do in your daily routine. Do NOT log cleaning. You've cleaned before your weight loss journey and you're still trying to lose weight right?

nicoleisback

If you are walking/biking every day, then this should be taken in to account in your lifestyle (sedentary, lightly active, etc) rather than added as exercise. The rule I use is anything that I do specifically to exercise I add, but things like light cleaning and any walk under 30 minutes I don't log. On the other hand about once a month I do a big clean up (on hands and knees scrubbing floors, moving furniture, etc) and that I do log.

susanpagegetsfit

I log my workouts and let my fitbit sync with My Fitness Pal for the rest!

LisaUlrey

[/quote]
Anyway, mapmyfitness is a great to log my walks because it works off of GPS. There are times when I will choose to make my walk to the grocery store if I only need a few items and don't have lots to haul back. For some reason, I pause the app when I get inside. When I leave I think I should have been logging my time walking around inside the grocery store. With that said, I decided to get a fitbit, so that way I can just wear it and sync it to all of my apps and then I don't have to worry about logging certain activities or not. It will always be calculating. My fitbit hasn't arrived yet, but several people at my job have it and love the ease of use. So, I'm excited to get it.
[/quote]

I am thinking of getting a fitbit too. I am really stuck on which to get. The fitbit one or flex. Which did you decide on and why?

Rigi8

Hi

I seriously recommend investing in a Fitbit - it does all the hard work for you. You just clip it on and it automatically counts your steps, how active you are and depending on which model, flights of stairs climbed and quality of aleep. I have had a 'fitbit one' since August and think it's great. It cetainly has motivated me to do more steps and it easily syncs with mfp to give you a calorie adjustment depending on how much you have done.

This takes away the need to log individual physical activity, except for things like swimming. If you do add a physical exercise on mfp this is taken into account when the fitbit awards the calorie adjustment - very clever. I even let the fitbit do the calculation when I do a spinning class as I then wear it on my sock so that steps are registered.

LisaUlrey

That's a question I think about sometimes, too. I didn't have an activity tracker when I started my weight loss, so I would be wondering how much I burned cleaning on Saturdays and I didn't log it, but I would see others logging their cleaning. There are also times when I'm running around campus. I work at a University, and I'm often walking from building to other building several times a day and I'm not tracking that and wonder how many calories I burn. I use the Mapmyfitness app, but it really only works when you're actually moving distances, so it doesn't calculate if I'm on the treadmill. I can manually plug my work out after completing a workout on the treadmill, but I don't like that for the curiosity of how accurate that is.

Anyway, mapmyfitness is a great to log my walks because it works off of GPS. There are times when I will choose to make my walk to the grocery store if I only need a few items and don't have lots to haul back. For some reason, I pause the app when I get inside. When I leave I think I should have been logging my time walking around inside the grocery store. With that said, I decided to get a fitbit, so that way I can just wear it and sync it to all of my apps and then I don't have to worry about logging certain activities or not. It will always be calculating. My fitbit hasn't arrived yet, but several people at my job have it and love the ease of use. So, I'm excited to get it.

I seemed to screw up my previous quote...anyways....I was curious as to what fitbit you picked and why? I am trying to decide between the fitbit flex and the fitbit one. Really can't make up my mind.

SteveHunt113

My attitude is always to under log exercise and over log food. I only log planned exercise intended to burn calories. When I go to the gym, I start out with lifting weights, and then do my cardio. I only log the cardio session. There are a couple reasons why, but since my goal is to lose weight, under logging my exercise helps ensure I don't go over with food.

Something to consider is the setting you used for your daily activity level. If you selected sedentary, adding the biking and walking wouldn't hurt. But if you set your level to active, you could look at logging the biking and walking as a double entry (so to speak).

I think the best rule of thumb would be, if the current method of logging activity results in you meeting your weight loss goals, then what you are doing is working for you. If you are not meeting your weight loss goals, you may need to look closer at how you are logging things.

erikmsp72

It depends on what you've set MFP to consider as your base level of activity. I told it I was sedentary and did no workouts -- so, I log everything -- walking the dog, working out, cleaning the house.

If I told it I was "very active" it would already factor some of that activity into its system, I suppose.

mumblemagic

I walk to and from the bus stop every weekday, about 20 mins but don't do this at the weekend. So I set my calories to sedentary, and log my walks to and from the bus stop, any prolonged cleaning I do (more than 15 mins), as well as any structured excercise e.g. running or swimming. That way on days e.g. at the weekend when I don't walk to the bus stop, don't do any excercise, slack on the cleaning, and generally vegitat, I know how many calories I can eat and still lose weight. I then also reward myself on days where I have built in a little bit extra activity e.g. by walking to the shops rather than getting the bus.

(Slight caveat - I sometimes walk to the shop at lunch time, but as it's about 3-4 mins I don't see the point in logging it )

DeeDoy

I only log planned exercise too. Think the advice of putting your status to lightly active if you are walking between places etc is sound

aerochic42

actually I jsut wanted to say Go Illini!

BossLadyDSimp

If you have the funds I would try getting a FitBit. I found that I wasn't getting an accurate read on what activity I was doing. Now I get all the steps from going to the store, walking to work, cleaning the house, and the exercise when I am working out. I got it for graduation and I wear it everyday. It is the 2nd best thing I have purchased for weightloss (the first being a scale to weigh food).

Thoughts?

FindingAmy77

I would suggest to set your daily activity setting to very active then you wont have to log all that low impact walking you are doing.

Ready2Rock206

I upped my activity level to lightly active and wear a FitBit One - I log nothing. Makes life so much easier!