Should I log walking to class as exercise?

kkullberg431

Hey! I'm a college student so I do a lot of walking to and from class. If each walk is around 10 minutes, I do at least an hour of walking everyday. Should I log this as exercise throughout the day?

thebrinkofdespair

I would.

I count shopping.

Regards
tbod

TR0berts

No. It's part of your everyday normal life. Only count "extra" activities.

FreshKrisKreash

Nah I wouldn't. You don't want to end up eating too much to make up for a burn that small. Not worth it.

bcattoes

If you have set your activity level as sedentary, then log it. But if you accounted for that walking when you set your activity level, then no, do not log it.

19TaraLynn84

If it's something you do most days of the week, factor it into your activity level.

KarenJanine

If it's not already, set your MFP to lightly active or active. This will account for the walking you do.

Zelinna

If you have set your activity level as sedentary, then log it. But if you accounted for that walking when you set your activity level, then no, do not log it.

^ This

colibri23

It just depends on what activity level you've already set for yourself. If you put yourself as "lightly active" because of these walks, then don't count them as exercise because those calories are already accounted for in your calorie bank. I personally set myself at "sedentary" and then count walking to/from work as exercise. However I ALWAYS lower the estimation that MFP gives (I don't own a heart rate monitor) as far as calories burned; I also try to incorporate other activities such as walking 3-4 flights of stairs a few times during the day and I don't count those exercise minutes. This strategy allows for a margin of error, and ensures that I'm not overestimating my calories burned.

theJTfitness

I wouldn't log it. Easy to overestimate on these calories.

deksgrl

Set your profile to reflect what you actually do in your day to day life, not including purposeful exercise. Only log the purposeful exercise.

CharzieGirl

If you walk at a fast pace (4.0 mph, power walking), then I would log it. Fast walking is some pretty good cardio.

But if you're walking at a leisurely pace, then no, I wouldn't log it as exercise.

EDollah

This is when a Fitbit come in handy. I don't ever have to log walking because if I do happen to burn enough calories walking in a day, the Fitbit will capture that data without my logging it.

WaterBunnie

This is when a Fitbit come in handy. I don't ever have to log walking because if I do happen to burn enough calories walking in a day, the Fitbit will capture that data without my logging it.

I'd go along with this advice. If you have a fair bit to lose it's a good long term investment. If you haven't I'd say to set yourself as lightly active as sedentary only really covers around 2.5 miles a day.

kuderstadt

I wouldn't log it… it's just part of life.

rosebette

I teach on a big campus and wear a pedometer. On days that I teach, I do approximately 2 to 2 1/2 miles of walking, but I don't count it because I'm set to "lightly active." However, I walk a mile and a half (30 minutes) uninterrupted around my neighborhood, and I do log that. It doesn't make that much of a difference calorie-wise -- about 90 calories, so wow, I get to eat an apple or a lowfat yogurt.

Sweet_Potato

I live in a city and do a lot of walking. My rule is anything over 10 minutes gets logged. This encourages me to walk places instead of taking public transit or driving (the 10-minute-or-less trips I'd be walking for regardless). I don't have a typical routine when it comes to walking places, and I have my activity level set as sedentary. An hour of walking only burns about 150 calories, so I'm not very concerned about gaining too many exercise calories back. All my walking does is allow me to have a glass of wine or something later.

debrakgoogins

This is when a Fitbit come in handy. I don't ever have to log walking because if I do happen to burn enough calories walking in a day, the Fitbit will capture that data without my logging it.

Agreed!

neilemon

It would depend on how you set up your goals. When you get to: How would you describe your normal daily activities?, if you were to pick "Lightly Active" or "Active", you probably don't need to add it as exercise.

Sweet_Potato

Nah I wouldn't. You don't want to end up eating too much to make up for a burn that small. Not worth it.

It would only be about 100-200 calories. Not really that much.

susannamarie

I always set myself to sedentary and logged it, because it gave me motivation to walk instead of taking the bus, and to include little detours to stretch it out more.

tk2222

I don't usually log walking to class, errands, etc - it's too fluctuating and pretty small amounts, and I don't want to give myself that leeway. Also, I try to keep from getting too obsessive with logging so as not to burn out. I want to keep track of my exercise, not exhaustively quantify every single thing in my life. It's very tempting to have all those numbers to play with, but I know it's ultimately counterproductive for me in terms of long-term sustainability and making a genuine lifestyle change rather than it just being a project i'm doing on myself for a little while.

ValeriePlz

I usually only log walks if they are over 1 mile.

nikkineidigh

I started walking a few days ago for at least twenty minutes before I hit forty five minutes. If you stick with your diet, drink a lot of water; you lose a few pounds in a week. I lost three pounds already by walking.