Exercise you dont "count"

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Replies

  • Strokingdiction
    Strokingdiction Posts: 1,164 Member
    pooing

    peeing

    lifting my fork to my mouth

    swallowing

    I'm missing out on so many activities!
  • lilchino4af
    lilchino4af Posts: 1,292 Member
    I only count my weight training, runs & yoga. Everything else I consider my life.
    Ditto. Unless those rare, once every couple of months deep cleanings I give my house & yard (spring, fall) that takes hours and is a workout in and of itself. But even then I will only log it for 80% of the total time to make sure I don't over estimate calories burned.
  • justal313
    justal313 Posts: 1,375 Member
    I don't log sexual activity especially since my wife told me if I wore the heartrate monitor to bed she'd cut it off.

    I don't log moving around my office or any heavy lifting of stuff at work. I do log my lunchtime walk (2 1/2 miles) however..
  • Strokingdiction
    Strokingdiction Posts: 1,164 Member
    I don't log sexual activity especially since my wife told me if I wore the heartrate monitor to bed she'd cut it off.

    I don't log moving around my office or any heavy lifting of stuff at work. I do log my lunchtime walk (2 1/2 miles) however..

    the heartrate monitor or...
  • GertrudeHorse
    GertrudeHorse Posts: 646 Member
    I log most stuff that makes me sweat for a sustained period of time. Or stuff that is really out of my ordinary routine.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    I use the TDEE method - I count any actual exercise as 2 calories to track it but that's it.
  • _KitKat_
    _KitKat_ Posts: 1,066 Member
    I only count the gym, and even that i forget to log. Hikes, swimming and walking the dog are things I don't include because they are things I have always done. I gained my weight doing all of that stuff so I find no reason to include it, its more just a part of my life. Now cleaning the garage this weekend should provide a great burn but probably won't log that even.
  • mitchiejo
    mitchiejo Posts: 179 Member
    The only thing I log as exercise is actual workouts, strength training and shoveling snow. It was a crazy Winter around here this year....lol.
  • missemmamm
    missemmamm Posts: 15 Member
    I also agree that people should log what is right for them. Is it hurting you if someone you're friends with logs cooking? No.

    I do not count the walking that I do when I'm at school (there are classes on different floors).
    I also don't count walking I do when I'm running errands to stores (& parking further away in the lot).
    I don't count regular chores, ex. laundry that I do a couple of times a week.

    I do count heavy duty organizing/cleaning because I don't do it regularly.
    I did count walking during a trip to a mall a few weeks ago because we were there for four hours so it was unusual to my lifestyle.
    I do count sex, lol, right now because it's a long distance relationship. (Oh & I joined MFP early this year to lose weight. I can tell you though that even before I counted anything that when I'm getting it on the regular I'm thinner. I go all out. lol. It's a workout for me & my partner.) Someone asked about calories burned during sex. I've read 200-400 per hour. I can't remember what I have it at in my log right now though. When my man is able to move back to town I will up my regular daily activity level instead.

    If I were to do the other above things regularly I wouldn't track them as exercises but I would change my MFP profile to indicate a more active lifestyle. Right now my profile is set on Lightly Active. If I were to do other things more regularly I'd change it to active.

    I track my exercise to make sure I do it (lol) but have been trying not to eat the calories back. However after reading different threads & hitting my goal I may be changing that a bit.

    P.S. I am poor. I do not have a FitBit, Jawbone, etc. I do have a pedometer watch that I use when I walk. I tried using it for other activities but I can tell it's not tracking them accurately because I'll be drenched in sweat, have exercised an hour & it'll say 40 calories.
  • Texsox
    Texsox Posts: 146 Member
    Anything I would have to replace if I stopped, I count. This way I have an accurate picture of the level of activity I have. So if I stopped parking in the back of the parking lot, I would probably not have to replace that, so I don't log it. I wear a fitbit everyday, so it kind of adjusts that stuff for me. The last two days were state exam testing days and I walked an extra 4 miles in my classroom monitoring the students. I "counted" that.
  • gkauf744
    gkauf744 Posts: 128 Member
    I count most anything MFP lets me. It makes me happy. It's like a bonus for doing chores I hate.
  • jessilyn76
    jessilyn76 Posts: 532 Member
    cleaning
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
    I ONLY count planned activities that raise my heart rate up for a duration of more than 15 minutes and more.

    Nothing else. Even if it is strenuous.
  • stiobhard
    stiobhard Posts: 140 Member
    i dont count stuff that doesnt involve me leaving the house... like cleaning, yard work... though most people seem to... i do count riding my bike even if im just going to the store if its going to add up to at least 20 minutes riding time.

    mostly i only count concious exercise activities like skating.

    when biking was my only activity it didnt seem to help much... which is why im glad to have found skating which seems to burn alot.
  • dbenner61
    dbenner61 Posts: 1
    I exercise an average of 4 times per week--treadmill, exercise class, weight training etc. I track my exercise calories, but I don't eat them which sometimes results in a 500 or so calorie deficit for the day. Is this a problem as long as I'm eating my food calories of 1200?
  • AshwinA7
    AshwinA7 Posts: 102 Member
    I don't use the TDEE method. Instead, I start with BMR and add exercise calories, specifically cardio calories.

    Calories burned from strength training are negligible so only cardio calories added. The rest of it I don't bother with and if it ends up helping me then it's a nice extra bonus at the end of the week when I weigh myself and find the number lower than I expected.
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
    Married fun-time
  • Beckilovespizza
    Beckilovespizza Posts: 334 Member
    I don't count anything that I won't at least break a slight sweat with except long walks I suppose. Some people count housework and cooking! To me this is daily life, I suppose cleaning is ok but cooking!?
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    I try to keep track of and record my activity level. I log weight training. And these activities I only log if I think the intensity is high enough: dancing, yoga, hiking/walking. I walk everyday as transportation and usually do not log that.

    I'm already set at the highest activity level plus I added an extra 100 or more calories to that. I also dance almost everday.
  • ninja8tofu
    ninja8tofu Posts: 76 Member
    originial post I'm replying to:
    If its something I don't do on an everyday basis, I count it. I don't do laundry every day and I do six loads on Sunday. I log that because I am burning extra energy and need more food to account for it. If you don't eat enough it can affect the way you lose weight just as much as eating too much. I log shoveling snow but I don't log grocery shopping or sex. I don't judge anyone for logging things i wouldn't normally log because if they are set at sedentary they are eating a really low amount of calories and if they clean one day a week, they will be hungry from burning those extra calories and I would want an extra snack too if it was me. bigsmile
    Actually, this is part of the reason I log my big cleaning days. It's not regular, meaning I don't necessarily do my "big cleans" every week. A lot of the daily chores I help out the kids with, but I don't log those they are figured into my activity setting. The "big cleans" aren't regular enough for that. They are hard work. I am often sweating and my heart rate is elevated. I am only 12 lbs from goal and I only want to lose .5 lbs a week. If I don't log them, I can lose a lot more than that and I don't want to. I accidentally did this a few weeks ago and lost more than I wanted to.
  • ShibaEars
    ShibaEars Posts: 3,928 Member
    I don't count housework, yardwork or walking my dog. While I may be burning slightly more calories than normal, I don't feel its a high enough burn to count and risk overeating.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    I'm set to sedentary and pretty close to goal but hesitant to reset my calories any higher --so I do log a lot of things like deep cleaning my house for an hour (scrubbing bathrooms and vacuuming and so on) and even short walks.

    I don't log walking around the office, super light cleaning such as loading the dishwasher, cooking/meal preparation, or sex.

    When I run errands, shop, or sight-see for several hours at a time I do log it but I purposely underlog. For example...four hours walking around the zoo stopping to look at animals, or in shopping mall/stores, will be entered as 60 min walking at leisurely pace, whereas 60 minutes of true-blue hiking will be logged as 40 minutes of hiking and 20 minutes of walking moderate pace.
  • ShreddingIt_84
    ShreddingIt_84 Posts: 141
    I only count what I burn when I have my HRM on, i dont count anything else, like

    Stretching
    Cooking
    Housework
    Short walks
  • hep26000
    hep26000 Posts: 156 Member
    I have a fitbit so it adds up all my steps and gives me calories back to eat. I changed my settings to be strict because I was gaining weight (I don't think it is too acurate with how many exercise calories it gives me) So since I changed my settings on here, I start my day with only 1200 calories but by dinner time I have about 1500-1600 total for the day and any exercise I do is what I get for dessert.

    I do not add exercise calories for my squats and burpees. Those are my bonus!
  • 2hmom
    2hmom Posts: 241 Member
    I have my everyday life figured in.
  • Vermilliana
    Vermilliana Posts: 42 Member
    I work graveyard shift (very active position involving a lot of lifting) and have a family to take care of during my daytime, so I have to span my calories out over 18 hours. I used to calculate my job as additional activity calories, then I figured its just easier if everything tallys up and I have a deficit at the end of the day. I Do include my 25 min walk to and from my sons school, mostly because I walk fast and my son does also.
  • jmv7117
    jmv7117 Posts: 891 Member
    i dont count stuff that doesnt involve me leaving the house... like cleaning, yard work... though most people seem to... i do count riding my bike even if im just going to the store if its going to add up to at least 20 minutes riding time.

    mostly i only count concious exercise activities like skating.

    when biking was my only activity it didnt seem to help much... which is why im glad to have found skating which seems to burn alot.

    Oh my! If I did that, I wouldn't be counting anything! I'd say a good 95% of my recent weight loss involved me not leaving the house. It has only been the last week or so that I added walking and cycling outside to my routines but I still do most of my exercising in the comforts of my home.
  • jmv7117
    jmv7117 Posts: 891 Member
    I don't count anything that I won't at least break a slight sweat with except long walks I suppose. Some people count housework and cooking! To me this is daily life, I suppose cleaning is ok but cooking!?

    Depends on the style of cooking. If you are cooking for a large family or home canning, lugging heavy pots and pans around can give you quite a work-out not to mention the long periods of time standing doing prep work and the cleaning up the mess. I see no reason why someone can't count cooking. I have myself. Again, what someone else counts as their calorie burning activities is up to them.

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