Do you count long shopping trips as exercise?

bluebox123
bluebox123 Posts: 4
in Health and Weight Loss
I was trying to find some clothes for work yesterday and i ended up shopping/walking around 5 hours.
I walked across the mall (it's a pretty big mall) a few times, walked to nearby stores down the street, and to and from parking lot.
I have myfitnesspal set as as sedentary and i normally try to eat 1200-1330 calories a day.
I got a headache towards the end and took a break to eat. Overall, I ended up eating more than usual and when i got home I was really tired. I wasn't sure if i should count some of my shopping trip as exercise.
Do you guys count these type of activities as exercise? Is it okay to eat more on these days?
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Replies

  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    No.
  • defauIt
    defauIt Posts: 118 Member
    I don't, but 5 hours of walking is pretty good exercise. It really depends how much of that you were sitting in a car, standing still looking through the racks, trying on clothes, waiting for a friend to try on clothes, etc. and how fast you were moving when walking. Two people can both say they went shopping for 5 hours and one can burn 150 calories while the other burns 1000 calories.

    If you could find an accurate log for the distance you walked, I would use that to estimate calories burned. If you can't find that, you could just add 50-100 calories per hour out if you want to be conservative.
  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
    Absolutely it counts! You were moving, weren't you?
    Enter it under cardiovascular as something like "walking, 2 mph, slow pace".
    Depending on how much you weigh, that could be 250 calories per hour.
    Don't eat back all those calories, only maybe 1/3 to 1/2 if you're really hungry on your normal amount.
  • twopeas2
    twopeas2 Posts: 81 Member
    No I don't :smile:
  • Dnarules
    Dnarules Posts: 2,081 Member
    I do not. But, 1200-1300 calories is a fairly low calorie goal for most women, so if you ate more than usual, I'm sure you will be just fine, especially with the added activity.
  • Kakeslyn
    Kakeslyn Posts: 129 Member
    This would give me a great excuse to go shopping more often.
  • jenmom2myboys
    jenmom2myboys Posts: 311 Member
    no
  • KylaDenay
    KylaDenay Posts: 1,585 Member
    Anything that I do not do on a regular basis is counted as exercise. I normally do not walk around the mall, so when I do for hours it is counted. You're moving right?! Your burning calories. Its walking.
  • MildredBarhopper
    MildredBarhopper Posts: 99 Member
    I am set at sedentary as well, so if it is several hours, I will log it but put a shorter amount of time because I eat my exercise cals back and MFP can overestimate. If I'm out most of the day, I will put 1, maaaybe 2 hours of walking at a slow pace.
  • PinkyFett
    PinkyFett Posts: 842 Member
    I don't count stuff like that.. or cleaning or cooking.
  • unapologetically_crystal
    unapologetically_crystal Posts: 278 Member
    i dont log it.. just like i dont log it if i do laundry or something like that. if im extra hungry then i would eat something else but if i did like you and waited too long to eat, i would probably have alot of trouble trying to keep in check and not actually binge because by then id be starving.
  • eklavon84
    eklavon84 Posts: 9 Member
    I don't; I just count a daily life, kinda like cleaning, they have an option for that as excersice as well as cooking. But if you do count it, It waould be a slow pace and you gotta think how much of those 5 hrs were you actually walking...not trying one, looking at a rack, standing in line waiting. ect...
  • threnjen
    threnjen Posts: 687 Member
    Seeing as how I do not take shopping trips to the mall, if I were to do so for several hours I would log it as exercise because it is outside of my norm.

    I would not log things I do normally - like chores around the house. But for example a couple weekends ago I did hours of yardwork/gardening which I do NOT normally do (I should, but I don't) and I was ravenous and I definitely logged exercise from that. Just not at "full value". Like I worked in the yard for 3 hours straight and logged "Gardening" for 60 minutes.

    If this was an anomaly for you I would count it as exercise. If you regularly shop as part of your normal activity level I would not.
  • larrodarro
    larrodarro Posts: 2,512 Member
    I walk laps around the store while my wife shops, and I do count that. But when I'm shopping, I go in and get what I need and get out. Not too much of a burn there.
  • EverSinging
    EverSinging Posts: 30 Member
    I was trying to find some clothes for work yesterday and i ended up shopping/walking around 5 hours.
    I walked across the mall (it's a pretty big mall) a few times, walked to nearby stores down the street, and to and from parking lot.
    I have myfitnesspal set as as sedentary and i normally try to eat 1200-1330 calories a day.
    I got a headache towards the end and took a break to eat. Overall, I ended up eating more than usual and when i got home I was really tired. I wasn't sure if i should count some of my shopping trip as exercise.
    Do you guys count these type of activities as exercise? Is it okay to eat more on these days?

    I think it's fair game if it's fairly far beyond the scope of your regular activity.
  • mandybear014
    mandybear014 Posts: 209 Member
    Only if I have to go to Wal-Mart and that's because I want to make it out of that crazy *kitten* place alive.:happy:
  • sheschemes
    sheschemes Posts: 67
    I do. My activity level is genuinely sedentary while I recover from an injury, so anything extra that I do gets logged.
  • eslcity
    eslcity Posts: 323 Member
    To make it a better exerice... don't use a cart... carry everying in one or two baskets or bag... even if you don't buy anything carry some cans of soup..

    work it out....^^

    a can is 8 ounces so two cans is 1lbs...
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,731 Member
    Before I got my Bodymedia, I only counted things that got my heart rate up. So, I would log a run or jog or time on the elliptical, but I wouldn't log lifting, walking, shopping, gardening, etc.

    The Bodymedia adjusts my calories for the number of steps and intensity, so it takes the guesswork out of all of this.
  • BrienJD
    BrienJD Posts: 541 Member
    I go to shows and spend 2-3 hours walking up and down the aisles...you're darn right I count it. I log it as a slow pace and only count about half the time as actual exercise, but it still counts,. You aren't on the couch eating chips and watching TV..you are moving after all. JM2C
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  • _KitKat_
    _KitKat_ Posts: 1,066 Member
    I do not, I view it as part of living even if it isn't often.
  • whitebalance
    whitebalance Posts: 1,654 Member
    To the extent that my Fitbit records it as walking, I suppose I do. But dang, five hours of shopping? I couldn't go there.
  • MariadfdCruz
    MariadfdCruz Posts: 69 Member
    NO, the shopping doesn't count, even if they are 5 hours.
    I am also sedentary and my calories are also 1200. I am doing 10 minutes of cycling when going to the gym and I am not counting this. Usually is slow cycling and if I count them, I will gain weight LOL

    Maybe you should plan the shopping and don't overdo it. It seems you got stressed out or you lost your time to focus about eating healthy. I always carry a market apple and a bottle of water with me when shopping, so I don't do crazy eating. Though, it was only a meal, try to recover that day or next day, doing some extra exercise or eating as healthy as possible.
  • NotASoul
    NotASoul Posts: 25 Member
    I tend not to count exercise partly because I can't be bothered and partly because when I do I don't lose nearly as much weight. Tbh if you go over your calories just on one day it probably won't make that much difference - I've been over a couple times in the past two weeks and it hasn't had much effect. (that said, I have been under quite a lot so this may have balanced it out...)
  • Meerataila
    Meerataila Posts: 1,885 Member
    Yes, but I don't always eat it back.
  • RHachicho
    RHachicho Posts: 1,115 Member
    I wouldn't but if you are sweating buckets and tired after your 5 hours shopping trip you can probably log it as light walking and get away with it. Honestly I can see that you would burn a few calories just wandering round the shops for 5 hours. I just can't really see how you spent 5 hours JUST shopping that would drive me barmy.
  • dammitjanet0161
    dammitjanet0161 Posts: 319 Member
    How about changing your setting to lightly active to see what calories per day it gives you for that? (Then you can change it back to sedentary if that's right for you, but at least you'll know the calorie difference between the two activity levels). Chances are it will be around 150-200 difference.

    If you logged it as exercise of 5 hours leisurely walking MFP would probably give you a huge figure of 800 plus or something, but it's probably better to treat it as a lightly active day.
  • BonworthVonFattyPants
    BonworthVonFattyPants Posts: 49 Member
    No.

    Our lifestyle is based on our average days, not our extremes.

    Sure, I might go on a shopping bender and walk a few hours (though let's be honest - if you walked the mall a few times in 5 hours then you were, overall, moving less than 1mph on average - even if you were in the Mall of America) - but so what? On days that you don't do anything (we all have them) do you adjust your calories downward? I would guess not. None of us do.

    You had a busy day. That is awesome! But you'll have lazy days too. And those are awesome. In the end it all averages out.
  • bluebox123
    bluebox123 Posts: 4
    How about changing your setting to lightly active to see what calories per day it gives you for that? (Then you can change it back to sedentary if that's right for you, but at least you'll know the calorie difference between the two activity levels). Chances are it will be around 150-200 difference.

    If you logged it as exercise of 5 hours leisurely walking MFP would probably give you a huge figure of 800 plus or something, but it's probably better to treat it as a lightly active day.

    That's a great idea, thanks!

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