Am I missing something?

CallMeMamaBoo

SO since when does washing dishes, carrying your baby upstairs, taking laundry downstairs, going to the mailbox to get mail, and going grocery shopping ( to name just a few that I've seen) constitute as 'exercise'? Just my opinion, but isn't that called everyday living? I carry a 22 lb baby around for at least 3 hours of my day but in no way, shape, or form, will I log that as exercise!!! We did all of those things while we were gaining weight!!! Where in your thinking do you believe that doing those things are going to help you get the weight off? I think some people are getting a bit out of hand with what they log as calories burned. If you want results you need to go above and beyond everyday living. I'm saying this because I care and mostly because most of us gained weight because of our ability to justify and if we want the weight off, we need to lose the excuses and justifications.

Or am I completely wrong?
And should I start logging every time I have to exert myself for more than 5 seconds? (just so I can eat more!)

AmyB2011

This really did make me laugh and I agree with you completely!

michelle277

HAHA....very funny, but very true! Nice post!

4alison4

:laugh:

Flossycat100

LOL! Very good point and I'll confess I agree too

erickirb

SO since when does washing dishes, carrying your baby upstairs, taking laundry downstairs, going to the mailbox to get mail, and going grocery shopping ( to name just a few that I've seen) constitute as 'exercise'? Just my opinion, but isn't that called everyday living? I carry a 22 lb baby around for at least 3 hours of my day but in no way, shape, or form, will I log that as exercise!!! We did all of those things while we were gaining weight!!! Where in your thinking do you believe that doing those things are going to help you get the weight off? I think some people are getting a bit out of hand with what they log as calories burned. If you want results you need to go above and beyond everyday living. I'm saying this because I care and mostly because most of us gained weight because of our ability to justify and if we want the weight off, we need to lose the excuses and justifications.

Or am I completely wrong?
And should I start logging every time I have to exert myself for more than 5 seconds? (just so I can eat more!)

Maybe not exercise, but your activity level should be something other than sedentary if this is a regular day. It could be counted as exercise if your activity level is set at sedentary

weezielesa

I completely agree. The everyday routine becomes the normal and no one will lose weight by thinking that routine is actually exercise. My days are different everyday and although I want to believe it could be some form of exercise the cruel reality is it is not. That is what brought me here. I did Weight Watchers years ago; lost the weight. Then I quit everything (due to surgery) then I managed to lose again and being stuck at this point is the reason I am reaching out on this site. Any inspiration from all would be greatly appreciated.

tdolphin1

Totally agree with you 100%! My mother used to say she got exercise from going up & down the stairs at work...she worked there for 25 yrs...you're body is used to it so really it doesn't count. The regular day to day stuff in my opinion doesn't count...if it did we all wouldn't be here. lol Gotta get the heart rate up!

Chrissy_Michelle

EXCELLENT POST!!! I agree with you totally and everytime I see someone *log* their exercise of the things you mentioned, I just roll my eyes and say, "they just don't get it." Thank you for sayin' what I've been thinkin'!

Aeriel

Biggest thing is, if it is not valid exercise, they are hurting no one but themselves and their own weight loss. When they come and start asking why they are not losing weight, then maybe their eyes will open. However, if they are losing weight doing it, what is the harm in how they chose to record it?

I only log things that are "out of my everyday routine". I don't log the time I spend walking while grocery shopping, but I definitely log the time I spend doing farm chores, because it is only once a week or two and right now involves me walking through thigh deep snow for 10-15 minutes.

My mom logs cleaning everyday, but that is her job and she does it for 3-6 hours a day. She sets her lifestyle to lightly active, but the days she works she logs the cleaning time. I think it depends on what you have your lifestyle set to as to what you should log. If you chose sedentary, then every time you are exerting yourself, it is above that level. If you are lightly active, it takes a little more to qualify.

Nelski

Maybe not exercise, but your activity level should be something other than sedentary if this is a regular day. It could be counted as exercise if your activity level is set at sedentary

What he said ^

hroush

I think I'm going to start logging my trek from my apartment to my car. Oh, and then the walk I have to make up hill to work AND two flights of stairs.

dlaplume2

I agree. I see things people post as exercise and the calories given and it doesn't seem reasonable. I have five kids, I do my fair share of dishes and laundry. From what I read even if it does burn calories you don't get your heart rate up so it doesn't count as exercise.
Plus like you say you do that everyday it's part of your lifestyle.

You can count extra cleaning that you don't do everyday, seasonal things, like raking, shoveling, washing windows. I wouldn't count vacuuming, because that you usually do regularly too.

LongMom

I don't understand why anyone even cares what OTHERS are doing....different strokes for different folks?

gentlebreeze2

For most people it is every day living, BUT I have a friend on here who had knee surgery, and doing the things you mentioned is her only exercise and a challenge for her. We are all at different stages in our journey, and we should encourage everyone, regardless of fitness level or age. Ragging on people who are older or less fit is just plain mean and selfish and shallow. I agree with what you say for me, but unless you walk in someone elses shoes you don't know what their challenges are.

I'd also like to say that I had a stroke seven years ago, and when I first started to exercise, 30 seconds of exercising was excruciately painful. Now I often do more than 2 hours of exercise a day and I've lost 51 pounds so far. We all have to start somewhere, and at a level that we can maintain.

CallMeMamaBoo

I might just set my activity level at sedentary so I can justify logging every time I do laundry downstairs and put my baby to bed upstairs.


Way to enable and justify!


I don't mean to sound rude if I do, BUT! My mom is one to justify EVERYTHING! and she puts down sedentary as her activity level and then tells herself that everything she does is exercise and I've watched her gain 15 lbs in 3 months while I've been sweating it off. I just don't think living can constitute as exercise NO MATTER WHAT! It's just another way to give a person justification instead of owning themselves.

Atlantique

I tend to agree with you, as long as your activity level is set correctly.

But also keep in mind that for someone who is morbidly obese and hasn't been active at all in years (my mother would fall into this category), things that don't seem worth mentioning really are exercise. For my mother, whose normal day consists of walking to the fridge and back a few times per day and sitting or sleeping for the other 23.5 hours, grocery shopping is exercise and rightfully so. Taking a shower is exercise for her-seriously! She's winded and sweating and a shower takes her a half hour because it is so stressful to her body. For a 140 pound woman, er, NO.

Atlantique

I might just set my activity level at sedentary so I can justify logging every time I do laundry downstairs and put my baby to bed upstairs.


Way to enable and justify!

Ok, now you're just being mean.

nicole00lynn

AMEN. .

shreddingit

That goes for breastfeeding too!!........if u log everything u do then ur taking out the rule of burn more than what u eat!! And extra exercise wont really kill any bad food u ate! But ur diary will tell u it did!! :laugh:
Just eat well and do real workouts

erickirb

I might just set my activity level at sedentary so I can justify logging every time I do laundry downstairs and put my baby to bed upstairs.


Way to enable and justify!


I don't mean to sound rude if I do, BUT! My mom is one to justify EVERYTHING! and she puts down sedentary as her activity level and then tells herself that everything she does is exercise and I've watched her gain 15 lbs in 3 months while I've been sweating it off. I just don't think living can constitute as exercise NO MATTER WHAT! It's just another way to give a person justification instead of owning themselves.

Those activities do take energy (calories to perform), but should be accounted for in activity level. The problem if someone logs it as exercise, how are they getting calories burned from it. Most likely they would over estimate the calories burned, and end up not losing as much as they think they should.