Should I be logging regular walking?

poorcopies

Advice needed: I walk 2 miles a day Mon-Fri to work and I include this as exercise, as I put my activity level as sendentary. Someone mentioned that you shouldn't include exercise that is part of your every day routine, so is that true? I power walk, so it's not like a leisurely stroll, I walk a 3.5 mile / per hr speed. What do you think? I know that the cals that MFP suggest are grossly out, but mine is more HRM accurate.

Should I include it or not?

Sissy4EverX3

I would include it. Walking is walking is exercise and more exercise, especially if your activity level is sedentary like mine. I walk every day, too, even if it's just the 5 minute walk down to my sisters and back (for 10 minutes). It all adds up at the end of the day, far as I'm concerned.

wenders123

I would include it. Walking is walking is exercise and more exercise, especially if your activity level is sedentary like mine. I walk every day, too, even if it's just the 5 minute walk down to my sisters and back (for 10 minutes). It all adds up at the end of the day, far as I'm concerned.

Totally agree, log it !!

JoJo1953

I agree! I would log it. It is an exercise.

mageepilot

I say definitely count it! Especially since you put your activity level to sedentary.

getsveltEagain

If you put sendentary when you made your profile then I say log it. If you want to changet you settings to lightly active then don't count it. I am sendentary but I get up to waalk on my two breaks. It is at 3.0 which is almost enough to get me to sweat for a half mile (can't be stinky at work ) and I count that.

helenium

Changing activity level is just a convenient way of not logging routine exercise. You have two choices:

1. Log as sedentary, and count everything you do which is not sedentary (I do this).
2. Log as (lightly) active, and don't count your 2 mile walks in exercise.

Whatever you do, don't log as lightly active and then count the 2 mile walks separately - that's akin to logging it twice.

It's a style choice in my books - if you get bored of logging the same activity day in day out, change your activity level and stop logging them. If you want more control, describe yourself as sedentary.

kevinbc

At work I walk all day and I do not log it and it is a couple of miles aday. But I don't log any of my exercise.

jreese5226

I agree! Especially since you put sedentary as your activity level!

emsibun

Beware of this though:

The calories that will be added to your daily allowance when you change your activity level will be less than if you log the walk.

Things to consider:

1. If you are regularly doing the same walk your body will be used to that pace and activity - so unless you are using a heart-rate monitor to track your exercise calories, that walk might be burning less than you think!

2. If you push yourself during this walk, make yourself breathless - maybe you use a pedometer know that you are getting faster at going the same distance, or maybe you are going further in the same time - then you are challenging your body and probably are burning the calories you think you are.

I walk a lot as part of my usual weekly routine. I was finding I needed to walk further and further and push harder and harder to burn calories at a decent rate.

In the end I changed my activity level, swapped a few 'walks' I did as exercise for other activities that are more challenging.

It's like spending every gym session on the same machine, at the same incline, for the same time: Eventually it does nothing!

PandaFit450

Changing activity level is just a convenient way of not logging routine exercise. You have two choices:

1. Log as sedentary, and count everything you do which is not sedentary (I do this).
2. Log as (lightly) active, and don't count your 2 mile walks in exercise.

Whatever you do, don't log as lightly active and then count the 2 mile walks separately - that's akin to logging it twice.

It's a style choice in my books - if you get bored of logging the same activity day in day out, change your activity level and stop logging them. If you want more control, describe yourself as sedentary.

I agree with this !
Jules x

poorcopies

At work I walk all day and I do not log it and it is a couple of miles aday.

But what did you put your activity level down as? Sendentary or lightly active?

Thanks for the response people, I will continue to log it for now, as Helenium pointed out, its easy to have control if you log everything, even if it does become a bit boring and it will account for the odd day I get a lift to work and I don't log it, plus I might not do it at weekends (although I usually get some walking in somehow, I don't drive!)

poorcopies

2. If you push yourself during this walk, make yourself breathless - maybe you use a pedometer know that you are getting faster at going the same distance, or maybe you are going further in the same time - then you are challenging your body and probably are burning the calories you think you are.

I am definitely getting faster, I started out at 3miles / per hr and I am coming up to hitting 4miles / per hr. I like to get a bit of a sweat on, but not too much as I am heading to work after all!

jellyfishjen

Yep Log it. Its all part of the positive changes you have made to your life.