Calories burned while grocery shopping

klfazio

Ok, I have a funny question. Do you think calories burned during grocery shopping should be counted? Let me explain......I'm beginning to discover if I don't eat back all or most of my exercise calories my weight loss stalls, but it sure is hard to estimate calories burned for certain activities. I just came home from shopping. I was in the store 1 hour and 15 minutes, pushing around a very heavy cart, loaded all the groceries in the cart, took them all out of the cart ( to be checked out), then loaded them into the car, then upstairs once at my house, then put them all away. Probably at least 20 bags, some very heavy. Just seems that calorie burn should be included....what do you think? And any idea how to even figure out how many cals I burned......there is nothing similar on MFP.

Thanks much!
Kim : )

TheDWAJ

75 minutes light walking
15 minutes weight training

I think that would be a good estimate

Anywhere between 75-150 calories burned wouldn't seem that high.

britishstar41

I agree. I do MAJOR grocery shopping once a month (instead of shopping weekly like most people) and I always end up feeling like I had a workout.

KBrenOH

I start my pedometer when I go to the store so I can get a gauge as to what I burn because it's never a "quick" trip. As for the weight lifting aspect of it though, I never count that really.

natskedat

Instead of counting everyday activites individually, try increasing your MFP activity level. Your calorie alottment will increase accordingly.

Good luck!

kellyscomeback

I don't log it, it's part of my monthly routine and I'd rather log things that are out of my norm.

ladybg81

My thought process is that I only count things as exercise if it was something I did not do when I was fat. So, I still went grocery shopping when I was fat, so doing that "exercise" did not help me lose then so I am not counting it now.

I only count the things I do extra (i.e real exercise) to help me maintain me goal weight.

HTH.

atomdraco

I do that too, but I never count that. Main reason for me is regardless how long the shopping is, it doesn't raise my heart rate enough to be consider counting. Just eat your other exercise calories (including gardening, cause I found out, with HRM, it does raise my heart rate when I'm digging around, etc)

stanvoodoo

No, not exercise! Only time dedicated to exercise should be counted. Not daily activities, even if only once a month, the body is used to this and expects you to burn those calories.

Better safe than overeating!

Good Luck!

vold94

I don't log it, it's part of my monthly routine and I'd rather log things that are out of my norm.

I agree. On the other hand. I did log a shopping trip I did twice this weekend, but only as the walking. That was just because I spent 4 hours one day and over 7 hours the other day shopping, walking. I don't normally do that, so it was out of the norm for me. But as for grocery shopping and stuff like that, I don't log!

Rae6503

Instead of counting everyday activites individually, try increasing your MFP activity level. Your calorie alottment will increase accordingly.

Good luck!

This. If you don't think you are allotted enough calories without logging things like grocery store trips try upping your activity level. Mine is at lightly active even though I have a desk job due to all the extra activity I do at home on the weekends, and the walks I take at lunch, walking to my car, etc.

garreltsnk

My thought process is that I only count things as exercise if it was something I did not do when I was fat. So, I still went grocery shopping when I was fat, so doing that "exercise" did not help me lose then so I am not counting it now.

I only count the things I do extra (i.e real exercise) to help me maintain me goal weight.

HTH.
[I have to agree to that]

Corinnamo

I logged it as walking at a slow pace, 2.0 mph, because it's not something I do daily. I know I burn calories doing everyday activities but I don't log everything I doall day because I see it as normal daily activity. Grocery shopping is not normal daily activity.

terijoestoes

I log big things in every day life like cleaning to the walls and 20 to 25 bag grocery shopping because i don't eat back my calories. I am eating a lot less than when I did these same things in the past.

Sherbog

Is grocery shopping something you just started when you joined MFP? If not then it seems like it would be included in your normal routine. Like cleaning the house, washing the car, cleaning the rain gutters, etc. But hey if recording it works for you then record it.

I only record specific time set aside for exercise that is additon to my monthly routine.

Shirley in Oregon

DavPul

NO

mishmash73

absolutely not. you burn a certain amount of calories hourly anyway. yes you are probably burning more than sitting on the couch but where do you draw the line?? start counting going up stairs, vacuuming, etc. I would only count it when your heart rate is elevate for 20 min or so like in a workout.

super_monty

I wear 2 HRMs they both confirmed that when picking up and returning a tin of non-dolphin friendly tuna to the self I burned 0.2 calories.

vtmoon

My thought process is that I only count things as exercise if it was something I did not do when I was fat. So, I still went grocery shopping when I was fat, so doing that "exercise" did not help me lose then so I am not counting it now.

I only count the things I do extra (i.e real exercise) to help me maintain me goal weight.

HTH.

This here captured it well. You did this when you weighed more and it didn't do much so why count it now.

Cait_Sidhe

No. Only log them if you are planning on plateauing because you've overestimated how many calories to eat back. Grocery shopping is not an exercise.

Gail3260

Each to their own.......my activity level is set at sedentary because I sit at a desk to work.....doing the weekly shop for four people including loading and unloading the car is activity so I log it. Lifting those 4x2litre packs of diet coke several times feels like activity to me!!

tramsos

Depending on your weight, etc. grocery shopping (or food shopping, as some sites phrase it) burns something around 150-170 calories per hour.
Here are two sites with the info, one of which lets you input your data to get an accurate count.

http://www.fitday.com/webfit/burned/calories_burned_Food_shopping_with_grocery_cart.html

http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-burned-food-shopping-without-grocery-a79

A side note: my activity level is Sedentary, as I basically sit at a desk all day. For purposes of tracking net calories, I include the occasional trip to the store or a long drive in the car, each of which burns more calories than you'd imagine.

Azdak

I wear 2 HRMs they both confirmed that when picking up and returning a tin of non-dolphin friendly tuna to the self I burned 0.2 calories.

Only 2? I prefer 5 --one on each limb in addition to the chest strap. Actually, the two on my legs are GPS enabled --so I get a better burn when I shuffle my feet back and forth while watching TV.

beanmachinesgirl

As for counting grocery shopping, I agree. I log the slow pace walk, 2.0 miles per hour. I do not shop daily and I walk far and haul a lot. I have mine set to "sedentary" since I work from home and am at a desk a lot. So, I do count some things like major house cleaning or when I paint a room. I don't really eat more on those days usually. It just makes me feel better in case I mess up a few days later or making up for the last mess up.

martinh78

"Exercise is physical activity that is planned, structured, and repetitive for the purpose of conditioning any part of the body. Exercise is used to improve health, maintain fitness and is important as a means of physical rehabilitation"

Physical activity is movement of the muscularskeletal system that uses energy.

MFP asks you to log exercise. Whilst shopping is a physical activity it is not an exercise so I wouldn't log it.

If one day you shop, one day you clean, one day you garden, 4 days you exercise then up your activity level and only log the exercise. From a calories burned point of view then I guess it doesn't matter (in that the math will work out in the end), but from a lifestyle change you need to get out of the habbit of treating everyday tasks as "exercise".

Otherwise the scenario of "I'm shopping, this will earn me 150 cals" could stay with you and lead to "treating yourself" for daily tasks.

Have a look at it another way. Do slim, fit, healthy people think about calories they are burning whilst shopping or driving or cleaning the house? No. And do you want to be a slim, fit and healthy person?

If you want to be slim and healthy you have to think slim and healthy. I had that posted in my bathroom for six months when I started on this lifestyle change.

DietFemme

I don't see why if you can log a brisk walk to work you cannot log a brisk walk to the shopping centre?

If your activity level is set as Sedentary and you are following the MFP system you should be careful to log any kind of significant physical activity to make sure you're eating enough.

If you're doing the Road Map / TDEE system though, these kinds of activities should be factored in when you do the initial calculations and not logged thereafter.

GoddessG

I bought a heart rate monitor and wore it for days, while determining which activities burned the most calories. Was I surprised!!!!!

I found that my morning aerobics burned far less than I burned while vacuuming, mowing, ironing, grocery shopping, emptying the dishwater and cleaning up the kitchen, walking, etc. (Out went aerobics - but I did replace them with something I prefer)

I do want to say that given my weight, I couldn't move fast enough to get my heart rate up following aerobics. A more fit person would have very different readings.

So I determined my BMR and call myself sedentary. Then, if I want to compute net cals, I subtract all those isolated activities from my basic intake. (Of course, my life is mostly sedentary anyhow)

babymine55

I got a Fitbit, it tracks all that, and, it syncs to MFP too, so, there are days when I don't exercise in the traditional sense, but, I've earned 300-500 calories based off what I was doing.

My suggestion is if you want THAT specific of info, get yourself something like a Fitbit or other hrm so you can better track those.

Good luck.

Farrah1228

I say log it. You aren't just sitting around, you are in motion. Everything burns calories one way or another. Whether you are shopping or having "relations" LOL. If Harvard Medical School says its good enough, then its good enough, so LOG IT! I say get all the activity in that you can. And I agree with the first person who replied, if nothing else, log it in as walking. Now I wouldn't say it takes place of anything but its good in addition to. But actually, this is probably my only gripe with MFP... the database of activity is a lot smaller than other fitness sites. I have to go to other sites just to get info, then add it on here. Good luck!

Mokey41

I bought a heart rate monitor and wore it for days, while determining which activities burned the most calories. Was I surprised!!!!!

You'll be even more surprised to find out that those numbers will be totally wrong! A HRM is set with algorithms that calculate on significantly elevated heart rates, like steady state cardio activity. Wearing it all the time gives you exaggerated numbers because the same formula is being used but the heart rate elevation isn't there.

Mokey41

Did you go shopping before you decided to diet? Did weight drop off you like crazy? If you don't log it and eat it back now is weight dropping off at an alarming rate?

Logging everyday life in order to earn more food to eat is ridiculous. Where does it stop? Exceptionally vigorous tooth brushing? Heavy pot scrubbing? The obsession with finding things to log in order to justify more food is a mental issue. Do you think thin people spend all day trying to justify having that extra scoop of potatoes or that cookie? It's not hard to understand how a lot of people became overweight in the first place.