Calories burned while grocery shopping

PhoenixStrikes

I would consider that normal activity and not exercise. If you need to adjust your activity level to something higher than it might account for longer trips to the store but as it is it's just part of living.

BuManCuzBrah

Ive worn my HRM while grocery shopping. Nothing wrong with that. A calorie burned is a calorie burned.
11/05 am (grocery shopping)
Total Time - 40 min
In Zone - 0 min
Avg HR - 97 bpm
Peak HR - 110 bpm
Calories Burned - 425

Im going to wear my HRM for a whole day just to se what amounts of calories I burn on a normal non workout day.

LINIA

glad this topic was picked up again, it is informative-- I log the shopping walking because that is definitely not an everyday activity for me.

Mokey41

Ive worn my HRM while grocery shopping. Nothing wrong with that. A calorie burned is a calorie burned.
11/05 am (grocery shopping)
Total Time - 40 min
In Zone - 0 min
Avg HR - 97 bpm
Peak HR - 110 bpm
Calories Burned - 425

Im going to wear my HRM for a whole day just to se what amounts of calories I burn on a normal non workout day.

That's totally inaccurate. The algorithms for a HRM are set for steady state cardio. They give grossly exaggerated numbers if you use them otherwise as you can see from your shopping trip. Unless you're maintaining a HR over approximately 120 for an extended period of time you aren't getting a correct reading. Wearing it all day will give you a totally useless number which would result in a definite weight gain if you ate that.

jofjltncb6

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.

I do. (Well, except the driving thing...because that's ridiculous.)

And do you want to be a slim, fit and healthy person?

I am.

MB_Positif

Well, I didn't log the time I pushed 960 pounds of concrete around Lowe's so I definitely don't count grocery shopping. Anything that I already did regularly while I was gaining weight, I do not count as exercise. You're overthinking this.

MyChocolateDiet

Well at my grocery store there are often free samples. So they probably cancel each other out.

CassiLyn6626

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.

I completely agree!

Sabine_Stroehm

I don't include any form of house work etc. except raking leaves and other activities that are going to leave me sore.

Sabine_Stroehm

(I know it's necromanced, but I'll chime in anyhow...)

Get a fitbit. Sure, it won't be entirely accurate, but it will give you some credit for the additional activity.

I agree.

freesia83

I bought a pedometer and used it for the first time today, wore it to work, clocked up over 12,000 steps and covered just over 5 mile. Then took the dog out this afternoon and clocked in total 24287 steps and 11.4 mile, but I just logged the dog walk as work is what I do anyhow.

Mokey41

I don't get the mentality that every time you move it needs to be rewarded with extra calories so you can eat more. My thinking is that's the fast road to failure. Food is for sustenance and energy, it isn't a reward for going to the grocery store.

I realize food is delicious and it's great to eat things you really like but if you have to get down to rewarding yourself with food every time you do a daily household chore then you have a screwed up relationship with eating. I really doubt that anyone had gone into the dreaded starvation mode from not eating back the calories they might have burnt on a trip to the grocery store.

_Zardoz_

I don't get the mentality that every time you move it needs to be rewarded with extra calories so you can eat more. My thinking is that's the fast road to failure. Food is for sustenance and energy, it isn't a reward for going to the grocery store.

I realize food is delicious and it's great to eat things you really like but if you have to get down to rewarding yourself with food every time you do a daily household chore then you have a screwed up relationship with eating. I really doubt that anyone had gone into the dreaded starvation mode from not eating back the calories they might have burnt on a trip to the grocery store.

stop it with this common sense. You should know the forums aren't the place for it.

Eleonora91

I usually log in the calories burned while walking to the grocery and back, considering that while being back I also carry the bags I think it burns a little more.

I also didn't set my activity level to lightly active, I actually put sedentary because going to the grocery isn't ordinary to me even though I do it often. Twice a week to me is not ordinary, and so isn't anything else, like cleaning, so if I do it for more than 10-20 minutes, I usually log it because everything counts. You can't really count on your activity level because it's not easy to decide if you're active or not.

DawnieB1977

I personally wouldn't log it as it's part of your normal routine. I don't log looking after my kids for example, and I'm always up doing something. I don't log going to work, although as a teacher I'm on my feet all day, walking between classrooms, walking round the class, doing a half hour duty break duty outside etc. I probably burn a fair few calories at work.

MyChocolateDiet

I don't get the mentality that every time you move it needs to be rewarded with extra calories so you can eat more. My thinking is that's the fast road to failure. Food is for sustenance and energy, it isn't a reward for going to the grocery store.

I realize food is delicious and it's great to eat things you really like but if you have to get down to rewarding yourself with food every time you do a daily household chore then you have a screwed up relationship with eating. I really doubt that anyone had gone into the dreaded starvation mode from not eating back the calories they might have burnt on a trip to the grocery store.

stop it with this common sense.You should know the forums aren't the place for it.

Actually, when you are sedentary and just starting out that is a legitimate way to get started. You set your thing to sedentary and no workouts because you can't count on them. If you truly are sedentary due to illness, injury, or whatnot. Then you HAVE to log any little activity because then you are not sedentary at that time and you have to eat those cals. I guess it's the difference between a mentality of "get to eat" those extra cals or "should eat" those extra cals earned through activity/exercise.

I saw a very fit abs having strong lifting young mom logging her grocery visits as exercise cals because they entailed her baby in a front carrier. so an obese person is carrying extra weight too, no?

anyways, i lost my first 25 lbs that way, so I think it's legit.

ETA: I never found myself on the treadmill or stairs chasing an imaginary waffle or whatnot to get through my workouts. This method does NOT lead to unhealthy relationships with food, necessarily.

TonyN7

No. This should only be used if you are using your BMR in a custom setting to work out how many calories etc.. you can eat. Sedentary will have allowed for basic tasks that a sedentary lifestyle will include. Also you go for one big shop a month, so you will not be losing as many calories in the other 3 weeks where a weekly shopper would.

If I am out in the garden digging up trees for 4 hours I would put this down as 4 hours of gardening, and include long walks and proper exercise. I cannot say I have even thought about adding shopping as an exercise.

jofjltncb6

No. This should only be used if you are using your BMR in a custom setting to work out how many calories etc.. you can eat. Sedentary will have allowed for basic tasks that a sedentary lifestyle will include. Also you go for one big shop a month, so you will not be losing as many calories in the other 3 weeks where a weekly shopper would.

If I am out in the garden digging up trees for 4 hours I would put this down as 4 hours of gardening, and include long walks and proper exercise. I cannot say I have even thought about adding shopping as an exercise.

One of us doesn't understand what is included in the "sedentary" setting.

(...and it may be me.)

On a somewhat related point, despite working in an office setting, I had to set mine to "active" to match my results (and sometimes the math points to "very active")...AND I still log my extra activity (where I let fitbit handle what constitutes extra).

So my vote is to take a position on it, log consistently and accurately for a period of time, and then make adjustments as necessary based on results. That's how I ended up at "active"...I didn't start there, but as I experienced certain results over time, I determined what changes need to be done. Every individual has to go through this process to determine what fits their individual circumstances and logging habits.

Katsumii

I don't think so, regular activity like that is already part of your TDEE.

Mr_Knight

I don't get the mentality that every time you move it needs to be rewarded with extra calories so you can eat more.

That's one of the biggest reasons for stalls around here. Coupled with people's general refusal to realize that things like walking burn SFA in terms of net calories, it's an accident waiting to happen.

Mokey41

One of us doesn't understand what is included in the "sedentary" setting.

(...and it may be me.)

The basics of a sedentary setting:

Sleeping - 8 hours
Personal care (dressing, showering) - 1 hour
Eating - 1 hour
Cooking - 1 hour
Sitting (office work, selling produce, tending shop) - 8 hours
Driving car to/from work - 1 hour
General household work - 1 hour
Light leisure activities (watching TV, chatting) - 3 hours

Gwen_B

I would never!! I only log exercise as exercise. No shopping, cooking, cleaning, etc! My exercise makes me sweat and sore!!!

Unknown

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blixglintz

Monty, gross profile pic. Hilarious comment #funwit

Shopper, I think this comes down to personal choice. You are in fact burning calories. If you want to spend the time and/or it helps keep you motivated and stay on your game - go for it. We use an app on our phones (mapmy fitness) when we run that tells us pretty well what we burned. Do what works for you.

cwolfman13

LOL...grocery shopping is just a part of life, not exercise...unless you are indeed totally sedentary...like you crawl out of bed and go take a dump and then crawl back into bed or out to the couch kind of sedentary.

I'm going to Costco in about 30 minutes...I just got back from the gym...they're two completely different things.

MyChocolateDiet

I don't think so, regular activity like that is already part of your TDEE.

I am inclined to believe your answer as it seems like you know your stuff and that you know what you are talking about simply because of the skill with which you wear your swimwear.

MyChocolateDiet

One of us doesn't understand what is included in the "sedentary" setting.

(...and it may be me.)

The basics of a sedentary setting:

Sleeping - 8 hours
Personal care (dressing, showering) - 1 hour
Eating - 1 hour
Cooking - 1 hour
Sitting (office work, selling produce, tending shop) - 8 hours
Driving car to/from work - 1 hour
General household work - 1 hour
Light leisure activities (watching TV, chatting) - 3 hours

Oh then is there a negative sedentary mode? B/c I don't work, and sometimes my husband cooks, and sometimes I don't even have to do the "light housework" it gets done by someone who is not me. Is there like a Negentary mode (negative sedentary)? Or a spa mode or something?

whitebalance

I don't think so, regular activity like that is already part of your TDEE.

I am inclined to believe your answer as it seems like you know your stuff and that you know what you are talking about simply because of the skill with which you wear your swimwear.

Agree, we have finally encountered a true expert. Masterful use of spot color, too. I'm sold.

davert123

It depends on what you have put for your lifestyle and how you want to progress with this in general. If you are using MFP to its full potential to try and eat to a deficit you have set yourself instead of randomly guessing then I would consider them. If you have set your lifestyle to sedentary I would definitely book them. I know it isn't formal exercise but it does burn calories and if you don't book it then you will burn more than what you think. You may be happy with this or you may not. I am definitely in favor of hitting a deficit I know .. because it works for me. For this I book most things I do if they include burning calories.

whitebalance

I should try to be helpful to the OP. If you're using MFP's NEAT approach to calorie tracking, then you should log whatever physical activity isn't included in your selected activity level. I've found that the "sedentary" setting accounts for a couple miles' worth of walking on my Fitbit.... More than that, it does make a difference. Like MyChocolateDiet above, I lost the first 20-25 pounds mostly by walking more. Several miles a day more, but yes, that made the difference. And it still works.