Does grocery shopping count as exercise?

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  • mamagooskie
    mamagooskie Posts: 2,964 Member
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    If you want to count grocery shopping as exercise, try doing it in say, Afghanistan. Under fire. That will get your heart rate up and a sweat going. Just a thought.

    LOL!!
  • npatel160
    npatel160 Posts: 233 Member
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    i agree!
  • tmvaz
    tmvaz Posts: 1 Member
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    I know I am two years late to this discussion, but if you use a pedometer to count the number of steps you take in a day (I use the Striiv app on my iPhone) it counts the NUMBER OF STEPS you take each day and can automatically log them as exercise into MyFitness Pal... It doesn't differentiate between where you are walking...as long as you are moving. So, I WOULD consider shopping as a form of walking exercise. Besides, I end up sweating like a pig within 30 mins. at Walmart in Arizona!
  • El_Cunado
    El_Cunado Posts: 359 Member
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    No, I don't count it as exercise.
  • missmegan831
    missmegan831 Posts: 824 Member
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    Did you break a sweat?? IMO if you aint sweating than it aint exercise.... just like washing dishes, taking a shower or cooking/preparing meals, cleaning house... I would be careful how much of those 'everyday life things' you log especially if you eat your calories back.

    When I first started here back in November I weighed 251 pounds and a I was logging housework/shopping as exercise, and a fellow MFP friend made a valid point..... If you were grocery shopping and cleaning your house when you were 'fat' what makes you think that counting it as exercise now is gonna make you 'skinny'.. but thats just my 2 cents worth...

    Different strokes for different folks......
  • manhn1
    manhn1 Posts: 137 Member
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    Whenever people say "it's okay to log anything as exercise if you describe your lifestyle as sedentary." I mean, what kind of world is it when a lifestyle described as "sedentary" involves never moving one muscle ever? Who actually fits this? And don't say "Lots of people!" because that is just not true.
  • paintlisapurple
    paintlisapurple Posts: 982 Member
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    Probably not unless you're going huge bulk shopping for cases of items that you're loading yourself.
  • Mr_Bad_Example
    Mr_Bad_Example Posts: 2,403 Member
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    I added 30 minutes of slow walking (2.0 mph) to my exercise today, but I was grocery shopping. I was pushing the cart and walking, do you think this is accurate?

    It's only accurate if you're playing "Supermarket Sweep."

    h2857C277
  • onyxgirl17
    onyxgirl17 Posts: 1,721 Member
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    Have you ever tried HIIGS (High Intensity Interval Grocery Shopping). I did once. Never again. The bill was like $500 and my cabinets are still full of weird foods I can't even pronounce.


    yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss I did it today. I do it while couponing at the same time though so I end up with a bunch of stuff but don't pay as much.


    Love this post btw!!
  • benol1
    benol1 Posts: 867 Member
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    It all depends on how high you got your heart rate over a period of time.
    For accurate results, wear a heart rate monitor and track your results.
  • kar328
    kar328 Posts: 4,156 Member
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    Have you ever tried HIIGS (High Intensity Interval Grocery Shopping). I did once. Never again. The bill was like $500 and my cabinets are still full of weird foods I can't even pronounce.

    Thank you for making me laugh at 0130 AM when I'm stuck at work.
    It's only accurate if you're playing "Supermarket Sweep."

    I loved that show! I always wanted to try it and that would definitely be a good calorie burn.
  • JUDDDing
    JUDDDing Posts: 1,367 Member
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    I don't log mine.

    But if you're set as sedentary and you're walking at 2 mph for 30 minutes, you should log it as walking at 2 mph for 30 minutes just like if you walked around your neighborhood for 30 minutes at 2 mph.

    Walking is exercise = it burns more calories than sitting.
  • JUDDDing
    JUDDDing Posts: 1,367 Member
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    Whenever people say "it's okay to log anything as exercise if you describe your lifestyle as sedentary." I mean, what kind of world is it when a lifestyle described as "sedentary" involves never moving one muscle ever? Who actually fits this? And don't say "Lots of people!" because that is just not true.

    That was me in January of this year.

    I work from home. My main exercise over the winter was getting up to walk to the bathroom and going upstairs to prepare meals.

    My first "being more active" step was to start going shopping with my wife every weekend.
  • petkova
    petkova Posts: 72
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    no... If you want to be counting those you should exclude everything that MFP add as normal daily activity and get a fitbit or something similar and account for your daily total on your own.

    Think about it this way - if it is something you would do anyhow don't add it .. if you go out of your way to do it then add it :)
  • AwkwardPumpkin
    AwkwardPumpkin Posts: 60 Member
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    As stated above, I indirectly track it because I have a fit bit. What I have noticed is I actually walk around the grocery store quite a bit so, it depends on how you shop. I am a run and grab things, forget something, run back and grab it again kind of person so I spend a lot of time going from one side of the store to the other. :P
  • bushidowoman
    bushidowoman Posts: 1,599 Member
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    My reasons for not logging things like grocery shopping, house cleaning, or my work (12-hr shifts as a nurse)...I did all those things for years and gained weight anyway.
  • silverlining84
    silverlining84 Posts: 330 Member
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    I don't count it as exercise because it's a normal activity... not something that's out of the normal for me.
  • Oh_Allie
    Oh_Allie Posts: 258 Member
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    Because I only grocery shop once a month, I log it. I'm in the grocery store for well over an hour, I go through self-checkout so that I have to unload my cart, bag and re-load my cart on my own. I also carry in 2 bags into my apartment at a time so I have to climb 2 flights of stairs 10 times rather than carrying more and making fewer trips.

    I only grocery shop on my off/rest days and I don't eat my exercise calories back, so I figure there's no harm in adding it.

    If you're just logging it so you can eat more, then it's probably a bad plan that's just going to hurt you in the long run.
  • coolraul07
    coolraul07 Posts: 1,606 Member
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    I used to count in only under extreme circumstances, e.g. sedentary ALL day and doing a month's worth in one time. I also used to log holiday shopping cuz that WAS cardio by any stretch.
    I now have a FitBit One and an HRM. Since it's more step-based versus real cardio, I just let the FitBit One do the logging for me. I shop WalMart and Sam's Club and can easily does 2-3 miles of walking in each one.
  • taidasrictar
    taidasrictar Posts: 100 Member
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    i do log my grocery shopping because in the course of my day it is out of my normal routine since i only shop once a week and usually spend an an hour and a half and log about 30-45(i keep track of how long i am in each store)i do High intensity grocery shopping with a very brisk walk i am a surgical strike male grocery shopper :laugh:

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