Walking around at an Event

_Doreen_

Hi... I'm wondering if walking around at a state fair (or the Big E) for 8.5 hours counts towards "exercise" on MFP? Could it be considered "walking-leisurely"? I would take off the the amount of time we sat... 30 minutes at the most, and an approximate time that we weren't actually walking (about an hour). I don't want to use anything in my food/excersize logs that might be considered "cheating". I also ate a bite or two of things (instead of eating whole meals, I shared the rest of the servings), so I know I'll have to estimate my food for the day, but that's as close as I can get, unless someone has a suggestion for that as well. Thanks

kassied09

I would count the walking around. Just make sure it is 2.0 or maybe 3.0 to be most accurate. As for the bite or two of things - it is really up to you. I would could it just because it would make me feel better to put EVERYTHING down that went into my body to get a more accurate account for things. But either way, your body knows - this is just a way of keeping track.

I hope this helps

Jenscan

No, I wouldn't count that as exercise.

chevy88grl

We went to Cedar Point last month and walked around ALL day long. I didn't count it as exercise. BUT, I have my activity level set high because I work on my feet. So, really... walking around, standing, etc is pretty much normal for me.

PlunderBunneh

I usually log that as 1.5 mph, and only log half of the time I was actually walking. So, if I was walking for 5 hours, and I know I was stopped for a total of about 1 hour, I would log 2 hours of very slow walking. I want to log it because it's obviously walking I wouldn't have done normally, but hesitate to call it exercise, since that wasn't the purpose.
Hope that helps...

LivLovLrn

I counted my walking time at the fair here...it is something you don't normally do so...

sjtreely

Well, you didn't mention the type of food you enjoyed at the fair, but I'd say at best you may have broken even with your walking and calorie intake. Best guesses have been found to favor more exercise and less calories, when in reality it's reversed. How about just going with, "I had a great day at the fair. I made some good memories and enjoyed myself without stressing over over indulging on fair food." That in itself is an NSV.

alienblonde1

Depends on how you have yours set. Do you have a sedentary setting? or one a little more active? I see some that post cleaning and all kinds of things that some wont post as exercise on here and they are losing. I figure it doesn't matter what you log it depends on your settings here. Like my job I sit all day. So set at sedentary but on my days off I am out shopping bumming whatever, I am active.

I see some here make comments against ones that log cleaning, gardening or stuff like that. But what difference is it if they are losing? Do what you feel you have to do to help you lose

oswaldbowser

If you dont normally walk any where and found walking around the park aching and tiring at the end then I would say your body has done some exercise and i would estimate that if you gave youself 4hrs of slow pace walking this would take in account stopping and general sitting etc.....however if you walk everyday loads of miles your body would have got used to it and would just be normal for it burning a lot fewer calories.

As far as adding the food I think its very important.....its so easy just to pop a cookie into your mouth and think "oh its not much i wont add it to my food diary" ...this is counter productive in my views because if you dont start to lose weight you wont have any evidence written down to why....thus giving other members a hard time trying to help you without all the facts !

TooFatToFit

I would count it, since I'm set on sedentary settings. So what if it's not purposeful exercise? Calories are being expended whether you are doing it for that purpose or not. To me, it only makes sense that if you are rigidly logging your calorie intake, you should be equally as rigid about logging your calorie burn. I definitely burn way more walking around a fair all day then sitting in my chair typing.

_Doreen_

Thanks Kassie... It was definitely at least 2.0 and sometimes more. I have counted everything I ate, but had to use some things that were similar in the food database. The one thing I don't want, is to post LESS than I've eaten. Just trying to be really careful about things so I can succeed. Thanks for your comment!

_Doreen_

Thanks to everybody for your input on this. I definitely counted everything I ate, and although I do try to walk daily (and actually did some running on the morning of the fair!), I never walk for hours at a time, so I posted a 2.0 walk for 2 hours less than it was. I guess that's a "fair" compromise... no pun intended. :laugh: I always over-estimate amounts of what I've eaten and underestimate my exercise/activity in order to be really careful about this posting stuff too... sort of like erring on the side of caution. I didn't deprive myself of any of the usually "off bounds" food at the fair, which worked out, because I actually ended up eating a less amount of food than I would have on a regular day... it just wasn't very healthy food. I did have a great time with friends and family (and they really liked that I shared lots of my goodies with them!). And now, the day after, I am back on track again.
Thanks again for all of your guidance and comments. This is a great website! :happy: