To log or not to log... that is the question...

lwhitman4

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune...

Oh sorry, I got carried away.

No really, though. I see some people that will log mundane activities as exercise. While I would like to use the calories I assume I'm burning by cleaning house or washing my car, I just can't justify it. To me, I think that those should be included in the normal caloric expenditures of my day. So I chose not to just because it makes more sense to me that way.

However, on days like today, where I have about 30 minutes to eat lunch and get online to check out all my stuff, then I have to go wash my car, vacuum out the inside of it and Armor-all it, then I have to vacuum the living room, sweep and mop the rest of the house, then clean my bathroom. After that it's girl's night out, so YES I would lurve to log all that as exercise because I don't think I'll be able to get a jog in. But I'm not going to because I would feel like I'm cheating myself.

So, my posed question to fellow MFPers is: Do you log daily activities as exercise or no? Just curious.

foremant86

daily activities, no

but when i spend 4 hours hand washing/waxing my 4x4 truck, yes

or if I do a deep cleaning to the house and my heart is beating hard, yes.

Kara52217

No not unless I have designated it as exercise prior or if I am doing heavy cleaning I log like1/2 the ant of time as light cleaning or something but normal everyday cleaning and such I don't log

impudentputz

Personally, i do not. If people lead busy lives like that, increase your daily activity level. I know some people who logged 10 mins of cleaning... really, 10 mins... good for you now go eat half of a cracker and get the calories back! Track exercise... not mundane tasks.

impudentputz

Personally, i do not. If people lead busy lives like that, increase your daily activity level. I know some people who logged 10 mins of cleaning... really, 10 mins... good for you now go eat half of a cracker and get the calories back! Track exercise... not mundane tasks.

Wow, that came off as really... brash... i apologize.

healthyzebra

I typically don't log mundane activities - what I typically log is walking, running, circuit training, yoga, etc... However, under the circumstance that I bother to actually clean the house (a rare feat!) I will log the activity as light cleaning because I'll usually do it from anywhere from 2 hours to upwards of 4 or 5. Obviously with a break here or there, but I'll be on my feet and moving the entire time, so I count that as activity.

czechsmate

daily activities no - exercise yes, I just consider the daily activities to be a bonus

GouchisGirl

If I work up a sweat.... I log it! lol If I'm flying like a bat out of hell around the house cleaning, that is really a work out and it is worth logging. Or if I'm up walking my baby for an hour, I don't see that as any different as people logging a moderate walk. To each his own I suppose.

DixiedoesMFP

I take it as those "normal" activities should already be a part of my BMR, so MFP already takes that into account. I only log what is above and beyond that, like pushmowing the yard or last night I moved furniture.

rockerbabyy

some of it i do, some i dont. i dont count walking up and down the stairs when im doing laundry. id count when i scrub my floor on my hands and knees. i dont count vacuuming, but id count mowing the lawn. when i walk my kid to school, i log it. when i walk to pick up my produce box i log it as walking + carrying 15lbs. but i also have my activity level set at sedentary

clubbybear

The only thing I've logged extra is mowing the grass. I figure pushing a lawn mower for 30 minutes or more should count as exercise.

lwhitman4

Personally, i do not. If people lead busy lives like that, increase your daily activity level. I know some people who logged 10 mins of cleaning... really, 10 mins... good for you now go eat half of a cracker and get the calories back! Track exercise... not mundane tasks.

Wow, that came off as really... brash... i apologize.

Oh, no worries. I'm just curious as to everyone's opinions - I'm gonna do what I think is best for me no matter what, I just like hearing what other people say works for them.

ejohndrow

Nope. I fugure that if I could stay at a good weight just by doing daily activities then I wouldn't have to worry about my weight. It seems like some people like to log in the mundane just so they can eat more, they eat more, and then they complain that they can't lose weight no matter how hard they try-it's a viscious cycle.

It's sad that in this country walking a mile is a huge feat for most.

CarlaJean140down

If it is extra activity...like dancing with the girls....that is a workout to me. My goal is to add and keep those extra activities in my life so it depends on your point of view and what tour personal goals are....I wouldn't count vacuuming or mopping but if I was doing spring cleaning all day I mifht count some of it, depending how active I am. When I work 14 Hours in a day there is no time for the gym...but I do not use the elevators atwork...I hall it up and down 8 stories and count my steps....I usually just document the steps for my benefit knowing I am getting some exercise in.

Barelmy

I don't, no, and I don't count activities done at work, either (I am currently volunteering as a vegan baker, a victim support worker, and a database-creator - only one of those involves sitting down!). It should all be under activity level.

That said, I know some people who set their activity level to sedentary, and then log everything, and it does seem to work for them.

ASPhantom

I don't log regular stuff.

I DO log, soccer coaching, gardening (if I am digging and moving things, carrying around big bags of mulch, etc) and anything I get dressed in workout clothes to do, ie 30DS and C25K or a good run or walk.

I don't log grocery shopping, house cleaning, laundry, anything that is a normal day to day thing.

shorty458

Sometimes... mostly the one I will count is grocery shopping since I am walking around the store for like an hour.

kelsully

This topic comes up a lot and I must first say that I appreciate the respectful way OP addressed the question. It is often brought up in such a nasty way. Some people use different headings to account for their exercise just to have a category that matches their perceived calorie burn but then undervalue the time..ie...when my basement flooded and I worked three days in a row carrying soping wet boxes up the stairs etc I counted it and looked for a heading that I thought would account for the work and maybe underestimate it a bit to avoid eating too much...the following day I was smart enough to wear my HRM..and my logging was pretty close the day before. The first day I figured vigorous cleaning would be good with the heavy wet stuff and the stairs etc...I worked for 4.5 hours but only counted 1.5 hours to account for times where I was emptying a box or being asked a zillion questions by my kids etc. When my mom first started her journey it was a big deal for her to walk to the mailbox or run a vaccuum..now that she has done a a 5K she doesn't log mailbox trips anymore.

CarlaJean140down

Kelsully very good response, i agree it has to do with how the individual perceives their exertion for the day based of their normal lifestyle. And In my opinion, we are all here to help each other....and we don't know where others have started from...so we should be encouraging and motivating...we should not knock what others choose to log...we do not walk in their shoes. Have a great day everyone and make it a good one

Leola2011

I don't think about my cleaning, cooking, shopping, wagon-training enough to even remember how much or how intense it is/was. I'm always doing something...even if it's walking the halls of my home like a drill instructor barking at my kids LOL (which I reall don't do often). There's always laundry to fold or cereal to sweep or pots to put away. I just consider it a part of my normal activities because doing otherwise would mean I'm strapped to my HRM from the moment I awaken to the moment I sit down. It's just not practical to log it as exercise. Furthermore, I also feel like I'd be lulling myself into a false sense of security and fooling myself into thinking that I could eat more than I actually should. I'd rather underestimate my burn than overestimate.

Having said that, I also realize that doing certain things is truly laborious for some. The energy and endurance it takes to strip the bed and remake it was not lost on me after I had hernia repair surgery several years ago. And bending down to clean a tub or hauling groceries from the van into the house in the rain can be a huge deal. So, I don't begrudge anyone who feels justified in logging such things. I just choose not to.

nettie1969

I fit in the inbetween category and kind of log everything.

My activity level is set at sedentry and cals at 1540 per day (yes I raised it a little) but as a general rule do not 'eat back' all of my 'exercise' calories.

i wear a pedometer everyday and log these steps (in my own exercise category) as minutes (no of steps /2500 * 60 = mins for day) mainly to motivate myself to up my general activity level each day. I aim for around 300cals per day of this type of exercise and these are the cals i do not eat back. I include in it any general activities such as housework, grocery shopping and walking around the office.

I then log any additional or deliberate exercise such as my daily walk, cardio and strength workout and extra stuff that I wouldn't normally do - like gardening or movinig furniture around.

I find this a good balance for me and it helps me feel motivated and on track.

kellyscomeback

If it's not out of the ordinary for me to do it, I don't log it. I don't log laundry, dishes, vacuuming, etc. or any other household chores. I did log gardening today because I was dripping sweat off my forehead and I was pulled weeds like mad, so that was not my norm and I logged it.

dreilingda

I take it as those "normal" activities should already be a part of my BMR, so MFP already takes that into account. I only log what is above and beyond that, like pushmowing the yard or last night I moved furniture.

I agree with this. Sure you might clean the house one day, but you probably balance it by sitting around on your butt another day. It's such an inexact science anyway.

harmonysdream

If its something I spend a more than usual amount of time on or expend more energy then usual I might, but I never have.

I think it's key to remember that different people are at different fitness levels and just doing normal house work might be more than they were accustomed to doing before they decided to change their lives. For them going from no motion to even what seems like an insignificant amount to you will really make a difference.

WalkingGirl1985

No..unless I do some heavy cleaning or helping a friend move boxes around, then yes.

bellawares

If I clean which is rarely ever :blushing: I log my time. When I clean it's usually a deep clean which can take hours :laugh: . That's a work out for me! Everything else that is not actual "exercise" stays off my log. I get a kick out of some of the things I've seen logged as exercise. Nope . . . . not even going there :flowerforyou: .

lwhitman4

I don't think about my cleaning, cooking, shopping, wagon-training enough to even remember how much or how intense it is/was. I'm always doing something...even if it's walking the halls of my home like a drill instructor barking at my kids LOL (which I reall don't do often). There's always laundry to fold or cereal to sweep or pots to put away. I just consider it a part of my normal activities because doing otherwise would mean I'm strapped to my HRM from the moment I awaken to the moment I sit down. It's just not practical to log it as exercise. Furthermore, I also feel like I'd be lulling myself into a false sense of security and fooling myself into thinking that I could eat more than I actually should. I'd rather underestimate my burn than overestimate.

Having said that, I also realize that doing certain things is truly laborious for some. The energy and endurance it takes to strip the bed and remake it was not lost on me after I had hernia repair surgery several years ago. And bending down to clean a tub or hauling groceries from the van into the house in the rain can be a huge deal. So, I don't begrudge anyone who feels justified in logging such things. I just choose not to.

Girl, I remember that time you mentioned that if you ran about the house cleaning with "vigorous" effort, your husband would be asking you for a urine sample... it made me LOL.



Thanks everyone for the input. I like how some people's methods will work for them, then other people have completely separate things that work for them. Explains how so thoroughly varied our human bodies are!

Oh, and update: my "Girls Night" consisted of going almost 300 cal over my daily limit.



But it was totally worth it!

nettie1969

If I clean which is rarely ever :blushing: I log my time. When I clean it's usually a deep clean which can take hours :laugh: . That's a work out for me! Everything else that is not actual "exercise" stays off my log. I get a kick out of some of the things I've seen logged as exercise. Nope . . . . not even going there :flowerforyou: .

So, how do you log s e x then??? lol