do you track small amounts of exercise

addisondisease

Wait what if my dog runs out the front door and i spend 5 min chasing him around should i log that, cause i really want to cheat more on my diet.

Sorry, this really is bugging me. It's not cheating on your diet to log ACTUAL ACTIVITY. And even if they had the mindset to 'cheat' on their diet, they would only be able to 'cheat' the exercise calories of the 'very small' exercise. So what exactly do they gain?? Another slice of tomato? Stop whining.

Right ACTUAL ACTIVITY, walking to work, doing the dishes, and running after to dog for half a block IS NOT exercise. I was being sarcastic.

a_stronger_steph

Right ACTUAL ACTIVITY, walking to work, doing the dishes, and running after to dog for half a block IS NOT exercise. I was being sarcastic.

In what universe does walking to work NOT burn more calories than sitting? Certainly not the one I've been studying.

missjelika

My lifestyle is also set at sedentary and I do not log every move I make. I don't log cleaning because I have been cleaning an entire house and up after kids and a man for 17 yrs and I still managed to gain 30 lbs. So unless it is extreme cleaning such as moving furniture etc I don't log it. I don't log shopping or my daily neighborhood walk which is like 20 min because again these are things I have done for years. When I 1st started MFP I logged everything because it gave me some encouragement but now I only log my actual scheduled exercise such as my zumba, p90x, etc I log a walk if it is out of the ordinary sometimes my kids and I will walk to the park which is about 2 miles away and we walk back so I log that because it is not the norm. Or if we play basketball or race each other. But I think it is up to you really what you consider to be working out. If you walked you dog this distance everyday before you decided on your lifestyle change then I wouldn't count it, but if you started doing that afterwards then count it. Good luck either way!!!!!

^^^^^ this

Pebble321

It depends on your activity level setting.
I originally has mine set at sedentary and logged all my walks, but then I changed it to lightly active so that already accounts for those everyday walks (ie. to and from the bus stop and train station) and only log walks or other exercise if they are over and above my daily routine.

EQHanks

I walk my dog every morning sometimes more depending on weather. I used to strap on my HRM and log everything, every little exercise. I don't do that anymore because walking is part of our daily routine, even if its 15-20 mins long. Now I view it as a bonus exercise. Unless we go for a hike or some other more strenuous exercise


Loved reading all the feedback!

Gt3ch

Think about it. If your goal is to loose weight then you want a calorie deficit every day. Most people tend to overestimate their calorie expenditure and underestimate how much they’ve eaten. So your better off trying to do the opposite and not try to eat every calorie you’ve burnt off with exercise. It would only help you reach your goal weight if you didn’t log a light walk or housework (or even a full blown workout) and saw your max allowed calories as a MAX.

addisondisease

Walking can be an exercise, walking to work (unless you are walking through an obsticle course) would not be counted. The other day I spent 3 hours working in a grape vinyard, but I'm not going to log that Because although yes it was hard, and yes I had an elevated heart rate, it's just working, not working out. I also have the self control to not have to eat back every single calorie expended.