Logging exercise for absurd things

lisaelainee

I don't understand why some people log calories for putting out the bin and other things like this.
I only log what I have gone out my way to do like take a half an hour walk, and such.
Putting things out in the bin is just things you do in your regular day without thinking.

What are your thoughts?
and whats the craziest thing some one has logged that you have seen?

Virginia90

Some people might have had virtually no activity level before joining MFP, so if they are doing something outta the ordinary, then why not log it? I don't count things like dishes or laundry, but if I go outside and mow the lawn (push mower obviously), then I'll log it. If a person is starting from a point in their life that they see "every day things" as exercise, then little victories that seem absurd to others could be a big deal to them. Maybe the trash bin is far away from their house - our trash bins are about 1/5 mile away from our house because we have a long driveway, but I have my DH bring that out. lol If I had to bring it out, I'd log it too! 2/5 mile is 2/5 mile! That being said, I don't log the odd household things, but instead think of them as bonus points, but I don't think it's nice to call something someone else logs absurd - like I said, it could be a victory for that person to have accomplished something they used to not do. Besides - if they are only doing it to make up reasons to eat more, then they probably aren't in the same place as some of us, and need more support from this community, not ridicule. Just my $.02.

silentnacht

I think it's a bit pedantic sometimes, but I don't blame anyone for wanting that nice, shiny notice of "so-and-so's burned XX calories doing XX activity". It's a reward for doing something they might not have done otherwise. Plus, taking the trash down the driveway at my house involves a half-mile hike, so if I was a sedentary person not used to regular exercise I would certainly count it.

Pebble321

I just don't think you can judge unless you know a particular person's situation. Putting the bins out might be a big deal for that particular person (it wouldn't burn many cals for me, but maybe their gate is half a km from the house and they have 5 bins to move... we just don't know).

As a general comment - if activity level is set at sedentary then I think it is valid to add in activities that others might not consider "exercise". I usually ahve my acticity level set at "lightly active" which already includes short walks to the bus and going up and down the stairs at work, but recently I've had an injury so have changed my settings to sedentary, so I am counting things (like 10 min walks) that I wouldn't usually count.

forme2310

I totally agree we are here to help one another not judge

schwarzaj

wow, Virginia, what a fantastic response! you totally changed the way I thought about it

Clarecbear82

Im like you and only add extra things I've done. The way I see it I used to clean and take the bins out at my biggest so its not really exercise. I always thought that if you had your lifestyle set to seditary (sp?) It factored in daily things like that.

I do like seeing some of the things people add. The best had to be singing standing up! The person who logged it didn't stay long but used to write lots of updates about how she was eating the extra cals and losing nothing and got very irrate when told standing up isn't really an exercise.

aaleigha1

the other day I made bread by hand and not in the mixer - as in june I collapsed and was then on enforced bed rest and no activity for over a month and my fitness is still not back I did include that - have you made bread by hand lately - its not something most people do as part of their daily lives

I really have concerns when people post such topics

you dont log it - so what
I log it because it helps me get back to full fitness - I long for the days when I can do a trip to the gym for 2 hours 5 times a week

Le_Joy

If you know these people so well as to know what their regular life is like why don't you ask them why they log it? I log cleaning because I am busy and only clean about 2x a week. it only gets me like 50 cals burned, but it's something. And one of my friends counts when she goes to check the mail. Her mailbox is 1/2 a mile down (and then back up) a steep hill from her.

cheeki119

to be honest until i heard the responces i agreed, i think of myself as suportive but didnt think of that. x

bgillis7

i saw someone log driving as exercise lol

Le_Joy

The way I see it I used to clean and take the bins out at my biggest so its not really exercise

I have seen this reasoning before, but have never understood it. I did Zumba, Yoga, Pilates & jogged on a treadmill at my biggest on a rather regular basis when I was at my biggest, but they still count as exercise...

silentnacht

the other day I made bread by hand and not in the mixer - as in june I collapsed and was then on enforced bed rest and no activity for over a month and my fitness is still not back I did include that - have you made bread by hand lately - its not something most people do as part of their daily lives

Oh, man, kneading dough is a great upper body workout. On paper it looks simple, but when it's a recipe that requires 10+ minutes your arms will definitely feel it.

I make Stollen for all my relatives every Christmas and by the end of it I swear my arms aren't attached to my body anymore. /bread-baking story

Virginia90

wow, Virginia, what a fantastic response! you totally changed the way I thought about it

Glad to have given you a different perspective. :flowerforyou:

claire_90

I 100% agree with the original post and if someone is a repeat offender of this I usually delete them as petty as it sounds.

MFP has a daily activity calculator. If you are scrubbing the floor cinderella style every night for 2 hours then you should set yourself to be a higher level of activity than what you have rather than adding every day activity as extra work.

Edit* I'm talking about everyday activity - assuming cleaning is everyday, if it's not then I just envy your life and am bitter and jealous I have to clean lol

thefuzz1290

I only log planned exercise. I my play with my daughter and burn some calories, but that's just bonus calories burned for me. Now I know people who will log "exercise" so they have an excuse to cheat on their diet.

99Tinkerbell

Wow...I'm not here to judge... everyone is unique. I wouldn't want to be a friend to someone who thinks something I log is petty be it food or exercise.

swatts7622

I delete people that overlog, may sound harsh but I just come from the gym for a hour where I only burned 300 calories working my *kitten* off I dont want to come log it and see "so and so had burned 678 calories cleaning- light-moderate for 30 mins" ect... Bums me out lol

12skipafew99100

I only log planned exercise. I my play with my daughter and burn some calories, but that's just bonus calories burned for me. Now I know people who will log "exercise" so they have an excuse to cheat on their diet.

Thats exactly why I exercise. So I can have an extra snack. I earned it so I'm going to eat it as instructed by myfitnesspal. I do not consider it cheating.

gatecityradio

I don't log anything unless it's extra exercise; like going to the gym, playing a sport, a long walk, or riding my bike.

jaabee11

knitting.. yep saw it.

My opinion is if it is working for them then they should keep doing it .
We do whatever it takes for us to be motivated, good on them.

karinapeterson

I log mowing the lawn but our lawn is a full acre and takes over 4 hours to mow. I do try to time myself and go faster each time. But if you saw it in a log as mowing the lawn it looks lame. Believe me, it is dang hard work hehe. If you do anything you dont normally do and feels like a workout to you and it motivates you, it is your right to log it. After all we are all doing this for ourselves not anyone else or their opinions. Here to support and motivate. Go us!!

MrsDundas87

I log my daily walk to work, cos its 1.5 miles each way. I dont log the walk to school or the fact that I run around like an eejit all day at work. I dont always eat my exercise calories, but on days where I have been up all night with the baby, or feeling full of the cold then I dont do any additional exercise, so dont feel so bad about not doing any as I know I have done a good walk.. Most days I will try and do something as well as my 3 mile walk. The way I see it, its better for me than jumping on the bus and as walking is exercise, I'm gonna log it.

meggy_182

Baby steps! People are on here for support not judgment on their activities so what you did 2 hours in the gym, to some people any exercise is a step in the right direction so good on them!!!

thefuzz1290

I only log planned exercise. I my play with my daughter and burn some calories, but that's just bonus calories burned for me. Now I know people who will log "exercise" so they have an excuse to cheat on their diet.

Thats exactly why I exercise. So I can have an extra snack. I earned it so I'm going to eat it as instructed by myfitnesspal. I do not consider it cheating.

I meant cheating as in junky food. "I burned 20 calories doing dishes, 30 calories sweeping, another 40 washing the car....now I can have that piece of cake."

econut2000

I have some pretty serious health issues that prevent me from doing exercise regularly. I used to be a runner and I probably would have thought the same as the OP but now, I log things like cleaning. Why? Because many days I literally cannot get off the couch. Don't rush to judgement on people. If people are logging things like "standing up singing" and use it as an excuse to eat extra but then complain repeatedly about not losing weight then I say offer advice and then if they don't take it, by all means unfriend them. But don't unfriend people for logging cleaning or mowing the lawn or whatever. Aren't we here to be supportive of everyone else on this journey regardless of what path they have chosen? If you can't be supportive, then I say don't bother "friending" anyone.

tycholien

myfitnesspal is a calorie counter. You log what you eat, you log what you work off.

Absolutley no reason why people shouldn't log cleaning etc. myfitnesspal is a tool to help people get rid of weight and be healthy, the community is here to help people do that.

If someone does a load of cleaning and wants to log it the that is up to them. Ultimately they are burning calories over and above their BMR so it should count. It doesn't matter if it is on a treadmill, stepper or cleaning a window.

The calories burned on the running machine are the same ones burned doing cleaning and some cleaning can work up a sweat. If people don't like it then that is up to them but it isn't for anyone else to judge.

Yes, if someone complains that they aren't loosing weight even though they are cleaning every day then maybe we gently suggest doing something else, or point out that maybe mfp isn't that accurate on those things when it comes to calories burned, but you shouldn't ever judge. People need support, if they have taken the choice to start using mfp then they are trying, they then need support to go further.

Food and weight are very sensitive issues to some people and we should never ever judge people, we should encourage them.

TheMrsBee

the other day I made bread by hand and not in the mixer - as in june I collapsed and was then on enforced bed rest and no activity for over a month and my fitness is still not back I did include that - have you made bread by hand lately - its not something most people do as part of their daily lives

Oh, man, kneading dough is a great upper body workout. On paper it looks simple, but when it's a recipe that requires 10+ minutes your arms will definitely feel it.

I make Stollen for all my relatives every Christmas and by the end of it I swear my arms aren't attached to my body anymore. /bread-baking story

I agree, I bake a lot and ice a lot of cakes and that makes my arms ache like crazy and i'm on my feet ALL the time when i'm in the kitchen! i don't use a kitchen aid or electric whisk i do it all by hand! sometimes i'll log it, but recently i have been using this as extra points! :-)

becka63

I think if just as logging everything you eat makes you really think about your calorie intake, then some people might find that logging everything they do makes them think about calorie expenditure, which I know for me, before MFP, I wasn't thinking about either of those things.

I often wonder about the motivation of starting topics like this?

Martucha123

Well I understand your intention
I saw one of my friends logging cooking 10 minutes 20 kcal, and I agree,
that really is included in your daily goal, so no, if you want to make progress you shouldn't log that.
but if it's walking, moving loan, cleaning for hour(s), then why not?

I recently switched my profile from light activity 1 h per day to sedentary and started logging all the walking. so yes, now it looks like i spend all the working out (like yesterday, I did 20 min hiit, but then added walking for 2h...)

why i do that you ask? well, I do walk 1h each day from Monday to Friday (to work) but I don't on weekends and holidays, and I hope that this will push me to do extra walking on those days, while now, pretty often I hit the gym in the morninh and after that sit on the couch all day...

Also this way I hope to be able to track my deficit more accurately

Don't judge, support. And if you feel that some behaviours discourage you, unfriend, it's not popularity contest, not everybody has to be your friend

erinkeely4

I log practicing piano and drums... may seem kind of weird to some, but it helps me keep track of how much I'm practicing. Basically I'm expanding the use of this app with other important things in life! Ha.