does it count?.....

lisa28115
lisa28115 Posts: 17,271 Member
edited November 10 in Fitness and Exercise
Does grocery shopping count as exercise???
If so, how do you record it here?

Replies

  • thefuzz1290
    thefuzz1290 Posts: 777 Member
    :indifferent:
  • zafferFL
    zafferFL Posts: 402
    sure, grocery shopping counts as exercise. So does sitting on the couch.
  • violetsue
    violetsue Posts: 54 Member
    NO. There is no strenghth building or aerobic benefit.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    It depends on your activity level settings - if you are sedentary then you can add extra activities that burn calories into your diary.
    If you are set at lightly active or more, then you should only be adding extra exercise that isn't in your regular routine.

    Having said that, grocery shopping isn't going to burn up very many calories than regular daily moving around (unless you walk for miles at the shops and don't stop along the way). Strolling around Woolies pushing a trolley and stopping to read labels and drop things into the trolley wouldn't count for me.

    I don't believe that you have to be at the gym to burn calories, but you also want to be sure that you aren't counting them twice (ie adding extra exercise that has already been accounted for in your activity settings)

    If you feel that you are getting a workout while you shop, then add it in as slow walking. Be conservative with the time as you will not be walking for the full time you are in the shops.

    And keep and eye on your weight loss - if you aren't losing weight at the rate you expect then you might be better not counting things like this.
  • Sagefemme76
    Sagefemme76 Posts: 45 Member
    I know what you mean, it can sometimes feel like a feat! I think, however, that those daily chore type activities are counted under your lifestyle activity level (sedentary, lightly active, etc) and it's the huffy puffy stuff that makes us sweat which is counted in the exercise tracker.
    But hey, any movement is better than none....keep up the good work!
  • CharityEaton
    CharityEaton Posts: 499 Member
    sorry but this is going to sound really mean...if you don't want to WORK out then maybe you are looking at this the wrong way!
    You gotta WORK to get things done. If you only buy groceries once a month and you are putting 6 gallons of milkin the cart with your 40 pound kid and you push it around the store for about an hour...that might be a workout!

    Does lifting your fork to your mouth count as bicep curls?
  • dancin2011
    dancin2011 Posts: 92 Member
    I definitely would not count it.
  • MaryEffingPoppins
    MaryEffingPoppins Posts: 371 Member
    -_-
  • lisa28115
    lisa28115 Posts: 17,271 Member
    I know what you mean, it can sometimes feel like a feat! I think, however, that those daily chore type activities are counted under your lifestyle activity level (sedentary, lightly active, etc) and it's the huffy puffy stuff that makes us sweat which is counted in the exercise tracker.
    But hey, any movement is better than none....keep up the good work!

    It does semm like such a feat!!
    walking around the store is the easy part...lugging it to the car, into the car, back out of the car, into the house, putting them up once you get home.
    I did not mean to offend anyone here, its just if general house cleaning and food preparation count ... I thought that might too
    Its as much work for me to carry groceries once a week as it is to haul the garbage out of the house and take it to the county dump:blushing:
  • cjpg
    cjpg Posts: 433 Member
    Only if your running up and down the aisles at a steady pace stopping every 10 mins to pick up an item would it really count as exercise. Otherwise, it's really just shopping.
  • Jorra
    Jorra Posts: 3,338 Member
    Even if you have your activity level set to sedentary, I still don't think it counts. Even a sedentary lifestyle has some walking around included in it. It's in your best interest to only include purposeful exercise so you don't overestimate your burn and eat too much.
  • Lusadi
    Lusadi Posts: 79
    I'll count housework if I'm really busting it out and working hard to the point where I'm sweating. I sometimes turn on my dance cardio music and race around doing squats as I pick up toys, etc. Two birds with one stone. Multi-tasking is what mom's do best after all. If you haven't done much and you're making a lot of trips lugging heavy bags...over snow...in sub-zero weather (hey, I'm Alaskan..) then I'd say count it if it feels like you worked. After all, the only person that benefits by the exercise log is you.
  • killagb
    killagb Posts: 3,280 Member
    Far better off not logging it and just enjoying any extra burn/deficit it creates for you. Logging it would mean that you probably intend to eat back those calories, am I right? And that would be a bad habit, in my opinion. If it's just to motivate you and nothing else...then sure.
  • not the actual shopping, no. but if you're carrying heavy groceries back all the way to your house or something, then sure!

    i live in a college town, the grocery store is a bit more than a mile away from my dorm and i usually end up carrying 35 pounds back to my dorm, which is the farthest up the hill. lots of stairs and hills along the way, so yeaaah. i end up really sweaty by the time i get back to my room :/ LOL. it really is a workout if i may say so myself.
  • premiumchilenita
    premiumchilenita Posts: 600 Member
    I'll count housework if I'm really busting it out and working hard to the point where I'm sweating. I sometimes turn on my dance cardio music and race around doing squats as I pick up toys, etc. Two birds with one stone. Multi-tasking is what mom's do best after all. If you haven't done much and you're making a lot of trips lugging heavy bags...over snow...in sub-zero weather (hey, I'm Alaskan..) then I'd say count it if it feels like you worked. After all, the only person that benefits by the exercise log is you.

    Definitely agree with this and I also only log food prep when I have been cooking for 4-6hrs straight for a party or a big dinner party. Anything that is out of the ordinary you should count but if they are regular things that only happen every blue moon then ok.
  • CuteAndCurvy83
    CuteAndCurvy83 Posts: 570 Member
    It could if its something you don't do often. I go shopping a lot so I don't count it, but if all I did was sit at home on my computer and go out and shop and walk around the mall and things once a month for 6-8 hrs yes I'd count it. Just like cleaning, I clean often, but if I spent the day busting my butt, scrubbing floors and getting up and down off the floor and moving so much that itI break a sweat then I'd log it, cause I don't do it often. But I usually always counted the time down, if I was cleaning for 6hrs that day I usually will bring it down to 3hrs that were active cleaning.
  • onedayillbamilf
    onedayillbamilf Posts: 662 Member
    Depends. Were you bed ridden before or have to use a scooter to shop and are now able to walk around the store? If so, then yes. If not, does walking from my car to my 3rd floor apartment count as exercise? ....I didn't think so either.
  • TDGee
    TDGee Posts: 2,209 Member
    Maybe if you walked to the grocery store late at night in a bad neighborhood wearing Air Jordans and a mink coat you could generate enough of a caloric burn to make a big enough difference. You could log it as "Survival"
  • MissbusyLizzie
    MissbusyLizzie Posts: 326 Member
    Maybe if you walked to the grocery store late at night in a bad neighborhood wearing Air Jordans and a mink coat you could generate enough of a caloric burn to make a big enough difference. You could log it as "Survival"

    ....putting this on my "to do" list as we speak.....
  • I did not mean to offend anyone here, its just if general house cleaning and food preparation count ...


    Listen, I completely understand where you're coming from. I used to rationalize to myself that if I was running around doing errands then it counted as 'exercise' so I'd skip going to the gym that day... but that really isn't the right mindset. I've seen people log things like housework as exercise, but it's usually an afterthought considering they've already had a proper workout for the day. You just need to think about your weight loss differently-- working up a sweat is the way to do it, and being consistent should get you results. :flowerforyou:
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