Do You Log Fun Activities?

cmpettey

I went sledding with the kids today. At points I was out of breath so I counted it. I only logged about half of it, though because I wasn't going up and down the hill the whole time. If it makes me tired, out of breath, etc. I log it.

robot_potato

If it's a good workout or out of the ordinary, I do. I log jumping rope and riding bikes with my kids. Somedays I will bring laundry upstairs piece by piece so I can log running up and down stairs. Exercise is exercise.

SassyCalyGirl

minimal effort=minimal results.

You act as if I stated that this was the ONLY exercise I do all week (or even that day for that matter). I also exercise 6 days per week on top of anything else I consider fun.

Several people seemed to have jumped to the conclusion that I'm asking if going to the zoo once a month can take place of normal diet and exercise. I'm almost sorry I asked...

you are reading this through your own filter, not mine. That is evident since you only chose to quote part of my statement.

I'm not going to get into an arguement just because I asked for help. That's what this site is for. Stop being so rude and antagonistic to people. Seriously...

wow! Really? Fact is You attacked me for a commentt I made about a completely different topic and not your post-so who's being antagonistic? But again-your filter not mine.

hsmithway

Personally, I don't log the walking done in the course of a museum/zoo/shopping/whatever trip. Largely because my pace in such a setting tends to be slow enough that it's not noteworthy. And since so much time is spent standing and looking at things, I'd have difficult time trying to quantify how much time I actually spent walking.

Now, if I walk the dog I keep a reasonably brisk pace and I'm walking basically non-stop the entire time, so I do log it.

lukeout007

Personally, I don't log the walking done in the course of a museum/zoo/shopping/whatever trip. Largely because my pace in such a setting tends to be slow enough that it's not noteworthy. And since so much time is spent standing and looking at things, I'd have difficult time trying to quantify how much time I actually spent walking.

Now, if I walk the dog I keep a reasonably brisk pace and I'm walking basically non-stop the entire time, so I do log it.

Yeah I think it would have to depend on my pace. I definitely couldn't log the entire trip as there would be some time where we'd just be standing. Our Zoo's around here have a fair distance between each exhibit and we tend to walk pretty quickly so I think for the most part my pace would be faster than a normal walk. But in the midst of a bunch of exhibits it would be very slow.

meerkat70

for some of us here it is simply the difference between deliberate effort vs. Normal daily activity. I did not sugbest the OP not log what HE considers Fun Activity. To each his own


minimal effort=minimal results.

I'm not quite sure who you're addressing here? Or was this more a generic pontification?

SassyCalyGirl

for some of us here it is simply the difference between deliberate effort vs. Normal daily activity. I did not sugbest the OP not log what HE considers Fun Activity. To each his own


minimal effort=minimal results.

I'm not quite sure who you're addressing here? Or was this more a generic pontification?

not you-and no

PunkyRachel

I count everything now, Like when I'm out shopping, I count it as walking. Hell, I'm even naughty and log "sexual activities". I think now, every little bit helps, even if it doesn't seem like much.

mooglysmom

Personally, I don't log the walking done in the course of a museum/zoo/shopping/whatever trip. Largely because my pace in such a setting tends to be slow enough that it's not noteworthy. And since so much time is spent standing and looking at things, I'd have difficult time trying to quantify how much time I actually spent walking.

Now, if I walk the dog I keep a reasonably brisk pace and I'm walking basically non-stop the entire time, so I do log it.

Yeah I think it would have to depend on my pace. I definitely couldn't log the entire trip as there would be some time where we'd just be standing. Our Zoo's around here have a fair distance between each exhibit and we tend to walk pretty quickly so I think for the most part my pace would be faster than a normal walk. But in the midst of a bunch of exhibits it would be very slow.

See, I would log it just for that too. I logged my walk to the park with the kids, because half the time I was jogging to keep up with their bikes!! At the mall today, I was booking it (my oldest is on the spectrum, there is no stopping and looking at things unless I mean business, lol). This is out of the ordinary, and a calorie expenditure, I would definitely count it.

MLA5FL

Interesting topic. I just noticed one of my friends added "cleaning" in exercise today. I never thought to add things like that. I just figured things I normally do don't really count since it's what I've always done. I think little things can make a difference, but only if it's things we don't normally do - we were still the same size and weight with things we already did on a regular basis.

I've been taking my dog on a 20 minute walk every weekday and twice on weekends instead of just letting him out in the yard - a little thing, but I've been adding it just because it's one of those little things I've changed, once it becomes routine and as I increase my workouts I will stop logging the smaller things like that.

We don't want to try to fool ourselves into thinking we are doing better than we are by what we type into our diaries at MFP - just my 2 cents

mlk8604

I only count those things because I'm set to sedatary and only allotted 1200 calories a day but I only eat about a quarter of the calories back that is supposedly burned. Guess it depends on the person situation

This is me too - mine is set at sedentary because I sit on my butt all day. I count cleaning, mowing, and shopping as exercise because I sit at a desk all day and that stuff IS exercise to me. I do workouts as well, but I think it's fair to count normal chores as exercise if you're staying active.

getalife9353

Depends on how much effort I put into it....
If I go mountain biking, I'll log it.... I typically burn in excess of 1000 calories...
If I go kayaking it depends... if I'm on the lake putting in distance and time, I log it. If I'm just lily-dipping, taking in nature, I don't.
If I go for a walk or hike again it depends.... if I'm just strolling about, I don't log it. If I am putting in some effort to get my heart rate up, I will log it.

sneckerdoodle

i do absolutely, i log it under walking at 2.0 mph, slow pace, your burning calories so you might as well count them.

feb06momma

I log activities with the kids. They are calories I wouldn't burn on a normal day. Same as an earlier post I always knock the time down a little because of stops.

Yes, this! Me, too. I do not log extracurricular time with my man or cleaning or things like that, but if I spend several hours walking, like I did today, heck yeah I am logging it!!

zafferFL

If you expected a certain response you should state that when asking the question. No need to get bent out of shape on others opinions.

Anomalia

I don't log things unless they are intentional exercise, aka going to the gym, going for a run, etc. Things that are not intentionally planned exercise such as cleaning and washing my car I do not log, in my opinion it is not worth the over estimation.

anarose13

why not? its still movement, if you feel guilty about it then just cut your time a bit. exercise is exercise no matter what form it comes in.

Meggles63

I went to the zoo today and I logged it. I had already done a workout this morning. I'm a very active person - in fact, I had to set my activity level to "very active" on MFP and it still doesn't match my TDEE. Walked quite a bit around the zoo - so much that my FitBit noticed - and I'm taking the calories, cuz I'm hungry!

RobynJoy76

The Fit Bit is really awesome for avoiding confusion with this. I highly recommend it. I burn a lot more calories just walking around than I thought.

yoovie

I count everything now, Like when I'm out shopping, I count it as walking. Hell, I'm even naughty and log "sexual activities". I think now, every little bit helps, even if it doesn't seem like much.

careful i just got reamed out and accused of not knowing how to truly enjoy sex because they think im wondering, while im having my fun, how many calories Im burning. There's a ton of prude moms on this site so you gotta be PC or they flare up.

The truth is, when I roll over a guy on a sunday morning, stand up to stretch and can barely move cause im so sore from 4 or 5 hours of vigorous, hot sweaty, amazing sexual activity, with breaks only to pee and shower and I know I burned over 400 calories and my legs got an ST workout.....?

You can bet your butt that after he leaves my apartment, I grab a cup of coffee, gingerly sit down and plug that ish into my tracker along with breakfast.

Well... if you dont have a car and have to walk 7 miles a day cause you live in a pedestrian city- do those miles not count? You think I cant live in the moment of enjoying a great lay - cause Im going to track it the next day? Or do you think that because I get laid all the time, the calories I burned don't count.

hahaha... you're doing it wrong.

meerkat70

yoovie, you're going to have some people praying for your immortal soul....:-D (the ones who aren't frantically working themselves into a lather hitting that report button.... )

yoovie

meh, Im used to it. I don't care anymore. There are people who are trying to lose weight in the most righteous perfect honorable PC way possible, and then there are real people like me. Who quit all the time. Burn calories in the most interesting ways possible. Motivate themselves through vanity and little skimpy outfits and just want it to take less time to shave their legs. Who are doing ALLLLLL the right things, for ALLLLL the wrong reasons

plus 'ignore buttons' are a gift from Darwin and Al Gore.

it_be_asin

I am afraid I don't get the people who think you can't exercise and do anything else at the same time. Yes, Virginia, there is such a thing as incidental exercise! I log my walk commutes, if I go out and dance - used to log my cleaning on the weekends but now I am more active at work, I upped my activity level and don't log my cleaning on the weekend.

I have fun at the gym, but if I have fun dancing when I'm out I'll log that too and you can't stop me.

lonaneomaflame

I log everything that I didn't do before, So I would deffinatly log a trip to the zoo since I haven't been there in many years. If I lived in a city where you could walk around and I did would like that every day even before I started working out I probably wouldn't count it because that would be my "normal" life. I count my trips to the park, and when I take the dogs on a walk, and when I play the kinect or move. none of those things were things I used to do often so they count.

IMO unless you go somewhere like the Zoo every day or close to it then it is an "exercise" and can (maybe even should) be logged.