How much exercise do you count?

fteale

I put in everything that is outside of the ordinary. So I don't include housework or gardening unless I am doing something serious that burns a lot of calories for several hours (so bailing out my kitchen and moving furniture = yes, everyday stuff like washing and cleaning = no). I don't include shopping, but do count it if I am walking for several hours at pace. I would definitely count cycling to work, not that I do any more. It's exercise. I didn't count the hour of zumba I did couple of weeks ago as I only burned 120 cals and would have got a better work out tidying my house.

ezramedic

I *only* count cleaning if it's out of the ordinary stuff - like I steam cleaned my carpets and couches this week - it tooks hours and I was sweating at the end. Otherwise, I only count workouts I set out to do intentionally - like the gym, going for a run, or doing a workout video.

anarose13

if you are going to count all your food intake why would you not count all your exercise? your not going to have acurate results if you dont, you wont know how many calories you burn every day and how many more to add to get to your goal. this is a fault that most people who plateau in their diets dont think about. i count everything, if i feel guilty about recording my four hours of light walking for work then i only add two for the day. exercise is exercise no matter what form it comes in.

Heidi1987

I have my activity level se to sedentary, but i still don't class walking or cleaning as exercise as it is what i do any way. if i purposely go on a walk to be active I will log it, but not if I go shopping or other activities that are involved in my daily life.

aippolito1

I count work (200 calories is what mfp would give me if i changed my lifestyle to lightly active) because i don't work everyday to change my lifestyle to lightly active ... and I count everything that is DELIBERATE exercise, i.e.: my jillian workouts, pilates, any time i go to the gym, any walk that burns more than 100 calories (I typically walk for 30 minutes or more anyway - but if bf says let's go for a walk, and he means circle our little block once, hell no, i'm not counting that).

Sometimes cleaning IF my heart rate is up the whole time and it's strenuous... otherwise, that's it.

tldust

I change my activity level to Sedentary on my days off and Lightly Active on my work days. I put on 10,000-18,000 steps at work, but I figure that's included in lightly active. On my days off, I count anything that is more than my usual routine whether that be working out, dog walking or rare household cleaning like painting trim, shoveling snow or window washing. So far it's been working for me.

katherinemm31

I count exercise as exercise!

Me too, except I don't count things like going up and down my town house stairs, letting the dogs in and out all day, walking from parking lots to buildings. I do count some of the pacing and walking I do while teaching and sometimes shopping if I am doing other things too. I try to be realistic and balance what I count with the lifestyle I have listed.

neverstray

I count everything, even sex (I thought it was super cool that they have sexual activity as an activity).

On days I don't run, I go for a 30 minute walk at work. I count that.

When I surf, skateboard, or ride my bike for fun, I count that.

If I clean the house or garden for a few hours, I count that.

My job is sitting at a desk all day, so anything above that is physical activity.

I went Disneyland one day with my kids, and tracked my walking with the GPS on my phone, it's amazing how much walking you do in a day there. So, I counted that. Oh, also, when I play tennis, I count that.