Do you log ALL activity as exercise?

HMVOL7409

I can see logging outdoor stuff bc it can get physical; however I'm not understanding the housework logging. I think logging cleaning as exercise can be a little misleading and not burn the cals you think you are. I personally, onlyog actual exercise.

julieh391

I don't. I only log something I wouldn't have done a year and a half ago.

^^ Perfect. I think this is what I'm going to follow. I've weeded, mowed, shopped, lugged kids, walked around the zoo/amusement park/etc. for years! And I'm fat. So only actual sweaty "workout clothes" exercises will get logged for me. If I'm not wearing a sports bra, it's not exercise. Thanks for your input, everyone!

chusheto1

With it being Spring I'm seeing a lot of yard work/mowed lawn/etc. kind of posts. I haven't been logging that stuff at exercise because I don't want to see that I have extra calories. I just factor that stuff into my activity level that I set when I made my profile. Do you log chores/yard work as exercise?

I am with you. I don't log exercise as I factor it in my daily calories allowance. Knowing myself, seeing extra calories would be a slippery slope. Consecutively, I don't see a point in logging yard work. Unless it is high intensity, competitive yard work of some sorts, I guess :laugh:

All joking aside, watch your progress and decide if you should adjust for yard work or not.

jefflturn

Nope, not me, I just log the gym stuff. Personally I am afraid that if I logged other activity I would end up with too high a calorie setting on MFP. I am one of those cases that does not need an excuse to consume more calories.

StarvingDiva

Nope, not me, I just log the gym stuff. Personally I am afraid that if I logged other activity I would end up with too high a calorie setting on MFP. I am one of those cases that does not need an excuse to consume more calories.

ME TOO!

BrianSharpe

No, I just log exercise as exercise. I figure I've built yardwork & chores into my overall activity level; if I've shortchanged myself that's probably a good thing make up for the occasional granola bar that might not be logged.

Francesca3162

Depends on what it is..just did kitchen and bathrooms (3) floors on hands and knees.. I logged 100 calories burned because I have my level set at sedentary...logged heavy duty chores this weekend because I cleaned out basement, moved furniture, washed walls, etc....

TeachTheGirl

If it's something I don't generally do on a week to week basis, then I might log it. Any daily activities (doing dishes, making beds, vacuuming...) I won't log because I don't consider it exercise. Mowing a lawn, I'd probably add. Shoveling snow too.

Competitive yard work, eh? I'm sure we could race mowers!

hesn92

No I don't log anything except my actual workouts.

ajohn252

Usually no, I normally just log what I actually set out to do as
exercise like cycling or strength training but this week I'm totally gutting
my Dad's lawn and re-landscaping it. This is no leisurely gardening it was
backbreaking today and we did it for five hours (totalling over 900 calories) so I counted
the calories just to try and eat enough net for the day.

cefuhrmann

I log all activity as exercise because I have my setting at the lowest, sedentary level. I'm only allowed 1420 calories a day, which isn't really realistic, so every little bit counts!

nikrit84

I log a short amount of cleaning time if I spend the whole day cleaning. And if I mow the lawn, I always log that because it tends to take me close to an hour and I am sweating like crazy afterwards lol. However, my activity level is the lowest because right now I am laid off, and when I am working it is an 8 hour sitting office job.

gleechick609

I log yard work and planned exercise because I sweat my tooshie off. Activities such as light cleaning and walking throughout the mall, no.

sharleengc

If it's something I do daily, than no, I don't log it. I have that factored into my daily activity level.

That being said, if it's something I do once a week or do it very vigorously, than yes, i add it and count it.

Like mowing my lawn takes me an hour with a push mower, I log that. If it took 15 mins, I probably wouldn't. If I am deep cleaning - to the point where I am moving furniture, I log that too. Daily sweeping, nope don't log it.

There is one other thing I do and that is cut the time down...for example, a few weeks ago my husband and I built a flower garden out of old pallets. So, we ripped the pallets apart, cut them to size, and put them together. All together, this was a 5 hour project. I logged this as 1 hour of carpentry and took some of the calories back but I figured that was a safe bet since it didn't list how vigorous the activity or the part of carpentry.

Bottom line, if you don't want to see it added to your count, don't add it.

Tatom1622

I also log only yard work.

Jersey_Devil

no. i just make sure MFP says Im moderately active and consider it a part of that.

munkey418

i log chores/activities that get my heart beating and possibly sweaty or close to it. If im not out of breath at some point its not worth logging

lisapr123

Generally, no. If I did it before and wasn't losing weight then I don't think it should count as exercise now.

But there are days when I spend 4 hours tending to my lawn and garden after working 8-9 hours. So there is no way I am going to fit in a formal workout as well. So on those days I tend to log an hour or so of mowing or gardening. I really lowball though, if I consider it normal life activity as opposed to a workout.

Dwamma

You can log it into your daily activities OR as exercise, but I would'nt suggest doing it both ways.

MsBaby117

I log lawnmowing. I wear my HRM and my heart rate is up the entire time. I can burn around 400 calories in 50 minutes mowing the lawn. I don't log any other chores, though.

^^THIS...In fact I just cut the lawn today (with my HRM as usual) and logged it! :drinker:

mrsjrwest

I am active, and quite a bit is housework since we do Senior Foster Care and I have a 7 bedroom, 3 bath house that gets really dirty all the time (like I clean one bathroom, including wiping the floor down by hand almost every day). I also do 4-7 loads of laundry a day, and sometimes more.

So, I only log extra heavy cleaning or heavy gardening. Things like moving furniture and running the carpet cleaner, or heavy weeding or running the tiller count as extras. The regular stuff (an hour or less a day of extra) I don't count. Anyway, that's the plan.

LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo

I have a deskjob but I do a lot of walking, climbing stairs & I don't drive nor own a car so I have to walk 2 miles from the office to the nearest bus station. Anyway since I'm having a hard time monitoring the minutes that I do all of these so I put my settings under lightly active so I can only log my formal exercises but all my daily routine that involves walking or climbing stairs, light to moderate household chores are considered my NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) & its counted under my mfp settings. The only time that I log my NEAT is if I did a heavy chore that involves lifting heavy furnitures or that if it put stress on my entire body like general cleaning (as in you clean the entire house including the roof)

myjourney2

I usually just log my workouts and walk/runs. I did log my lawnmowing last week because it took me over and hour.

Patovader

I log most as my profile is set up as sedentary and it has worked for me. I think it is too complicated to differentiate between lightly active and active and my job is sedentary anyway.