Log theme park walking?

cherbapp

Ok I am going to add my own 'scientific' response....LOG IT. As others have said...log whatever time you spend actually walking...which probably will be a good 2 hours.

I say this because I have a Bodybugg and after wearing it 24/7 for about a month, I was surprised to find that I actually burned MORE calories in a day when I did errands, household chores, and other 'non-countable' activities than I burned in a day where I killed myself on a 6 mile hike and sat on my butt the rest of the day.

And yeah...use the extra calories for fruits...they are awesome on a hot day...no corn dogs!

BuckeyeLife

Typically you don't see any caloric burn from doing moderate intensity activities like walking unless you've been keeping a consistent pace for 20 minutes or more (to keep your HR up). Given how often you'll be stopping, I'd say you won't be doing that, so it's not worth logging.

My HRM certainly would disagree....

jlawson113

so if I'm reading all this correctly then yes you should log it...or not...wait no you definitely should...ooops I mean definitely not :huh:

carolann_22

Typically you don't see any caloric burn from doing moderate intensity activities like walking unless you've been keeping a consistent pace for 20 minutes or more (to keep your HR up). Given how often you'll be stopping, I'd say you won't be doing that, so it's not worth logging.

My HRM certainly would disagree....

My bodybugg, too. I burn 250 - 500 calories more a day at work (being on my feet, start/stop walking, short bursts down the hall) than I do at home on the weekend, even with a 45 minute walk for exercise thrown in on the weekends. I've burned almost 1000 calories over "normal" being at a theme park and walking all day.

LauraSmyth28

It's personal choice really. I walk my older son to school every day pushing my toddler in his buggy. It takes 25-30 mins there and back and I never ever log it. If I went for a longer walk and was really walking fast I'd log it but this is a leisurely stroll.

I only log my daily workout dvd, nothing more. And I sometimes work up a sweat cleaning my house....but that's just daily routine stuff.

Walking around a theme park all day? Maybe go with the 2 hours at 2mph....it's kind of a compromise.

sweetpea129

I'm pretty shocked at the people telling you not to log it! 6 hrs of walking (especialy while pushing a stroller) is absolutely exercise and you should log it!

We went to a childs museum last week, we were there for 4 hrs so i logged 2 hrs walking at a slow pace. I usually log half of the time even though we're definitley walking more than stopping (especially with 2 year olds LOL!). Tomorrow we're going to a theme park for 6 hours. You can bet your butt that i will log it (at 3 hrs). I dont eat all of those calories back, though. But i do allow myself to go over or have a treat.

nataliefamily3

Update. Thanks for the responses every one. I think I will stick with my.original logging plan. Also since we had our 2yo with us we did.not wait in line for anything except lunch lol. So we were moving most of the day not much stopping and startimg. I will not eat these calories though, and did resist all dip n dots and fudge! sorry for grammar.on my pos phone

New_Keeley

I recently went to Thorpe Park here in the UK. I could'nt go on any rides and was wearing my fitbit. I racked up 643 calories burned that day. Lots of stopping and starting, watching the kiddies on the rides etc. So yes, log them (or let the Fitbit do it if you have one). And eat those calories back, ignore the thing about only if your maintaining.... ( don't know what that is about :huh: ). If you burned 600+ calories through doing anything else 'classed' as exercise you would eat them back so why not for walking?

Me too! We went to chessington I notched up 458 cals.

DarcieC2389

I think it is ok if you wear a pedometer.

BuckeyeLife

Update. Thanks for the responses every one. I think I will stick with my.original logging plan. Also since we had our 2yo with us we did.not wait in line for anything except lunch lol. So we were moving most of the day not much stopping and startimg. I will not eat these calories though, and did resist all dip n dots and fudge! sorry for grammar.on my pos phone

I recommend eating some of those calories. It isn't a huge deal as it is a one time thing. But you're basically asking an engine to run at 100% on a 75% tank of fuel. Again, not a big deal, but I would take the chance to eat a nice healthy snack.

fatmom51

i disagree with others. you probably don't walk this much in a typical day so why not count it? maybe count it as walking slow pace like 2.0 mph.

This^^

Whenever we go on vacation and I do more walking than a typical day, I will wear my pedometer and use the milage at 2.0 mph to figure out the "time" I walked, then put that in. We've logged as much as 9 miles in one day walking around the Disneyland parks and resorts. Definitely more walking than I typically do!

I was going to add something similar, and here's where I turn into a math geek.
If you have one, wear a pedometer/step counter. Generally, unless you have really long or really short legs, there are roughly 2,000 steps to a mile. Check your pedometer at the start of your day in the park and then at the end. Based on your steps, figure out how many miles you walked by dividing the total steps by 2,000. Let's say you walked 5,000 steps -- that works out to 2-1/2 miles. Generally, unless you're barely moving, you're not going to be walking any slower than 2.5 mph, so figure that you've walked 1 hour. If you've done 10,000 steps, you've walked 5 miles, or for two hours (even if you did those 5 miles over the course of the whole day with all the stopping and starting.)
It's inexact, I know, but you should definitely log those steps because it's definitely more than you would normally do in a given day and you are definitely burning extra calories. You don't have to eat them all back, but you should get credit for some of them. It may even be enough to splurge on a small water ice or twisted cone.

albayin

I don't log food or exercise when I go to those places.

Oh yeah talking about park food...Monte Cristo Sandwich, anyone? How many calories does that monster is loaded with? LOL yummy...

albayin

If you log all that walking, you must log all that eating, too. LOL

Italian_mom

I recently went on a field trip to animal kingdom, and a mom had a pedometer on, and she walked 7.5 miles, I would log it:)

jpinge

a calorie burned is a calorie burned whether you are wearing workout clothes or normal clothes. You are obviously going to burn way more walking around the park then sitting on your butt at home or work. Wear a heart monitor if you can, pause it when you are not walking around and start it back up when you are. If you don't have one then log the exercise for what it is.....most likely it will be a slow pace walk.

Malaika946

If you normally walk for 6 hours a day, then no I wouldn't log it.

However, If you're normally sedentary, and that's your setting on MFP then go with your original plan. That's what I would do. Actually, If I'm doing something like that I'd probably just take a hall pass on logging for the day.

As for walking as not exercise? Calories are a measurement of energy. Walking and moving all day is a huge expendeture of energy. Calories are NOT a measure of heart rate. Increased heart rates are an effect of energy expendeture, not the other way around. You don't have to make your heart race to burn calories. Ask a through hiker if walking burns a lot of calories.

I concur!

wolfchild59

I wouldn't log it. I go to Disneyland fairly frequently and am there from park open until park close, which is about 12-14 hours most of the times that I'm there.

On an average, non-Disneyland day, I burn between 2000 and 2800 calories. On Disneyland days, I burn 2700-3100, even the days that I spent large parts of multiple days carrying my 3 year old niece didn't go outside of this range.

On reserved eating at Disneyland, I eat around 3000-3200 calories. On my indulging Disneyland days, closer to 4000-5000 (I once had a truly gloriously tasty day that topped out over 7000)

So I see it all as a wash and don't bother logging the walking since it's not a specific, dedicated, exercise and the theme park food cancels it out anyway.

(yes, I could eat fruit and salads all day if I really wanted to keep in my calories, but I don't, I'm in Disneyland and I'm going to enjoy myself)

albayin

I wouldn't log it. I go to Disneyland fairly frequently and am there from park open until park close, which is about 12-14 hours most of the times that I'm there.

On an average, non-Disneyland day, I burn between 2000 and 2800 calories. On Disneyland days, I burn 2700-3100, even the days that I spent large parts of multiple days carrying my 3 year old niece didn't go outside of this range.

On reserved eating at Disneyland, I eat around 3000-3200 calories. On my indulging Disneyland days, closer to 4000-5000 (I once had a truly gloriously tasty day that topped out over 7000)

So I see it all as a wash and don't bother logging the walking since it's not a specific, dedicated, exercise and the theme park food cancels it out anyway.

(yes, I could eat fruit and salads all day if I really wanted to keep in my calories, but I don't, I'm in Disneyland and I'm going to enjoy myself)

On your ps note, I totally agree. Who would go to Disney to "eat healthy"? LOL I didn't. My husband and I indulged ourselves and had great time there. But of course we only got to go there twice for the past 3 years. So I am so jealous of you.