Ok folks...

bsharrah

To the OP, rest assured some of us agree completely with what you are saying, but you are fighting a losing battle trying to convince people of it. They don't want to know they really didn't burn that many calories, and are actually eating a calorie surplus by eating them back.

From day one on this site I wanted to comment as you did, but as you can see, ignorance runs deep, so best just to keep it under wraps, and don't say anything.

........and when you read the ever popular "I am exercising and tracking my calories, but the scale isn't moving (or I am gaining)" threads that pop up multiple times a day, do as I do, and don't say anything. Eventually, they will figure it out on their own.

Mrsbrandnewmeslimandtrim

:huh:

Determinednoob

When I tried to log a 1 mile walk in 20 minutes that works out to 3.0 mph.

MFP lists "Walking, 3.0, moderate pace" and it also includes 'walking dog'. Doesn't mean you're actually walking a dog, just means you walked at 3 mph. And since that's a mile more than I used to do and when I first started it increased my heart rate and I broke a sweat, it counts as exercise.

This. I was going to mention that walking a dog is just an example MFP uses to log walking at a general 3.0 mph pace. To each his own. Do what works for you, don't be bothered by what others are or aren't doing.

I also get this for my treadmill walks at 3.0 mph (I don't own, let alone even like dogs), but 60 minutes of walking is calculated as 252 calories by MFP - not 2000 calories like the OP is saying he sees. How many hours would you have to be walking the dog to get to 2000 calories? Almost 8!

Some of us "walk the dog" with more intensity than others.

If that is the case, you wouldn't be using the MFP setting for 3 mph though (my point). Good for you and your dog if you're doing more, but I assume you would measure the effort in a different way than this particular MFP database option.

I don't own a dog

Determinednoob

Hey, let's make another post about it, maybe THIS will be the time that people will let some strangers on the internet tell them what to do. It'll be revolutionary.

I was going to let JupiterJune tell me what to do. Honest.

Oh dear, you don't know the trouble you're getting into

I signed up

wtfusernameisnttaken

I agree. I always keep to my original calorie goal for the day no matter what "increase" I may get from exercising. You're working out to burn calories & fat, by eating the calories you burn you're just setting yourself up to fail.

Something else that irks me is when ppl count the fact that they have a job where they are on their feet all day towards "working out". If your "norm" is to be on your feet you can't count that as exercise. Your body is used to this activity & is not working any harder to burn anything. I myself work on my feet all day but I do not count it towards exercise. I understand some jobs may be more active than others but again, if it's your norm generally it is not going to help you burn anything.

Not sure if trolling or just new to this site...

New to site. But at no point does her post shout or even hint to trolling. That is a genuine opinion. Trolling is when someone says something completely baseless to drive a reaction.

wtfusernameisnttaken

Also, there's a few posts about "why do you care what people log...".... well, it's not so much that we care, it's more that we're all here to support and discuss things with one another.... which is what is going on... so, if you don't care. Don't post?

Determinednoob

Indeed derision has proven to be the best form of support

starcatcher1975

Personally I don't care what people log or don't log as it doesn't affect me or my weight loss. I don't see why people get so pissy about it. If you don't like it, let your "friends" know you don't agree with them and then delete them. End of problem and this useless panty-twisting debate.

And if you walk for exercise - yes, walking is considered exercise and there are numerous studies to prove it helps with weight loss- MFP has walking at 3.0 mph, mod pace, walking a dog, listed. When I was walking since this was about the pace I walked I used it. I don't even have a dog to walk but I still used it.

Determinednoob

Personally I don't care what people log or don't log as it doesn't affect me or my weight loss. I don't see why people get so pissy about it. If you don't like it, let your "friends" know you don't agree with them and then delete them. End of problem and this useless panty-twisting debate.

And if you walk for exercise - yes, walking is considered exercise and there are numerous studies to prove it helps with weight loss- MFP has walking at 3.0 mph, mod pace, walking a dog, listed. When I was walking since this was about the pace I walked I used it. I don't even have a dog to walk but I still used it.

Of course it does. Anything that burns calories helps although no exercise is as good as controlling your diet using a food scale and a tracker like this site

GaglianiGirl

I dont think the issue is counting cleaning as exercise or walking you dog. I think OP is getting at over estimation these activities then complaining why you arent losing weight.

That's how I interpreted it any way,

OP is my husband, so we've talked about it. He means a little of both. I just walked around the mall today for an hour and then the grocery store for another 30mins, and yesterday I went "swimming" but I didn't log any of that because it was a slow, keeping up with an 18 month old's pace, and had I been home I would have been just as active cleaning house or whatever. Unless you are cleaning hpuse vigorously on roller skates with ankle weights, then I promise you nobody burns 1200 calories. You're body is used to these types of activities. So it's not only that the calories are overestimated in some cases, but then people think they burned x amount of calories, need to gain some back and eat them back, when they really probably never burned that many to begin with.

The dog walking thing was included bc, even though walking your dog is great physical activity, unless you are walking at a brisk pace or jogging with your dog, it's the same as above. I find logging light activities makes me think I am doing better than I am, I eat more and lose less. That happens a lot around here and then people get frustrated, not understanding why they aren't losing much.

peachyxoxoxo

There was a guy once who wrote something in a thread that has stayed with me since I started MFP. He said: If you didn't sweat, do not log it.

Simple. Easy. True.

That's a great point. I used to count the time I spent walking to class each day. But I never break a sweat (unless I'm running late!). It's just part of my daily life so I decided to stop logging it as something extra.

tlblood

It irritates me when people count cleaning as exercise. If you're that hard core of a cleaner, I got a house for you to come burn some more calories in :-)

:laugh: Seriously...me too!

mermx

My MFP is set at sedentary.

I walk my dog at different paces 3mph to 5mph for up to 120mins a day. I log it. I am losing weight so really OP..

what works for you is your thing and what works for me is my thing?

I don`t eat what you eat, I am not your weight, I do not have your metabolism, I am not your age etc. etc.

You can not throw down statements that may not have a bearing on other peoples lives :-(

GaglianiGirl

if it's your norm generally it is not going to help you burn anything.

Wrong! If its your norm and does not effect your burn why are there different activity settings that account for your non-exercise energy expenditure?

BAM.. you just got lawyer-ed!

Not really. Yes MFP does have different activity levels that change you calorie count per day but it changes it by a small amount really. And that may mean a person in construction burns more calories a day than a person in a chair all day, but that is already accounted for. You aren't losing extra calories on top of that today than you did yesterday. It's still a constant variable, and something has to be done above and beyond that to change it. Not sure if I explained that well.

GaglianiGirl

And to those of you who keep saying that's beating a dead horse and the forums are meant for help and encouragement... Since when is telling someone the truth that could effect their weightloss not help? Oh, but I assume guessing what the person above you does for an occupation is a HUGE help huh? Forums are like conversations, some are funny, some are serious, if you don't enjoy the conversation move on to the next person. The horse is still being beaten because there are new members every day and a lot of old one who still haven't grasped concepts like these.

amy_kee

For some of us, walking the 2.0 mph is exercise. I walk 2.0 mph to start with, then gradually increase it until I get up to 2.8 mph on my treadmill. I can't help that they put "...walking the dog..." behind the 2.0 mph speed. I hate the "walking the dog" phrase attached to the exercise every time I log it in. I'll be so glad when I no longer walk that speed so that I don't have to see " walking the dog" any more.

ohnogogo

Wow another thread about this crap......


Listen, you can log whatever, but keep this in mind when you are logging it...

Before deciding to lose weight and stop being fat, did you not clean your house??? If not, get a spot on Hoarders Buried Alive, becuase that got to be what your house looks like. Did you not ever walk your Dog? Again, Don't invite me over, Because, Damn its gotta smell from all the poop in it.

Same goes for Sex, Cleaning the House, and my all time favorite.... Singing Praise at Church!

If you did all these things on a regular basis and got Fat, what makes you think logging it will help you lose now???

I know this may sound crazy but did you ever think that maybe, just maybe these people didn't do these things before and now they do?

I don't clean my house. I have a housekeeper. I don't take my little chihuahua out for walks; she has a dog door to go out to the yard to go poop.

ohnogogo

Aside from a poster who walks 5 miles with a dog, that's a good workout I'd say, honestly how many of you really do that?

Just finished a 4 mile walk. I'd take my dog but she is a little chihuahua and walking trails is just not her thing. If someone is walking 3.0 mph MFP has it listed as "Walking 3.0 mph, mod. pace, walking dog". That doesn't mean they actually walked a dog. They might have been on a treadmill or out on a trail. MFP just labels a 3.0 mph walk like that - probably to give people a baseline for pace if they are unsure.

For all of you who otherwise got offended, I just want you to know that I have no stake in your own well being,

And what a lot of people are pointing out is you do not know each detail behind a persons exercise log.

I'm pointing out the stuff people do wrong in an effort to help others out. There's nothing wrong to walk a dog for a half an hour and call it a 100 - 200 calorie burn, but my point is to not "overestimate" the burn, because I have noticed that some people get depressed over a slow progress they're having, but then when I look at their diary I see greatly overestimated calorie expenditure which they end up eating back.

If you looked at my log you would see this: jemiaule burned 359 calories doing 60 minutes of "Walking, 3.5 mph, brisk pace"
Would you call it an overestimation? If so you would be wrong; my HRM called it a lot higher. Why? Probably because of the amount of incline and climbing I did.

That is what people are trying to point out to you. What may seem on the surface to be an overestimation may in fact be fairly accurate or an under estimation.

At the end of the day, you can do whatever the heck you wanna do, it is your choice, hate me all you want, I spoketh the truth.

No, you spoketh an opinion.

Determinednoob

There was a guy once who wrote something in a thread that has stayed with me since I started MFP. He said: If you didn't sweat, do not log it.

Simple. Easy. True.

That's a great point. I used to count the time I spent walking to class each day. But I never break a sweat (unless I'm running late!). It's just part of my daily life so I decided to stop logging it as something extra.

No, it isn't. I walk for an hour at 3mph and do not sweat. I don't sweat when I do Squats followed by Bench followed by Deadlifts all at max effort and then finished up with a few sets of chins to failure. It's amazing what fans and air conditioning can do. Since I don't sweat, I shouldn't log any of it? Not that I log any exercise anyway...

earthtoemilyy

it bothers me when people log cleaning.

i do have a super high energy pit bull mix who i take on 5+ mile walks/hikes with lots of steep hills, and I do know that it's a hell of a burn. and i am losing.

so, yeah.