Fake Activity Calories?

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  • meg7399
    meg7399 Posts: 672 Member
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    I don't understand why 'sex' isn't an option in the exercise log.
    Some people log it as "moving furniture"

    Some call it 'walking the dog'.

    Bet you look at your friend list in a whole new light now! :wink:
    Oh goodness...I ACTUALLY walk my dog daily...people are going to think my BF and I are maniacs in bed!
  • hollyberry2012
    hollyberry2012 Posts: 253
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    I have the best of both worlds...I log it all because it's fun. I don't eat back the calories though. I just log it to say ....HEY, Look what you did today, you moved around you were productive and you didn't DIE FROM IT..hahaha.....you can prolly do it again tomorrow and maybe even add to it.
  • icepak24
    icepak24 Posts: 18 Member
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    If you are not normally active, those other activities can certainly help burn calories. In fact, logging it will help motivate to do more of it. I always log "other" activities in addition to regular workouts.
  • DamnImASexyBitch
    DamnImASexyBitch Posts: 740 Member
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    My husband and I completely gutted the bathroom today and it was one hell of a work out. I logged an hour of light cleaning under it. It's not something I normally do but it wore me out and I think it deserved some recognition. It took all day to redo it. I'm one to log sex too... because at first it was to irritate someone on my friends list ( family ) but now it's because it honestly is one hell of a great work out...lol
  • LittleBallofFurr
    LittleBallofFurr Posts: 242 Member
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    I wonder how many calories are burned by worrying about what other people are doing?

    omgosh this!
  • scruffykaz
    scruffykaz Posts: 317 Member
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    I log things like "cooking and food preparation" because sometimes I'm in the kitchen for an hour, running round like a mad thing. I have so much weight to lose and I'm a lot more active with that kind of thing so yeah, I log it.

    Not sure I'd log sitting down and sewing though..
  • jgreeley68
    jgreeley68 Posts: 10
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    I log deep cleaning. I have all wood floors and when I deep clean, we're talking moving all the furniture out of the room, sweeping, mopping and moving everything back. Trust me, that's a workout and I do it twice a week! I don't eat my calories I get from logging excercise. But I still log it because it does get my heart rate going, I do break out into a sweat and couches aren't a light piece of furniture! lol Besides, it's a nice reward to see that when you do something it says you're doing what you've set out to do and motivates you to add more things to the list!! Hmmmmm..i wonder what ziplining would be?
  • corneredbycorn
    corneredbycorn Posts: 267 Member
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    I dont count anything except steps from my fitbit. That's it!
    Same here. Since it logs lightly, moderately, and very active, as well as stair steps, I've got all of my bases covered. Since it all uploads automatically when it syncs to my laptop, I don't even have to log it. It's awesome.
  • sandra152
    sandra152 Posts: 77
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    Knitting lol
  • DesertDriver
    DesertDriver Posts: 41
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    I personally do not count anything that is not related to an exercise activity - but it's all personal preference really I guess!
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
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    If I eat a low calorie vegetable, how many calories do I burn washing said vegetable and lifting the fork to my mouth?
  • Rcsie
    Rcsie Posts: 17
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    I'm a waitress at a cafe and while I'm on my feet all day and constantly moving up and down stairs, cleaning tables and making drinks, I don't log it because I feel that there is no real point. I know I'm moving more than I would be at home but it's just part of my day, it's not strenuous and as such I feel it wouldn't make a significant difference to log it...
  • TriShamelessly
    TriShamelessly Posts: 905 Member
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    I was curious about this as well. So yesterday, after about the 50th time from our second floor to the basement and back to put stuff from the holidays away, I put 2 hours of "Housecleaning" in as activity. It came in at 491 calories burned. I think that may be a bit overstated. It's still certainly more calories burned than my normal, sedentary desk job, and I did it for about 5 hours and not just the 2. In any event, it's the last time I'll log calories like that. It just feels wrong to me.
  • TheVimFuego
    TheVimFuego Posts: 2,412 Member
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    I know where this thread is heading

    ad9927b3_tumblr_mdpmmaVY8u1r8cvzdo1_400_zps1eb3a181.gif

    Well, that made me laugh :)

    It helps that I'm drunk, I guess ...

    I have never logged any exercise, I also ignore alcohol calories, I have my profile set to sedentary when, in fact, I'm quite active.

    This would, on the face of it, make me just as bonkers as someone who logs 'Picking nose, large booger' so I guess I'll just hope everyone finds a way that works for them, however nuts ;)
  • tommygirl15
    tommygirl15 Posts: 1,012 Member
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    I think it's sort of ridiculous to add cooking as a workout. I'm a cook/baker for a living, so does that mean I should be logging 8+ hours worth of a workout each day? lolz
  • elebel82
    elebel82 Posts: 69 Member
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    I have used cleaning and food preparation, but both in unusual circumstances. I would never log it for the normal day to day stuff, but the day I logged cleaning, I had been helping a friend move house and had spent 14 hours on my feet scrubbing her walls and similar things - I logged it as 4 hours, and I felt absolutely, completely knackered afterwards.

    I logged food preparation over Christmas when I spent 3 days straight cooking 8-10 hours a day, preparing for a Christmas party I was having for my friends. Again on my feet the whole time, absolutely shattered exhausted afterwards. I logged 1-3 hours for those days. I just felt that there was no way I was going to do a workout but that I'd clearly, clearly burnt a lot more calories than I would have in a normal day (at my 12 hr shift, absolutely tied to the desk job.)
  • jkcrawford
    jkcrawford Posts: 435 Member
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    I wonder how many calories one burned typing this thread?
  • MrsT99
    MrsT99 Posts: 148 Member
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    If you don't normally move around ... like in a desk job or something .... and you move around it would burn calories you don't normally burn. I noticed since I started wearing my bodymedia that when i was doing stuff around the house it logged as activity and made an adjustment on my exercise diary here on MFP.

    My experience is similar. My Fitbit gives me a positive adjustment on days when I am baking or cooking a big meal...The layout of my kitchen is not very efficient so the steps add up. My setting is for sedentary....I think if I'd chosen even moderately active, I would not get a positive adjustment.

    I am maintaining and use a fitbit but I used it to lose the last 9lb. I set my fitbit and mfp to lightly active knowing that fitbit would add any extra calories burnt. I have never once NOT had the fitbit give me extra calories, even like yesterday when I had a cold and did not workout, leave the house or cook or clean it still gave me an extra 196 calories for the day! I eat those back so that is 196 calories OVER being lightly active, never mind sedentary! And yesterday I only did 2991 steps so the person saying sedentary is up to 6000 steps per day is not strictly accurate.

    And my fitbit calories clawed me out of my plateau of several months to lose the last few lbs and I've realised that I'm far more active than I thought I was. I have also been successfully maintaining my weight for about 4-5 months now with no problems eating them all back.

    When I started on mfp I was marked as sedentary. As far as I can see if you are marked as sedentary, log everything else you do to get more.

    ETA my fitbit seems to often add numerous calories when I cook/clean etc
  • z2bn3sec
    z2bn3sec Posts: 8
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    Technically, any activity where you are moving burns calories. But some of them are so minimal that it doesn't really matter. The only things that I count in my "exercise" aside from things I do at the gym are showering and when I go for walks at work. But for me, I try to stay under my calorie count without the exercise counted. Good luck!!
  • fatladysings72
    fatladysings72 Posts: 64
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    If I am moving so much that I work up a sweat, I count it. I have fibro, CFS and diabetes. If I move and sweat then it counts.

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