how do I count calories burned while playing with children?

strongandhealthy78
strongandhealthy78 Posts: 90 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So. . . I'm staying at my parents' house and got to see my nieces while my parents talked with their parents (my brother and his wife). We played and played and played with the three year old and five year old. Games included board games like Blokus and make believe games that included picking them up, swinging them around, putting them down, hugging them, rolling along the floor, and more! :smile:

How would you count this in numbers of calories?

I searched the site but it couldn't find any more information. Thank you for reading. Best. :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • jehembee
    jehembee Posts: 114
    Maybe aerobics?
  • kao708
    kao708 Posts: 813 Member
    Honestly, I wouldn't count it. You probably burned some decent calories depending on how long this activity occurred but I'd just count it as a cushion for the rest of the week.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,420 Member
    You know, that's just a bonus to your daily living. Not worth worrying about. If you start obsessing about every little movement you make, it isn't much fun. Just log planned aerobic or weight resistant exercise that is of a specific duration and intensity. So unless you were swinging Junior around for 20 minutes at a sustained tempo enough to count as planned exercise.....you get my drift.....
  • Spanaval
    Spanaval Posts: 1,200 Member
    I just count that sort of stuff as "life" and don't add it. But then, I'm in the camp that doesn't count scrubbing floors and cooking for 20 people to be exercise either. Those are bonus points.
  • ocukor1
    ocukor1 Posts: 66
    You don't.
  • Melanie_RS
    Melanie_RS Posts: 417 Member
    you could do a 'Create Exercise' and put in your activity and guesstimate calories burned.

    I definitely say board games don't count - but the other calories...how long did this last? I'd give it two calories per minute if you were constantly exerting yourself.
  • BeyondThePixels
    BeyondThePixels Posts: 91 Member
    I wouldn't count it. But if you really want to know, invest in a heart rate monitor. It will come in handy for any physical activity you want to measure.
  • tammyc226
    tammyc226 Posts: 158 Member
    i would probably log it as the mildest aerobics in the database
  • jenlynell
    jenlynell Posts: 3
    I'm not sure how accurate this calculator is but it includes tons of activities.

    http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc
  • strongandhealthy78
    strongandhealthy78 Posts: 90 Member
    Thanks for the suggestions. I looked it up online :) and, with my weight, came up with a significant amount of calories burned. The play was intense with a lot of swinging and lifting 40 lbs of children up and around over and over again. I'm in the "if I do something different for a sustained amount of time then I always log it" camp. It's worked so far. :) All the best.
  • crisanderson27
    crisanderson27 Posts: 5,343 Member
    You don't.

    This.

    Because if you do...this guy ^^^^ will make another thread condemning you and others who log trivial activities to the darkest depths of hell.
  • WifeNMama
    WifeNMama Posts: 2,876 Member
    You don't.

    This.

    Because if you do...this guy ^^^^ will make another thread condemning you and others who log trivial activities to the darkest depths of hell.
    Lol

    So, anyway...
    Swinging 50 lb. of squirming kids around is a workout. I'd say calisthenics, maybe?
  • lhabedank
    lhabedank Posts: 149 Member
    you dont

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