Does everyone count cooking/food prep

jer2kat
jer2kat Posts: 71 Member
edited September 21 in Fitness and Exercise
as part of their daily exercise and then eat those calories? I was wondering because sometimes I feel as though I am not getting enough calories for the day but I always considered cooking 3+ meals a day as part of my normal everyday sedentary lifestyle. I spend over an hour each day prepairing meals for myself and my family and under MFP exercise it says I burn about 200 calories a day cooking. I guess my question is is cooking really exercise and should I be eating those calories?
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Replies

  • jrich1
    jrich1 Posts: 2,408 Member
    I dont
  • red01angel
    red01angel Posts: 806 Member
    No - I wouldn't count those calories any more than I'd count walking upstairs to go to bed. It's just part of your every day functioning.
  • gabi_ele
    gabi_ele Posts: 460 Member
    I only count extra housework or things I don't do every day as my exercises. For instance if I mop my laminate flooring( 700 sq feet) I time myself, then half my time and eat those exercise calories. Going for a walk or going to the store once a week , I half my time and use it. Anything I do every day I don't count and I half the time because I want to be on the save side, just in case I overestimated the calories burned. If it keeps up and youre still hungry all the time, adjust your goals to losing one pound a week, remember it's a lifestyle and you need to be able to live with it for the rest of your life. Hope that helps
  • KristyO
    KristyO Posts: 126
    No, I would not count them. I walk to work everyday, but I don't count that in my diary. I don't eat my exercise calories unless I'm hungry.
  • mworld
    mworld Posts: 270
    Not unelss you wear a Heart Rate Monitor :flowerforyou:
  • mebras3775
    mebras3775 Posts: 50
    i count them and i time myself as i cook because with the excess standing and moving about with cooking you are bound to burn some calories
  • sagithia
    sagithia Posts: 135 Member
    No, those are bonus calories you burn with life, that is not expercise or something you do to exert energy and purposefully burn calories...
  • StaceG1986
    StaceG1986 Posts: 350
    I don't because like someone else said it's something I do everyday, like I don't count cleaning unless I've had a a major scrub of the house etc! And then I still halve the calories so as not to overestimate
  • StaceysPaige
    StaceysPaige Posts: 23
    no I would not count those besides those little excess calories can be used as a bonus!!!:bigsmile:
  • melodyg
    melodyg Posts: 1,423 Member
    I don't... but if I was on my feet all day preparing for a huge party or something I might count that. I don't usually count everyday activity either.
  • victorianjewel
    victorianjewel Posts: 759
    I don't either, I don't count the "everyday" stuff like walking to the bus stop or walking around my office, housecleaning etc. Those are just part of everyday life.
  • Mirlyn
    Mirlyn Posts: 256
    Nope. I count cleaning if I break a sweat but I let cooking fall into the normal daily routine calories. There are quite a few things in my life that I'm sure burn a good amount of calories (ie. carrying baby up and down the stairs 20+ times a day) but I feel it evens out with any time I spend watching tv or sitting on the computer.
  • lvfunandfit
    lvfunandfit Posts: 654 Member
    No, those are bonus calories you burn with life, that is not expercise or something you do to exert energy and purposefully burn calories...

    Ditto..... in my opinion, anything above and beyond is exercise, normal routine activities is just part of your life style.
  • dragonfly74
    dragonfly74 Posts: 1,382 Member
    No and haven't even thought about it. Where would it stop? I bathe my children, I feed all three of them many times during the day along with making the food, I grocery shop . . .

    In my opinion you cannot grasp at straws. Do your exercise and count that. The other calories you burn doing "normal" daily activity is already included in what MFP gives you. And to me it is already way too giving.
  • jer2kat
    jer2kat Posts: 71 Member
    Thanks everyone for the responses!! I will continue doing my normal activities without counting those calories. Thanks again for all the input!! :happy:
  • Tamishumate
    Tamishumate Posts: 1,171 Member
    The only calories I ever count are the ones burned while working out. anything else is normal stuff.
  • lilmissy2
    lilmissy2 Posts: 595 Member
    I think that kind of stuff (unless perhaps you were on your feet all day doing it) is counted in the 'sedentary' estimated requirements. I would assume they allowed for you to perform some everyday tasks rather than just sit on the couch or at a desk all day so yeah, I wouldn't count them separately. Good question :)
  • penchantforproduce
    penchantforproduce Posts: 3 Member
    This is something I have wondered about, my husband and I do all of our cooking on Saturday and Sunday. Today I am having a dinner party on top of that and will probably spend a good 8 hours in the kitchen, really, no joke. So I wondered if I should count all of this as something...
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    No. I count that as part of "life". Part of what's already built in.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    no..unless you're hunting, fishing reaping and sowing yourself then i dont see how food prep can be considered as a workout
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    If it's part of my normal day, it's included in my activity level.
  • kjw1031
    kjw1031 Posts: 300 Member
    For me any calories burned during food prep and cooking would be negated by the calories I consume tasting what I'm making!
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
    No. Cooking isn't exercise.
  • takehimaway
    takehimaway Posts: 499 Member
    For me any calories burned during food prep and cooking would be negated by the calories I consume tasting what I'm making!

    I quit tasting, and licking spoons. Sometimes, I really want to though.

    If I am going to chop eighty-seven thousand stupid vegatables, and then fifty-thousand pieces of fruit into little tupperware to eat for the next year, yes, as a matter of fact, I am going to count that!
    But, nowadays, I have a FitBit, so that gives me calories for everything I do, like the walk I just took for a half hour on the phone with my mom.
  • heidimaggott78
    heidimaggott78 Posts: 203
    Nope. I don't. I try to only count real exercise. I counted gardening this weekend but that was because I was carrying bags of soil and compost around. If I had just been planting things then I wouldn't have.
  • zaph0d
    zaph0d Posts: 1,172 Member
    just switch your activity level to lightly active or active.
  • BamsieEkhaya
    BamsieEkhaya Posts: 657 Member
    No, those are bonus calories you burn with life, that is not expercise or something you do to exert energy and purposefully burn calories...

    Ditto..... in my opinion, anything above and beyond is exercise, normal routine activities is just part of your life style.

    I've always prepared my own foods - still put on weight so clearly those few calories burned there never made a real difference compared to the spoon licking and eating !
  • lamilli09
    lamilli09 Posts: 354 Member
    Well, I respectfully disagree with what others have posted so far...

    For myself, I usually spend 10-60 minutes on meal prep for each meal.

    So if I spend 3+ hours in the kitchen at a time or if I'm breaking a sweat running around doing things in the kitchen, then you can bet that I'm going to log it. Typically, I may eat back 1/4-1/3 of the calories burned from cooking.

    Similarly, with cleaning, I don't log my day-to-day cleaning. But if I take an entire day to clean the whole apartment or moving into/out of an apartment, I'm likely breaking a sweat. And then, yes - I'm going to log it.

    Different folks, different strokes, I guess.
  • claire7090
    claire7090 Posts: 67
    I count it only if I am doing a large amount, eg preparing for a party, or having a big cooking session to fill the freezer with quick meals for later. When I do count it I only log half the actual time I spent as I think MFP are rather generous in how many calories they give you in return for an hours cooking.
  • paintlisapurple
    paintlisapurple Posts: 982 Member
    I don't count food prep because its something I've always done. Its not an exercise...I mean unless you're making strudel or pulling taffy or something! LOL
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