How do you log?

SweetlyVague
SweetlyVague Posts: 172 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey everyone!

I've been using MFP for awhile now and I've gotten curious about something: Many of my friends here on MFP log and track exercise in different ways. There are some who log only what they do at the gym/doing "actual" exercise, and there are some who log their daily activities (walking to the store, cleaning the house for a few minutes), as well as their "actual" exercise.

Do you believe it's worth logging every little thing (say, a couple minutes of cleaning that earns you maybe 20 calories) or not? I've read that some people believe that logging stuff like that to a total tee feel it motivates obsessive habits.

I'm wondering how you guys do it/what you guys think and why for the sake of my curiosity! Not saying anyone is right or wrong, I'm just curious to see all the different ways people log.

Replies

  • dmarie1971
    dmarie1971 Posts: 2
    I'm afraid it may encourage me to use the extra earned calories and I don't want to do that. I'm a newbie, just started recording intake so perhaps I'll change my mind.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    I only log intentional exercise and I don't eat those calories. I cleaned my house, went shopping, walked the dog, etc before and it didn't help me lose weight then so I doubt it will now. I think people who spend their time searching for extra calories to eat are doomed to failure because they still are't getting that you eat to live not live to eat.
  • tameejean
    tameejean Posts: 197 Member
    No. The total number of calories that I chose to eat (not what MFP "thinks" I should eat) includes my regular exercise. If I workout above my normal activity, then I add some back, if I'm hungry.
  • kimosabe1
    kimosabe1 Posts: 2,467 Member
    I log everything I do because when I do an hour house clean, I am super sweaty when I'm done and need a shower. I even log sex under aerobics because hey, i'm sweating and I'm losing weight at the same time. It really is up to you on what you log but if you need a friend that logs everything and has chicken Mcnuggets from McDonald's every so often, i'm the girl...
  • LetsDoThis103
    LetsDoThis103 Posts: 85
    I log almost every little thing. I live in New York, so I walk everywhere, so, for example, this morning I walked for about 20 minutes doing my errands, and I added that in. I of course add in everything I do at the gym. I don't know if it makes me obsessive, but I apply the same vigor to what I eat (my friends will always comment when I track that I ate a piece of celery for example), but I feel like, if you bite it, write it. And the same goes for working out. Also, I eat back as many of my workout calories as I feel like. I usually have a few hundred left over if it's a day that I did a big run or something, but I do eat some back, and I have been losing, so... I think it's all good. MFP does encourage you to eat your workout calories anyway.
  • SmallMimi
    SmallMimi Posts: 541 Member
    I only log actual exercise (gym time, treadmill or running, biking, etc) Things I do as part of my normal daily activities - walk around a store, cleaning house, etc. are NOT logged. I do log heavy yard work, as this is not something I do everyday.
  • belladonna786
    belladonna786 Posts: 1,165 Member
    I only log exercise.
  • adelitas_star
    adelitas_star Posts: 91
    I don't believe that logging every little thing is really relevant. Those activities are already taken into consideration when you choose your activity level, unless you set it at sedentary and then get up and do more than a sedentary person would. The only time I bother logging that sort of stuff is when I do more activity then normal, like if I walk more than normal (e.g when I go out job looking, I walk for about 3+ hours, compared to the basic walking around I do in a day by day basis).
  • CamillaBeaumont
    CamillaBeaumont Posts: 56 Member
    I only log intentional exercise (ie if I go for a run) and I often eat those calories back but not always. I was under the impression that the "exercise" I get from daily activities was accounted for by MFP when I set my activity level at the beginning. So for example even though I walk my kids to school every day, I don't log that walk as exercise.
  • LilacSnow
    LilacSnow Posts: 238 Member
    no, because going to the store and cleaning the house doesn't count as cardiovascular activity for me.
  • LiqueLique89
    LiqueLique89 Posts: 75 Member
    I log everything I do because when I do an hour house clean, I am super sweaty when I'm done and need a shower. I even log sex under aerobics because hey, i'm sweating and I'm losing weight at the same time. It really is up to you on what you log

    ^^ Same here...i log walks, house keeping, and even gross motor games i play with my preschoolers esp if we play tag, plus my intentional exercise. I think it's all about what works for you
  • miriamwithcats
    miriamwithcats Posts: 1,120 Member
    I have a depressive disorder. Some days I am very active, other days I am very sedentary. So I set my activity level at sedentary and log every activity. That encourages me to be more active, not sit and read all day.

    If someone sets their activity level at active or very active and also logs activities like cleaning house or cooking, then they are in a sense double dipping- since they have already claimed those calories expended in their activity level. That would lead to not losing or not losing as fast.
  • surfmonkey17
    surfmonkey17 Posts: 29 Member
    I agree that those types of activities should already be taken into account when you set your activity level. By then also tracking them, I think you are then counting them twice. If I am more active one day from housecleaning or walking to the store, I just let it be extra and don't worry about it. It really isn't going to make that much difference in the grand scheme of things.
  • Mads1997
    Mads1997 Posts: 1,494 Member
    It really depends how you have set up your mfp profile, some choose to set up their account as sedentary then log all activity. Some prefer to set up their account with normal everday activities included then just log intentional exercise.
  • SweetlyVague
    SweetlyVague Posts: 172 Member
    Bump.
  • surfmonkey17
    surfmonkey17 Posts: 29 Member
    I find that the estimates given for housecleaning on MFP are highly overestimated. I just heavily cleaned my house for the past 3 hours (have company coming). When entering that into MFP, for light housecleaning I get 616 calories or 205 per hour, and for heavy cleaning 739 calories or 246 per hour.

    But per my BodyMedia Fit armband, I only burned 498 calories or 163 per hour, which is only about 70 calories more per hour than I burn just sitting down reading. So even though I was working hard at cleaning, even huffing at times from the scrubbing, and my back is now drenched in sweat, I really didn't really burn much more. If I were using MFP numbers, I would have overestimated my burn by 241 calories. That is a big difference if you are regularly logging this as your exercise.

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