Unless I sweat I don't log my activity.......right or wrong?

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  • JKing727
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    I am not sure on this one either.. I never sweat even after a tough cardio workout that even takes my breath. On the other hand I know people who sweat for no reason and without doing anything so I don't think that is a good indicator but just use things like dishes, cleaning and stretcing as a bonus burn that is not logged!
  • stumblinthrulife
    stumblinthrulife Posts: 2,558 Member
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    I'm pretty new to this, but I've been doing a lot of reading, asking and listening to others more knowledgeable than me this month. The problem is that when answering questions most people assume the questioner is exactly like them, and is doing things exactly the same way. Couldn't be further from the truth, of course.

    From what I have learned to date, coupled with a hefty dose of common sense, it depends how you figured your baseline activity levels. If you figured in doing all your housework, etc... when you set your baseline, then it shouldn't be logged since you already consumed the Calories for it.

    On the other hand, if you figured a completely sedentary lifestyle, then I'd definitely add in pretty much all activity of any kind. I'd say this is particularly important if you let MFP manage your caloric allowance, and you choose 'sedentary'. From what I can tell, MFP gives you a coma patient's nutrition (i.e. BMR). You're more active than a coma patient, right?

    Many people probably have the same issue I do. Bar my work outs, I am almost completely sedentary Monday to Friday because I work a desk job. At the weekend, however, I am constantly active. I do a lot of heavy DIY, chores around the house, playing with my daughter, etc... It doesn't make sense for me to eat my M-F calories at the weekend, because I'd be severely under-fueled. I know, I tried it once and frankly felt light-headed and sick by the end of the day and nearly had a severe accident with a framing nailer. Not smart.

    So now I have my TDEE worked out based on an average weekday, with a 20% deficit. At the weekend I log activity that is over and above what I do during the week, in order to buy me some more Calories without the demotivator of seeing all those red numbers.

    So the answer is to add in calories for anything over and above your baseline activity level. If you are going with a fixed Calorie deficit, then log all the burned Calories. If you are on a percentage deficit, then multiply by 1-deficit and log that number of kCals (i.e. if you are on a 20% deficit from TDEE, add 80% of the calories burned in any exercise you did not factor into your baseline TDEE).
  • msliu7911
    msliu7911 Posts: 639 Member
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    I'll log anything out of my normal day to day activity. Example- painting a friends house and helping her move in... I logged that. HOWEVER I don't use it as an excuse to eat extra calories. I also log when I take the dog for a walk because I consider that activity.

    Washing dishes, vacuuming, mopping, sweeping, etc... those are routine and probably burn SOME calories.. but I'm not that detailed. :)

    As others have said, what you log is your business however I do agree that some people who log EVERYTHING they do are overestimating the calories burned thus having the potential for stalled weight loss or different results than expected.
  • stumegsmum
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    Nope, for those of us who have weight to lose (myself included), the day-to-day activities have clearly been insufficient to counter the food consumption so far, so why would I start logging it now? :)
    It's already incoroporated within the minimum calorie requirements afaiac.

    ^^ this, although I do log stuff like walking the dog which is extra to my daily activities, I don't include the walk to and from work as I have been doing that on a daily basis. However, I totally understand logging everything, especially if you're trying to get a realistic idea of how many calories you need on a daily basis. Whatever works for the individual is the way to go.
  • BonaFideUK
    BonaFideUK Posts: 313 Member
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    I log weight training as exercise even if I dont sweat nearly at all. I know I worked out because my muscles are on fire by the end. I just dont sweat very much. I usually only sweat during an intense cardio workout.
  • YoungDoc2B
    YoungDoc2B Posts: 1,593 Member
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    I don't care what others log. I stay in my own lane and do what works for me.

    Yep
  • k8blujay2
    k8blujay2 Posts: 4,941 Member
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    That's up to you.... But since I have mine set to sedentary, I log ev.er.y.thing.... because I sure as heck don't sit on my *kitten* all day.... but I want to make sure that the days that I do... because I do have those... I'm not over eating.
  • peilover010202
    peilover010202 Posts: 32 Member
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    I've set MFP as "lightly active" and I think that reflects my normal daily activity like vacuuming, dishes, picking up toys, laundry, breastfeeding. So, I only log my planned exercise for the day. (meaning exercise that gets me at my target heart rate.) That is a personal choice for me, and certainly not the only "right" way to do it.

    I think you should do what keeps you motivated. =)
  • peachy0987
    peachy0987 Posts: 30 Member
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    I used "sedentary" to calculate what my goal calorie intake should be, so I have been tracking cleaning that took over an hour. I think I only do that once a week anyways, and I only count it if I feel like I am exerting myself.

    I think it's a personal preference. If it happens to work in your weight loss do it. If not, don't.

    If you have your calorie intake at a really low level, and are marking yourself at sedentary, then I would imagine a health professional wouldn't want you to under eat, when you are extering more than just sedentary throughout your day.
  • XXXMinnieXXX
    XXXMinnieXXX Posts: 3,459 Member
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    I didn't sweat the other day doing a 100 min walk. I burnt 650 cals so you can bet I counted it! X
  • peachy0987
    peachy0987 Posts: 30 Member
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    i think I need to move my daily activity to lightly active as well. Sedentary may have been a major under estimation of my daily exertion. In that case, I would stick to only adding activity that was outside of my "normal" life, or a planned exercise.
  • ApexLeader
    ApexLeader Posts: 580 Member
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    personally i only log activities if it is a concerted effort by me to burn calories (if i go to the gym or for a run or a long bike ride or a really long walk).
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
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    do what works for you
  • newdaydawning79
    newdaydawning79 Posts: 1,503 Member
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    I log things like cleaning when I'm doing stuff like brushing and vacuuming the couches (we have 3 cats) and scrubbing the bathroom with a scrubbrush. I don't log picking up pieces of trash or anything like that. Some do, and if they're still losing weight? More power to them. The idea is to lose weight at the goal you've set for yourself. Whatever anyone else does to get there? As long as they're not hurting themselves, it works for me.
  • pikachuFL
    pikachuFL Posts: 75 Member
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    I live a sedentary lifestyle so I only count activities over and above what I was doing in the normal course of running my life. I won't count shopping/walking around the mall or grocery store but I will count walking when I go out for the express purpose of doing it for exercise.

    I agree with douglanglois's post about baseline activities not counting, only activity you've started since starting this weight loss plan.
  • mairead287
    mairead287 Posts: 11 Member
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    My personal opinion is that logging food preparation or doing dishes as exercise is only fooling yourself! I mean I'm pretty sure we all did those things anyway prior to starting MFP. I'm on my feet 8-9 hours a day in work 5 days a week and constantly moving around but I don't log this as exercise because I was doing it anyway before getting started on here! I basically only add in anything that I would not normally have done like going to the gym or going for a walk or my C25K. If I want to succeed I have to be honest with myself so doing dishes or any household activities does not count for me!
  • orangecrayon
    orangecrayon Posts: 293 Member
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    I log my register job as it is literally me standing for 4-8 hours with no breaks and I log my walks, but unless I am, say, in the kitchen or cleaning for an extended period of time, I won't log that. I also always log my random dance sprees I like to have, just because I always do sweat a little...and they tend to occur quite frequently. But it's a personal choice.
  • Blastastic
    Blastastic Posts: 280 Member
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    This is similar to not logging your food intake until you hit the bathroom and #2 .... Doesn't matter what goes in or what workout you do... It all counts for something! Daily activity such as walking to your car or cleaning your house are more than likely included in your normal intake ... Just log what you feel is necessary. But just because you don't break a sweat doesn't mean you didn't burn any calories in the process.0
  • kw0205
    kw0205 Posts: 62
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    Just my opinion, but everyone needs to decide what seems to work - for instance, if you're a daily house cleaner (you do some amount of activities daily) and you're trying to lose weight, I'd say don't count that. You've been doing that and you're the weight you are, so it seems logical to me that activity isn't helping with the loss. Personally, I log exercise classes and if I go for an exercise walk (walking briskly; two miles or more). Otherwise, my activities weren't enough to keep the weight off in the first place. I also don't want those added calories to tempt my eating. Sticking to my calorie count helps and I take the earned calories as hopefully bonus pounds off (not that I won't enjoy them on occasion - but that's the key). Someone wrote that they perceived some folks not being successful to always allowing themselves to eat whatever calorie they burned, and that's what I think too. I've done this before and allowed the weight to creep back on (shame on me!), so I know what works for me and I know it's not an overnight process. Good luck to all!
  • sz8soon
    sz8soon Posts: 816 Member
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    I only count activities that are outside of daily life. I won't count house cleaning, laundry, dishes etc. But I would count raking my 1/2 acre yard because I don't do it that often and it's a freaking hellish chore. Anything else logged has to be actual excersize to me; running, gym workouts, weight lifting etc.)