Logging 'food preparation?' /rant

Options
1246789

Replies

  • momwhosbusy
    momwhosbusy Posts: 154 Member
    Options
    As someone who has logged "food prep" as exercise I would like to take a quick min to respond. I don't log it regularly, only on the days I have a huge dinner to cater for 100+ people. Let me tell ya, this is HARD work as its usually just my mom and me doing ALL the prep, service, and clean up for these events that take most of a day, if not 2 days of work. (I know that this isn't what you're alluding to but maybe others are doing this as well?)

    I know that some people will log their regular meal prep, but hey, like others have said, who cares its their diary and ultimately they're only hurting themselves!
  • lauren3101
    lauren3101 Posts: 1,853 Member
    Options
    *sigh*

    Does this mean I should stop logging my toilet visits as a squat? :grumble:
  • chez_b
    chez_b Posts: 14 Member
    Options
    Honestly...why does it bother you what they do? Its not hurting you. It doesn't effect you at all. Just ignore it and do what works for you.

    This.

    There could be any number of perfectly good reasons why a person would do this. And why would it be any different to log exercise for the same reason many of us start logging food - to make our starting point concrete in terms of the amount we actually eat and the amount we actually exercise so that we can set realistic and specific goals for improvement. How many of us thought we "ate well" until we started logging every ounce and bite? And how many thought they were "fairly active" until they started logging that as well?
  • 1stday13
    1stday13 Posts: 433 Member
    Options
    Haven't seen that - pretty funny...

    Maybe it was something super intense, like butchering a camel.

    Or grinding sausage meat by hand.

    Or squeezing a tonne of oranges by hand.

    Or pulping grapes for wine by stamping on them.

    Or kneading a massive amount of dough for one hour.

    Or...ok, I'm just getting carried away now. I don't actually think it was any of those things, but it was fun to think about what would be worth logging.

    you eat camel?

    I don't eat camel, but I drive by a camel butcher every day on the way to work.

    I'm a pescetarian, and one of the reasons is the cute baby camels out the front of the shop every morning, and the heads/necks on display every evening...
    Kidding Right?????? eewwwooo :noway:
    I really try not to look at others exercise journals too often. I am obese (100+ to lose) I have not started an exercise regimen yet .Hence I do not log anything I figure its just a plus when I vacuum, scrub floor, Paint a room, etc, etc. Just part of my regular life. Go ahead & rant !! Love a good rant. :drinker: Disappointed there wasn't more comical answers though :sad:
  • 1stday13
    1stday13 Posts: 433 Member
    Options
    *sigh*

    Does this mean I should stop logging my toilet visits as a squat? :grumble:
    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
  • HopefulLeigh
    HopefulLeigh Posts: 363 Member
    Options
    I do wonder how many calories beating a dead horse has netted you.
  • sheclimber
    sheclimber Posts: 176 Member
    Options
    I have to agree with the poster. I do think that people who log these things are cheating themselves and as they get closer to the goal it's just going to make the wake up call that much harder.

    But seeing these responses raises a question for me with regard to Sedentary. I have a desk job so that is my setting. But I, like I think most everyone with a desk job still has to get up out of there desk and go to the store, pick up their house, cook their dinner (or walk to the car to go to the drive-thru, if that's where they are in their journey). The setting is based on who you spend approximately 8 hours of your day. The setting isn't "Immoble" or "Comotose". People are still leading lives, have family/friends, and functioning members of society. So is the conscensus that Sedentary implies that you don't move all day??

    Personally, I don't log anything that isn't exercise. ie I put on different clothes meant for sweating and moving. I understand if you're catering for a large group (unless that's your normal job which then should be reflected in your base setting), or you are doing heavy-duty cleaning on the rare occasion. But I like to think of those things as a bonus, which will be a nice surprise on the scale. I don't say anything negative to those who do, but I have to wonder when it will come to bite them in the butt.
  • trb85
    trb85 Posts: 81 Member
    Options
    Personally I don't log anything that I would have done when I was getting fatter - it did not stop me from getting fat - so why on earth would it now help me get thin!!

    Yep, pretty much.
  • MrsSWW
    MrsSWW Posts: 1,590 Member
    Options
    Well I'm sure all your friends who log 'food preparation' will read this and remove you from their friends list, there's your problem solved! (I say YOUR problem as I don't think it's a problem for them as long as they're still losing, provided that is their aim :tongue: )
  • Fedup23
    Fedup23 Posts: 80 Member
    Options
    I would guess that many of these people who are, in your opinion, doing it wrong have lost more weight than you.. so do what YOU do and carry on with your day.
  • da_bears10089
    da_bears10089 Posts: 1,791 Member
    Options
    i will admit right away i was all about wearing my HRM for EVERYTHING, because i was going to burn sooooo many calories, and i wanted people to see how many calories i was burning. now, i wear my HRM for my workouts, but i don't even log those calories anymore. I do have a fitbit to set up goals for just moving around more during the day between steps taken and floors climbed. it will do calorie adjustments in my diary, but i don't eat those back.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    Options
    Personally I don't log anything that I would have done when I was getting fatter - it did not stop me from getting fat - so why on earth would it now help me get thin!!

    Yep, pretty much.
    I went running nearly every day while gaining 25 pounds over three years. Therefore, no one is aloiwed to log running as exercise.
  • curejenn
    curejenn Posts: 70 Member
    Options
    I only ever log my true exercise as exercise. Running around with my 2 year old at the park for an hour a day is something I did before I started MFP, as was cleaning the house, as was going out with my daughter to ride her bike for another hour in the afternoon. Now, if I put my walking shoes on and take the dog for a walk for an hour at top speed, I definitely log that. But everyday activities that I have always done, I don't log. I want that exercise spot to be keeping track of true exercise efforts. Not just adding up daily things to get to my goal number.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    Options
    If they have their activity levels set at sedentary then everything they do above and beyond sitting IS exercise. Also if they are extremely over weight walking up the stairs for 2 mins could well be a great achievement for them. Cooking a huge meal/kneading dough etc is hard work!

    This is a misconception that gets pushed around here a lot. Sedentary doesn't mean you do nothing but sit all day. It's referring to your work day being something like a desk job. It still includes the fact that you "live" during the day.

    Example: Sleeping - 8 hours
    Personal care (dressing, showering) - 1 hour
    Eating - 1 hour
    Cooking - 1 hour
    Sitting (office work, selling produce, tending shop) - 8 hours
    Driving car to/from work - 1 hour
    General household work - 1 hour
    Light leisure activities (watching TV, chatting) - 3 hours

    Sedentary is not laying in bed all day, that's closer to just your BMR so if you're doing those things above they definitely don't get counted as exercise.
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    Options
    Hey, so as I warned this is a rant... I want your opinions on this.

    I have seen people logging food preparation, washing dishes, even 2mins walking up stairs. Is this getting a bit ridiculous? I see those everyday actions as being part of my net personally.

    Should I log it every time I use the bathroom? And add extra calories if it's a little more difficult than usual? Like seriously people, be realistic... unless you are doing a strenuous amount of housework I don't see why this should be logged. But do prove me wrong, please, I'd like to giggle at the reasoning.

    Cheers,

    A grumpy Aussie

    Not really yours to judge unless someone comes to asking why it isn't working. You never know what they really did to burn those calories either. You don't know where someone is starting either. Someone 400 pounds that is sedentary can get a heck of a workout from 2 minutes of stairs, and could even be very sore the next day. Worry about you.
  • sheclimber
    sheclimber Posts: 176 Member
    Options

    This is a misconception that gets pushed around here a lot. Sedentary doesn't mean you do nothing but sit all day. It's referring to your work day being something like a desk job. It still includes the fact that you "live" during the day.

    Sedentary is not laying in bed all day, that's closer to just your BMR so if you're doing those things above they definitely don't get counted as exercise.

    Thank you, I was begining to think it was just me.
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    Options

    This is a misconception that gets pushed around here a lot. Sedentary doesn't mean you do nothing but sit all day. It's referring to your work day being something like a desk job. It still includes the fact that you "live" during the day.

    Sedentary is not laying in bed all day, that's closer to just your BMR so if you're doing those things above they definitely don't get counted as exercise.

    Thank you, I was begining to think it was just me.

    My BMR calculates at over 1700, but MFP has no problem setting me at 1200 calories if I put in a sedentary setting. By that reason, if I were to set myself to 1200 calories, would I then need to add each trip to the bathroom to make sure I get a decent amount of calories for the day?
  • LoosingMyLast15
    LoosingMyLast15 Posts: 1,457 Member
    Options
    i'm going to log hitting the snooze button 3 times. hey i had to raise my arm to do this. it must be exercise
  • raynavee
    raynavee Posts: 45
    Options
    I've logged cleaning before. You try breaking down a tree for over an hour at a time. This was not something I do on a daily basis, but occording to your reasoning, " cleaning" isn't exercise. Have you ever been over 300lbs? Do you know how hard it is for some people to do certain activities that you deem as "daily"? No. Why don't you just delete them? If they are losing their weight, what's it to you how they exercise? I don't consider my job, that consists of standing/walking for 8+ hours at a time and lifting 50+ lbs of weight exercise, but another person might log that they walked for 20 minutes. By your logic, this isn't exercise because I do it on a daily basis. Someone that works on a farm bails hay on a daily basis, and yet someone else might find it an exercise to help a friend do the same thing, because their body isn't accustomed to it. Also, I must state that Sedentary means that you take less than 6000 steps a day. It doesn't mean only your work life! That is just an example used by MFP, because most peo ple in the US only get physical activity in at work.
  • dobenjam
    dobenjam Posts: 232 Member
    Options
    Hey, so as I warned this is a rant... I want your opinions on this.

    I have seen people logging food preparation, washing dishes, even 2mins walking up stairs. Is this getting a bit ridiculous? I see those everyday actions as being part of my net personally.

    Should I log it every time I use the bathroom? And add extra calories if it's a little more difficult than usual? Like seriously people, be realistic... unless you are doing a strenuous amount of housework I don't see why this should be logged. But do prove me wrong, please, I'd like to giggle at the reasoning.

    Cheers,

    A grumpy Aussie

    I think this goes to a point I made on another thread a few min ago. I think most people feel sedentary means they don't do anything at all and feel the need to log every little thing as an activity. It doesn't bother me because what someone else does to better themselves is their business and I cheer them on instead of chastising them for not knowing.

    Lets be a little more supportive of people making their life changes. Really, to spend the time to comment about how someone else "has too much time on their hands" by logging such things really shows how much time that person has. I think we all can focus a little more on building up each other who are trying to make these life changes instead of making fun of them if we feel they aren't doing it correctly.

Categories