Swimming - do you count the calories?

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lina1131
lina1131 Posts: 2,246 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I haven't counted the calories from swimming, but I wanted to see if you guys do. I looked at the calories lost calculator thingy and it shows that if you swim leisurely for one hour you burn 500 calories. WTF? I can kill myself on the treadmill for one hour and burn 400 calories, but swimming, I hardly break a sweat - what the hayellllll?

So count or no?

Replies

  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
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    YES, count it! But make sure you're actually SWIMMING that whole hour, not just wading. :laugh:
  • oliveoil7979
    oliveoil7979 Posts: 112
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    I count the calories. I think the reason so many are burned is because you are using your entire body. All your muscles are working together and that burns more calories than just working your legs on the tredmill
  • MacMadame
    MacMadame Posts: 1,893 Member
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    You are sweating, but you don't realize it because you are in the water. Which is part of what I like about it! :happy:
  • rcatr
    rcatr Posts: 374 Member
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    Absolutely! Swimming is a fantastic workout! It's what i did when I couldn't run and thank god for it! I mean, if you're just leisurely hanging out in a pool than it's probably not burning 500cal/hr but if you're actively swimming (doing laps) then Heck YA! Count it!
    Great job! :happy:
  • happy_jax
    happy_jax Posts: 289 Member
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    To be honest, I rarely swim anymore as I had to quit my fancy-pants-over-priced gym and join our local leisure centre one (not so appealing with kids dive-bombing on your head!!) but if I do go, I most certainly do record those workouts!!

    When I swim I do tend to do it intensively - rather than leisurely, as you mention - so it definitely gets my heart rate up. But even if you don't feel that exhausted - you are still being active, so it should be noted! Why not try adding a little less if you don't feel you've earnt it? Say enter half the time you've swam for so you only "gain" half the calories back..?

    Just my thought but that's what I would do...that's what I do when I go hiking...it always says I've burnt like 2000 calories in the day! (No way!) I'll try to wear my heartrate monitor, but if I can't do that, I'll just put I only walked for like 2 hours instead of the whole day.
  • BelovedGarden
    BelovedGarden Posts: 11
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    I love swimming as an exercise, because you can't feel the sweat. Clean and relaxing. Don't fight it, just do it.
  • LongMom
    LongMom Posts: 408 Member
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    Oh hell yea - I have a pool and have been DYING for this season!!! I'm going to be able to eat at all the summer BBQ's because I plan on swimming so much lol.

    I agree with everyone though, you have to be swimming not just playing around in the pool. I set my watch timer to time how long I do laps for and don't count any of the extra other stuff I'm doing with the kids etc.
  • EKarma
    EKarma Posts: 594 Member
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    Swimming is one of the BEST!! I love that it burns so many cals and it's so much fun to do.. Count them.. All the water is resistance for your body.. You are probably burning around that much...
  • SugarHi
    SugarHi Posts: 452
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    Swimming is one of the best exercises you can do period. You don't feel as tired or sweaty beucase you're in the water adn gravity doesn't take such a toll. Remember too that lap swimming or swimming in general you are constantly moving and there's ALWAYS resistence. Count it. You're working hard!
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
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    I was pretty in shape last summer and I accredit it to all the swimming. After I worked out for an hour, I'd swim laps for 30 minutes to an hour, then tan, go home, shower and finish my day.
  • georgette70
    georgette70 Posts: 158
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    Thanks for the post....I would have never thought to add the calories burned from swimming!! I love love love to swim....can't wait until the bay warms up and I can start swimming and adding the calories burned!! :bigsmile:
  • metco89
    metco89 Posts: 578 Member
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    I count the calories. I think the reason so many are burned is because you are using your entire body. All your muscles are working together and that burns more calories than just working your legs on the tredmill


    yep swimming is one of the best calorie burning exercises because of that
  • sweetrevenge
    sweetrevenge Posts: 188
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    You are sweating, but you don't realize it because you are in the water. Which is part of what I like about it! :happy:

    Took the words right out of my mouth....An exercise that you stay cool while doing...LOVE IT!
  • SassyMissDasha
    SassyMissDasha Posts: 614
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    Can't wait to go to the pool!! It's my favorite ..
  • Junisahn
    Junisahn Posts: 166 Member
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    this post really got me thinking and now I have what seems like a stupid question... my neighbor has a really nice, big in-ground pool that they said I should use anytime I want, and my baby monitor reaches their yard, so it might be the perfect way to mix up my exercise routine. I've never swam before (I mean, I know how to swim, in that I won't drown, but I'm sure it's not a pretty sight), so I'm wondering what does it mean to swim leisurely? Like, does just doing freestyle or breaststroke up and down the length of the pool count as leisurely?
  • MercuryBlue
    MercuryBlue Posts: 886 Member
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    I wouldn't. Don't believe the calories that you look up on MFP- more often than not, they're not accurate. Swimming for an hour (if you're doing it for fun and not exercise) won't burn that many calories for most people.

    Don't get me wrong- swimming is FANTASTIC exercise, when done with that purpose in mind. (Laps, etc. Yes, I would definitely count those.) But the kind of leisurely flapping about that most people do burn very few calories. And it would suck to log, then eat, all of those calories if you didn't ACTUALLY burn them.

    A great way to know for sure is to wear a HRM. My Polar F6 is waterproof, so I can wear it in the pool. It's awesome!
  • lina1131
    lina1131 Posts: 2,246 Member
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    Yeah, we have a pool in our backyard, so when i'm out there...so is my 3 year old. I don't get to just do laps because she wants my attention most of the time. I'm basically swimming around and playing with her. I took the world leisurely to mean, just hanging out in the water and playing around, so that is why I thought 500 was way too much!

    I do workout 4 days a week at the gym, so I'm getting my exercise. The swimming to me is more for fun, not exercise, but I just want to know if I should count any calories so that I don't go way under calories.
  • MercuryBlue
    MercuryBlue Posts: 886 Member
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    Yeah, we have a pool in our backyard, so when i'm out there...so is my 3 year old. I don't get to just do laps because she wants my attention most of the time. I'm basically swimming around and playing with her. I took the world leisurely to mean, just hanging out in the water and playing around, so that is why I thought 500 was way too much!

    I do workout 4 days a week at the gym, so I'm getting my exercise. The swimming to me is more for fun, not exercise, but I just want to know if I should count any calories so that I don't go way under calories.

    That's what I took it to mean, too. To me, leisurely swimming is flopping about casually in the water with my kids. I know I'm burning calories, but not a substancial amount. If I REALLY wanted to know the number, I'd wear my HRM (and I might one day, out of curiosity now!). I definitely think 500 is too much though!

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