Would you count this as exercise?

bdburch
bdburch Posts: 127
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm going to a festival this weekend and I will be walking around for roughly 7-8 hours. It won't be fast walking, just casual to see all the little booths and entertainment areas. This isn't something I normally do since I work a desk job.

Would you count this towards your exercise for the day (fully or partially) or just enjoy the extra burn?
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Replies

  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    I would consider it a bonus and not log it.
  • tmanda06
    tmanda06 Posts: 2 Member
    I would still count it as excercise, 7-8 hours is a long time to be walking around, especially since it's not something you usually do daily. But either way, logging it or not, it's still beneficial. :)
  • crimsoncat
    crimsoncat Posts: 457 Member
    I'd go the bonus route too or log really conservatively. I used to log things like that, but then I noticed my weight creeping up again. I stopped doing that and my weight dropped. I think I was just over logging.

    Make sure you drink lots of water and enjoy yourself! XD
  • Siannah
    Siannah Posts: 456 Member
    I would consider it a bonus and not log it.

    This
  • Warchortle
    Warchortle Posts: 2,197 Member
    If you have to ask then no.
  • babydiego87
    babydiego87 Posts: 905 Member
    walking for an extended amount of time is exercise. if it wasnt, there wouldnt be competitions for it. log it
  • Dauntlessness
    Dauntlessness Posts: 1,489 Member
    Nope. If you lose weight from it great but its not technically an exercise. Not to mention there will probably be some high cal food there so it will all balance out.
  • briar_rose
    briar_rose Posts: 149 Member
    I wouldn't
  • SweetestLibby
    SweetestLibby Posts: 607 Member
    I would consider it a bonus and not log it.

    This is how I would do it.
  • bdburch
    bdburch Posts: 127
    Thanks guys :happy:

    I'm not super concerned with my weight, I'm just more of trying to be aware of my activity levels and exactly what and how much I'm eating.

    I may just let this one be a bonus and make a note in my exercise journal of what I did.

    I'm not really familiar with the phone app. Do any of you happen to know if you can make notes from there? It will be my only access to MFP for the weekend and I haven't gotten it downloaded yet.
  • tonytoo
    tonytoo Posts: 307
    Sounds like over 1000 calories to me! I'd log it for sure.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    i am just going to say no ....
  • bdburch
    bdburch Posts: 127
    Sounds like over 1000 calories to me! I'd log it for sure.

    Maybe one or two extra drinks then! :drinker:
  • tuckerrj
    tuckerrj Posts: 1,453 Member
    You could equate it to one of the MFP exercise activities. For example: Hunting, general or mild stretching or shuffleboard. Or count just a portion (half?) of the time as walking at 2.0 mph. Just don't use it to justify too many deep fried Snickers bars or Krispy Kreme cheeseburgers (actual fair food I've consumed before!).
  • xynyth
    xynyth Posts: 89 Member
    I logged it when I went to the Ren Fair and walked around for at least 6 hours straight. I logged 4 at 2 mph because we really were walking around a majority of the time. Now while I did log it I didn't eat back all the calories, I just didn't feel abd about splurging on the mint chocolate chip ice cream ;)
  • AmyMgetsfit
    AmyMgetsfit Posts: 636 Member
    I would wear a HRM or a pedometer if you have one. See what the calories burned/steps are. If you bring your own nutritious food, that is a plus. In the end I still probably wouldn't log it, just count it as a bonus as the pp said.
  • bdburch
    bdburch Posts: 127
    You could equate it to one of the MFP exercise activities. For example: Hunting, general or mild stretching or shuffleboard. Or count just a portion (half?) of the time as walking at 2.0 mph. Just don't use it to justify too many deep fried Snickers bars or Krispy Kreme cheeseburgers (actual fair food I've consumed before!).

    I've seen those at fairs. Even when I wasn't counting calories, I couldn't stomach them so no worries here. The thing that will get me is the funnel cakes! But I will be within walking distance of some family member's homes and they are planning to put some food out. Likely it will be hamburgers and chips but it will definitely be healthier than a krispy kreme hamburger :tongue:
  • KimberlyDCZ
    KimberlyDCZ Posts: 525 Member
    I do this on days when I'm genuinely tired afterwards. I would log it as leisurely 2mph and only put in half the time, maybe 4 hours. If it's not something you normally do, log it. You will be burning a lot more calories than if you were doing nothing.
  • LisaWilson2012
    LisaWilson2012 Posts: 118 Member
    If you're heart rate isn't elevated, it isn't exercise!
  • clarkeje1
    clarkeje1 Posts: 1,641 Member
    I wouldn't log that.
  • Kanlassak
    Kanlassak Posts: 101 Member
    I'd either count it for an hour or two, or bump up my activity level for the day. It counts for something, but definitely not the same as walking for the whole time.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    IMO it is really just a daily activity and not "exercise" Example - you walk around the fair all day - great - you then go home and lay around on the couch for four hours because you are beat...the non activity then pretty much events out the walking that you did...if you worked out and then went and walked around the fair that would be interesting, but I would still say log the work out and not walking the fair....
  • KenW72
    KenW72 Posts: 3
    Are you typically eating back calories burned due to exercise? If so, you may eat too much due to over estimating how much you burned during your "walk".

    Unless you're wearing a pedometer to accurately track your actual mileage you would mostly likely end up overestimating how much you really moved. Being at a festival for 7-8 hours does not automatically equate to walking for that amount of time, as it would for hiking 7-8 hours.
  • 3foldchord
    3foldchord Posts: 2,918 Member
    depends on my activity setting. If I used a sedentary or very lightly activity setting I'd log half of it. I'm sure I get 4 hours walking to and fro on a regular day anyway. But if I was using a more moderate activity level setting I'd not.
    (right now I am using a moderate activity level and not recording any exercise)
  • efirkey
    efirkey Posts: 298 Member
    If you use a pedometer then you can see how many more steps you take that day and add the difference to your exercise log. For instance if you normally walk 8000 steps in a day and on that day you walk 18000 steps, then you have exercised an extra 10,000 steps that day. Each 2000 steps is roughly a mile, so I would log this as walking 3 miles per hour for 100 minutes (5 miles x 20 minutes per mile).

    Otherwise, I don't know how you could realistically log it.

    I use a pedometer. It motivates me to go for a walk at the end of the day on inactive days.
  • ihateroses
    ihateroses Posts: 893 Member
    I wouldn't log it as exercise...BUT...I would also give yourself a relaxed food day where you don't worry too much about calories.

    Doesn't mean go crazy! But maybe just don't count cals and go with the flow.
  • Ripcode
    Ripcode Posts: 142 Member
    Nope. I would not count that.
  • HypersonicFitNess
    HypersonicFitNess Posts: 1,219 Member
    Thanks guys :happy:

    I'm not super concerned with my weight, I'm just more of trying to be aware of my activity levels and exactly what and how much I'm eating.

    I may just let this one be a bonus and make a note in my exercise journal of what I did.

    I'm not really familiar with the phone app. Do any of you happen to know if you can make notes from there? It will be my only access to MFP for the weekend and I haven't gotten it downloaded yet.

    You can write exercise and diary notes on the phone app
  • bdburch
    bdburch Posts: 127
    Are you typically eating back calories burned due to exercise? If so, you may eat too much due to over estimating how much you burned during your "walk".

    Unless you're wearing a pedometer to accurately track your actual mileage you would mostly likely end up overestimating how much you really moved. Being at a festival for 7-8 hours does not automatically equate to walking for that amount of time, as it would for hiking 7-8 hours.

    Sometimes I eat them back. I'm sure that over all (through many days), I eat all of my calories back as I'm over some and under others.

    I have my activity level set to sendetary because I sit at a desk for 8-10 hours a day. Most days I'm able to go to the gym at work but lately I've had a knee injury and more work than usual so no gym time this week :(

    You are also right about the walking part; it is likely I won't be walking for 7 hours because I will have to stop to eat and watch the shows.
  • crimsoncat
    crimsoncat Posts: 457 Member
    Thanks guys :happy:

    I'm not super concerned with my weight, I'm just more of trying to be aware of my activity levels and exactly what and how much I'm eating.

    I may just let this one be a bonus and make a note in my exercise journal of what I did.

    I'm not really familiar with the phone app. Do any of you happen to know if you can make notes from there? It will be my only access to MFP for the weekend and I haven't gotten it downloaded yet.

    I use the phone ap all the time. You can make notes, you can add things, you can track your macros. (Honestly I love the pie chart there better than the website's chart).

    The only thing I've ever had a problem with is that I can't figure out how to quick add calories on the phone. Also, you can't edit recipes on the phone. Everything else works perfectly.

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