Walking TO work

kyylieeeeee
kyylieeeeee Posts: 197 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi everyone!
I've searching the message boards a little bit for this and found a lot of posts about people who walk at work (people with active jobs), but I've got a different question:
I live in NYC, and I walk to and from work every day Monday-Friday, rain or shine. Each way, it's about 1.3 miles, and it takes me about 21-25 minutes walking at around 3-3.5 mph (depends on how late I am for work in the morning! ha). So that's a total of almost 50 minutes each day.
Currently, I don't log this time as exercise and just take it as part of my daily activity, but I do have my activity level set at sedentary-- I have a desk job.
So, the question is: do I log this as exercise? Do I up my activity level? Or just leave things as I've been doing them (basically, not acknowledge that walk)?
I usually work out hard once a week otherwise (at the gym or going for a run), and spend my weekends doing tons and tons of walking (but I don't log anything on the weekends). I know I need to up my workouts on other days, but I'm still adjusting to city life and a new job.
Any advice would be awesome, thanks all!

Replies

  • JenMc14
    JenMc14 Posts: 2,389 Member
    I'd set to lightly active, not log the walk to and from work or on weekends, but log dedicated workouts.
  • MsEmmy
    MsEmmy Posts: 254 Member
    If you have picked 'sedentary' (which seems apt for your job) I would log the exercise. However, I find mfp over estimates walking cals a bit so if you eat back your cals as I do, perhaps only eat back half of what it says you've earned by walking. I'm a part time dog walker (among other jobs!) but I only log half of the walks I do and it seems to work :)
  • jayaprathappsg
    jayaprathappsg Posts: 60 Member
    I am in the same boat (20 min walk to work). One day I used my HRM to measure the calories burned and used that as a ballpark to log everyday.
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
    Either stick with the sedentary setting and log the walks, or increase your activity level to lightly active and don't log them.
  • benol1
    benol1 Posts: 867 Member
    Log it!
  • discolimeade
    discolimeade Posts: 1
    I always calculate my intake for sedentary/my basal metabolic rate, because I wear a heart rate monitor every time I exercise. That way, I can figure out EXACTLY how many calories I burn! For you, it might be better just to change your activity level to lightly active - mostly because wearing a HRM while walking to work seems a bit silly. If you keep it at sedentary, then definitely log it!
  • billsica
    billsica Posts: 4,741 Member
    If it was me. I'd keep it at sedentary. Then get a smart phone with an app to track my walk. then start to incorporate jogging. Then start to run. Eventually I'd say, I don't walk into work, I crush work by running to it. Walk into the office, take off my running shoes and throw them. Put on a tie and scream, there better be a pie chart in that presentation because I'm hungry, WOO!!

    terry-tate-office-linebacker11.jpg
  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
    I walk to work as well, have been for quite some time. I am set to sedentary and I eat back ALL my exercise calories. My walks are about 30 min / day and pretty well the only 'exercise' I do apart from my normal job. If you aren't going to eat them all I would highly suggest eating back at least half.
  • lovemitch125
    lovemitch125 Posts: 257 Member
    I, personally, do not log my walks to and from class, work or the gym. I do not log my walks AT work either because, waitressing, I am not usually running around (I am on weekends though) but I am walking lightly around and standing for several hours. I only log my intentional workouts or days that I decide I just want to go outside and walk/run with no destination :)
    I live on a university campus and I feel like if I logged every time I walked to and from a friends house, the gym, work or class, or danced til I sweat at the bar or the 3-4 hours a day I am standing and lightly walking around at work, MFP would be having me eat an excessive amount of calories and weirdly I just don't trust the calorie counts, so I don't really TRY to stay within my calories. I eat when I am hungry and don't when I'm not. It's gotten me this far.
  • bobf279
    bobf279 Posts: 342 Member
    stay sedentary and log the walking. Runkeeper gives me 150 cals for 1.25 miles so I use that whether it is right or wrong at least I am consistent.
  • WendyBlendy
    WendyBlendy Posts: 124 Member
    I would keep your activity level at sedentary and log in your walk to work as exercise.
  • savithny
    savithny Posts: 1,200 Member
    At 50 minutes per workday, that's 250 minutes of moderate activity a week -- well over the "lightly active" line.

    If it were me, I"d set my activity level to lightly active and not log my commute.

    (Currently, I'm kind of doing that. I'm trying to up my activity levels, and so I'm walking to a different bus stop further from my house, 1.5 miles away. I log it to keep myself honest about my minutes per week of activity and put my pedometer counts in the notes, but I'm not eating back the calories.
  • wllwsmmr
    wllwsmmr Posts: 391 Member
    Agree with this! Your walk is definitely worth something!
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
    Another vote for lightly active.

    I have a FitBit and use it to estimate my TDEE. I get through at least 3.5 miles on my commute (I don't walk all the way - that's just to, from and around public transport!) and another couple in my lunch break.

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