Does it count?

Islandgirl74
Islandgirl74 Posts: 170 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Usually when I do my weekly grocery shopping, I am there for roughly 2 hours. I am leisurely walking up and down the aisles that whole time, with frequent stops to load the cart of course. I was just wondering if I should count any/some of this time toward exercise?
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Replies

  • prettigirl01
    prettigirl01 Posts: 548 Member
    I always count that time when I am in the market but instead of logging it as a leisurely pace I log it as slow because of the many stops I make along the way but yes you can and should log that as well
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    Nope, I don't count it. You don't want to add exercise calories you didn't really earn, you won't lose.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    I personally don't count things like that. You can choose to and if your weight loss slows or stops, stop counting it.
  • leighpixie
    leighpixie Posts: 5
    I always wonder about this myself. I tend to only count it if i'm in sure a rush that i'm practically running round, Even them i only count half the time
  • shrinkingWITS
    shrinkingWITS Posts: 108
    I don't....
  • Kitty7814
    Kitty7814 Posts: 52
    I bought an arm band and I know for me at least days I go shopping tend to add a few hundred calories. It's not high intensity but my weekly loss is consistently more than my goal so I'd say it counts. Just don't over estimate it.
  • Lleldiranne
    Lleldiranne Posts: 5,516 Member
    I don't currently count it. I think I might have when I was hugely pregnant, as it was an exertion for me then (and I needed to make sure to eat enough calories). But if you're in good enough shape that it's not difficult for you to walk the the market (you aren't out of breath or exhausted when you're done), it probably won't help your weight loss efforts to count it.

    Moving is always better that being still; however, remember what your goal is here and don't shortchange yourself by taking shortcuts.
  • sophayz
    sophayz Posts: 592 Member
    i usually don't count it except if i really spend ALL say shopping and feel like i really broke a sweat . i guess it really just depends on if you think it was demanding or not
  • ninjakitty419
    ninjakitty419 Posts: 349 Member
    I don't. Anything that I burned, which probably wasn't much, can just be "bonus points".
  • prettigirl01
    prettigirl01 Posts: 548 Member
    so are you guys saying that shes not burning any calories doing this? I wonder if some people know that you burn calories while sleeping. its up to you what you want to do but I always add it. any movement I do counts for me coming from someone who barely never moved at all
  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
    Um.... No!!
  • AmeliaAmy
    AmeliaAmy Posts: 6 Member
    But burning calories sleeping and doing basic walking is already factored into your activity level, right? So if you are counting walking in the grocery on top of normal walking, then you aren't helping yourself. You don't count standing while you are getting ready in the morning, right? Or walking to the bathroom?
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    I don't add chores like that. Some do I am sure, but I don't see the point really.

    Unless I am actually exercising, I don't log it.
  • niniagrn
    niniagrn Posts: 22 Member
    I don't count that but I count walking my dog and when I do house cleaning (mopping and vacuuming only). But like some mention, count it but if you are noticing no or little weight lose stop counting it.
  • xX_Samantha_Xx
    xX_Samantha_Xx Posts: 166 Member
    I'm sure you did this activity before you started watching what you were doing weight/diet wise, and it was just a common activity. I wouldn't count it as exercise.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    If I'm desperate for more calories in my day (which I frequently was in the beginning), I will. But beware, MFP tends to overestimate calorie burn, so I only record about 2/3-3/4 of the time that I actually engage in.
  • gobonas99
    gobonas99 Posts: 1,049 Member
    No...never. I also don't count cleaning or yard work or shopping or sex as exercise. Basically - if it is something I would do anyway, whether I am trying to lose weight or not, I don't count it. Heck - I don't even count my mile walk at lunch or stretching/yoga, because I don't break a sweat. Exercise, *to me*, is a planned session that elevates my heart rate and leaves me DRENCHED in sweat at the end - running, biking, swimming, weight lifting, kickboxing, Insanity, Turbo Fire, Combat, etc.
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    so are you guys saying that shes not burning any calories doing this? I wonder if some people know that you burn calories while sleeping. its up to you what you want to do but I always add it. any movement I do counts for me coming from someone who barely never moved at all

    MFP already accounts for this when it determines your calories.
  • shrinkingWITS
    shrinkingWITS Posts: 108
    I have to agree with what another poster said...this is not additional activity. This is something that most people do every week and did before they started trying to lose weight. The numbers are most likely minimal to begin with and are factored in to a person's TDEE...sleeping, standing, all that stuff is factored in...walking to your car, walking through a store....if you want to count it, go ahead. But chances are it won't do much for your overall goal.

    Edited to add that if you are following MFP's plan, all this stuff is factored in.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    so are you guys saying that shes not burning any calories doing this? I wonder if some people know that you burn calories while sleeping. its up to you what you want to do but I always add it. any movement I do counts for me coming from someone who barely never moved at all
    She's burning calories, sure. Probably not as many as she thinks, though. And like I said, she is free to count anything. If she counts it, eats back the calories and is still meeting her goals, then she should do that. If she counts it, eats those calories and isn't meeting her goals, then she should reevaluate.
  • soyum
    soyum Posts: 49 Member
    Edit: Double posted! Please remove this post. :)
  • soyum
    soyum Posts: 49 Member
    I totally disagree with the others. 2 Hours at the grocery, walking slowly, pushing a cart around? Of Course that should be included in your cardio reports. The only reason I wouldn't add this is if you configured your profile to reflect a very active life style, but other wise 100% yes add this!

    To REALLY make this work, you need to track all input and output. Be as detailed as possible. It's amazing what you learn about your lifestyle, eating habits, exercise, etc, etc. The more data entered the more you will be able to dial in your weight loss program.
  • shrinkingWITS
    shrinkingWITS Posts: 108
    so are you guys saying that shes not burning any calories doing this? I wonder if some people know that you burn calories while sleeping. its up to you what you want to do but I always add it. any movement I do counts for me coming from someone who barely never moved at all
    She's burning calories, sure. Probably not as many as she thinks, though. And like I said, she is free to count anything. If she counts it, eats back the calories and is still meeting her goals, then she should do that. If she counts it, eats those calories and isn't meeting her goals, then she should reevaluate.

    And this..


    Let's not forget....OP asked "Does it count?"...people are answering and some said it does not. So if she chooses to count it (her choice of course) and doesn't see results, definitely reevaluate. Either way, good luck!
  • thepetiterunner
    thepetiterunner Posts: 1,238 Member
    I count things that I consider "outside" of my usual activities (i.e. grocery shopping, running errands, etc). My logic is that if my body is already used to (and therefore is accustomed to) those activities, I only want to get "credit" for the calories I burn that go above and beyond.

    But that's just me.
  • Swiftdogs
    Swiftdogs Posts: 328 Member
    I count low intensity, long duration activities net of my base rate. In this case I'd look at the calories for the time spent at a slow walk, then subtract my BMR for that amount of time (or I look up a number for what I'd be doing otherwise e.g. reading). But I'm set at sedentary. It's working so far.
  • LaserMum
    LaserMum Posts: 133
    It will depend to some degree on what you have your activity level set at and what exercise you've told MFP that you do.

    Mine is set to sedentary with no exercise (same on Fitbit) so, when I do anything that is an activity above that level then extra calories are allowed for.

    However, if you have your activity level set to active then MFP adjusts your projected TDEE to account for that and will allow you more calories so I would imagine that you shouldn't count it.

    For instance:
    Set at Sedentary with no exercise I'm allowed 1650 calories/day.
    Set at Active with 5 exercise sessions of 30 mins each, I'm allowed 2000 calories/day.

    I prefer being set at sedentary with no exercise and eat back my exercise calories because that gives me added incentive to do the exercise. If I had it set at Active with 5 sessions, I would eat 2000 calories but be tempted not to do the exercise!

    I hope this helps.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Spending an entire day at Mall of America? .......maybe. Regular day to day shopping...nope.
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
    Usually when I do my weekly grocery shopping, I am there for roughly 2 hours. I am leisurely walking up and down the aisles that whole time, with frequent stops to load the cart of course. I was just wondering if I should count any/some of this time toward exercise?

    It's never dawned on me to count shopping. Personally I don't and wouldn't, but this is ultimately your decision. You can count whatever you want as exercise and accomodate for those calories. If you're counting them and eating at net and being successful it works for you, if you're counting them and eating at net and not being successful then you have to consider why and this may be why.
  • Iron_Lotus
    Iron_Lotus Posts: 2,295 Member
    I wouldn't
  • BlueBombers
    BlueBombers Posts: 4,064 Member
    The only exercise I log is from my daily cardio or weight lifting workouts. It's really up to you if you want to log it or not.

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