What do you actually count for exercise

jillchavarria22
jillchavarria22 Posts: 15 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm wondering what to really count as "exercise". I've noticed there are some on here that count housecleaning as exercise, whether it be light, moderate or heavy cleaning. I know we burn calories throughout the day just doing our day to day things, but where do you draw the line on what to count as actually calorie burning exercise? The old calorie-in/calorie-out deficit.

Replies

  • stt43
    stt43 Posts: 487
    I put my activity level as sedentary and then log everything that is outside of my usual sitting around, although I probably wouldn't log cleaning unless it was a significant amount.
  • iquiltoo
    iquiltoo Posts: 246 Member
    My activity level is sedentary. I don't count housework unless it's out of the ordinary (moving furniture around, for example, not something I would do every day). Outside work the same - sweeping the deck I wouldn't count, but shovelling snow for an hour I would! So pretty much the only extra I do count is going to the gym or going for walks. The extra calories burned from other regular activity are then just a bonus towards my weight loss.
  • icimani
    icimani Posts: 1,454 Member
    I only use what I call "intentional" exercise - where I actually put on the right clothes and shoes.
  • needles85365
    needles85365 Posts: 491 Member
    When I first started my journey I counted everything outside my sedentary movements, now I only count intentional exercise where my heart rate gets elevated and I get a little short of breath.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    Exercise is something you do intentionally for the fitness factor of it. You need to take off your slippers, get some trainers on, some workout clothes and maybe a sweat band. Otherwise it's life and if you feel the need to count it for more to eat then you really need to re evaluate your thoughts on food.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Ummmm....exercise...like working out.
  • zillah73
    zillah73 Posts: 505 Member
    If I get up, put on workout gear and intentionally go out to exercise – be that biking, running, dance or the gym – that is exercise. Cleaning the house, mowing the lawn, etc. is just an incidental calorie burn. Counting that as exercise would give me a pass on skipping an actual, concentrated workout and the only person I'm cheating when I do that is me.

    I saw someone on here once log "standing - 60 minutes" as exercise. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
  • johan1585
    johan1585 Posts: 44 Member
    I think unless you lift the couch 50 times while vacuuming under it cleaning issent exercise.

    Putting on a heart rate monitor and cleaning doesent make it different then before its just makes you aware.
    Same goes for playing with childeren of nursing these are all normal activaties unless you like having starving or atention deprived childeren.

    i think exercise is an activity with the sole purpose working out your body, with the exeption of walking or cycling somewhere when you used to take the car.
  • gmthisfeller
    gmthisfeller Posts: 779 Member
    Intentional exercise only for me, which is usually a run.
  • callie006
    callie006 Posts: 151 Member
    Like most others, I only log intentional exercise and daily activities that are out of the ordinary and especially taxing. For example, I wouldn't log housecleaning, but I did log that hour I spent lugging boxes of books up three flights of stairs.
  • Anth73
    Anth73 Posts: 5
    If you use a heart rate monitor (and if you don't you really should, they help a lot) then it can be useful to wear one for a few hours of "normal" actvitiy and get an idea of what your standard, everyday heart rate is. This will be somewhat higher than your resting heart rate.

    If that's your normal heart rate, then that will establish the rate at which your body is burning calories doing everyday activities. You should really only count as exercise, things which substantially elevate your heart rate over that "background" level for at least a reasonable period of time - say 10-15 minutes. Otherwise all you are really doing is measuring your basal metabolic consumption of calories, but then recording them on MFP as an allowance for extra calorie consumption.

    Your body won't be fooled! It will use that extra energy for fat storage.

    Google "net calorie burn" and you'll learn much more.

    Good luck everyone, remember every 9 calories you burn is a gram of fat gone forever!
  • Julene64
    Julene64 Posts: 63 Member
    I chose "sedentary" as my lifestyle, even though it's not. So that I can see the most accurate accounting of my calories in vs. calories out, I do count activity such as housework, stacking firewood, raking leaves, gardening, etc. as "exercise". All of those things burn calories above and beyond what I would burn being sedentary. I realize this is not "exercise" like going to the gym, running, etc. but it is activity that burns calories and I want to see the most accurate information possible regarding what I am eating vs. what I am expending. Most of the time when I'm working around here I am working hard enough to get sweaty, winded, tired, worn out, with aching muscles, aching feet, and sometimes I'm even sore the next day. I don't care if it's not at the gym and that I'm not in my sweat pants, I'm working hard and I want to see how that translates calorie wise. It also helps to motivate me to be more active during the day when I can see at the end of the day how much it paid off in calories burned. I have a lot of property to tend here and don't always have time to go on a hike and the nearest gym is a 30 minute drive away. I get a good workout taking care of this house and farm and you better believe I feel I have every right to count it as such.

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