Christmas Tree Decorating (What exercise?)

any kind of movement burns calories, even SLEEP burns calories...so dont let the nay sayers get you down! even if you cant log it...still believe that you are doing it! the only thing i would warn is dont get used to just doing light activity as your workout for the day (i have actually done this lol!) so after you decorate the tree, go for a light walk so you can put it in your diary and you can see an actual caloric number!

No? Okies, lol, I wasn't sure that's why I asked :P
Thank-you!

I am sure many people will disagree with me, but I just don't believe that everything is meant to be logged as exercise.

Grokette, I both agree and disagree with you. If somebody has their activity level set at sedentary and does an activity for a couple of hours that is somewhat strenuous (and after getting down our Christmas decorations and making 30 (no lie, I counted) trips up and down stairs with boxes) that is exercise to them. I agree that not everything needs to be logged, trips to the grocery store, sex, cooking dinner-your normal, daily activities for example. But putting up a tree can be a LOT of work.

I will not log it as exercise, like I don't log cleaning either. We can not make excuses in order to eat more. I have a large house and it takes 100 steps for a round trip from the office to the kitchen, and I do it several times a day, plus other "household" acrtivities.

If I add those activites as exercise calories, plus what I do at the gym, then I will have to eat like a horse every day. Lets just log exercise calories for extreme activities such as mowing the lawn, shoveling snow, intense gardening, and moving.

That is my two cents.

In all honesty, I somewhat agree with the folks who say not to log it, but only for the worry of then overeating (by unintentionally not logging your calories entirely correctly—the estimation factor bothers me too much to be entirely inclined to eat my exercise calories.) And you know what? I don't log anything anymore. I don't log my food, I don't log my exercise, I just keep track of what I eat, exercise until I feel satisfied with myself and my body looks better than it ever did when I was tracking my calories.

So, Cap, go ahead and log it if you like—I'll applaud your dedication —I don't think there's any harm in doing so by any means, however, bear in mind that you're not going to have an accurate measure of your calories.

Oh, and for the smartass, you would log it under cardio, as this would be an aerobic activity, defined by its ability to cause your heart rate to increase and oxygenate the blood.

Hehe, thanks Halo,
I had a nap, so I'm not as cranky now :P
I apologize for before, was having a rough day and over-reacted
Btw, I decided not to put it in, I've burned over 400 calories anyways today, lol

Captain, I don't think you should apologize. I don't think you were over-reacting at all. I too agree that some of the comments were rude and definitely agree with halo in that some people were even being smart@$$e$. You are not cranky for pointing out that someone is being rude to you.

It was a simple question that you asked, you were seeking help, and some of the comments you received were less then helpful.

Glad you got a nap in though, I am jealous! Way to go on the other 400 calories burned!

any kind of movement burns calories, even SLEEP burns calories...so dont let the nay sayers get you down! even if you cant log it...still believe that you are doing it! the only thing i would warn is dont get used to just doing light activity as your workout for the day (i have actually done this lol!) so after you decorate the tree, go for a light walk so you can put it in your diary and you can see an actual caloric number!

I wouldn't worry about counting it. I don't count all my activities that I do under my exercise either. I have two young children, one of which is a toddler so I'm getting "exercise" all the while he's awake. All the activity you do that you don't count, you can just think in your head as a bonus. AND who knows how accurate those calories numbers are anyway, everyone's metabolisms are different. it's probably just for a general idea.

People seem kinda rude about it lol, FYI, I don't usually put this kinda of stuff in, but just to let you know, I am sweating from doing it right now, that's why I was wondering,.........
I usually on put my dog walks and the gym in for exercise, anyways, people are kinda being rude, so I'm just gonna leave it at that

I am hoping you did not find my comments as rude. If anyone looks at my profile, I spell it out very plainly that I speak the truth and it does come out blunt.

However, if I have other people's interest at heart, there is no reason to sugar coat anything. I give the facts and sometiimes my opinion, but the truth is always better.

I don't think you were rude.

My Christmas tree was quite a work out this year. Bought a potted live tree in town and then had a 2 mile walk back and 3 flights of stairs to get up with my tiny but surprisingly heavy tree.

Bit different to you, but that one I'd have logged as walking (which I was doing, just with extra and awkward weight)

I have a tendancy to be blunt myself so take it or leave it.

Putting up your Christmas tree logged as exercise? Really?

Exercise is defined as activity requiring physical effort, carried out esp. to sustain or improve health and fitness.

You put your Christmas tree up every year even before joining MFP and it didn't help you lose weight or have better health then either....

It might be different if you walked a mile finding the tree, cut it down with an axe and drug it back to the truck in 3ft of snow using snowshoes but really you picked up a box and carried it upstairs/downstairs. I sweat when I spring/fall clean or mow the lawn in the heat of the summer doesn't mean it's exercise.

BTW I shovelled my driveway (just the mouth of it) and it took 45mins to clear it out enough to get my car out....I am sore (even tho I lift) and I didn't count it, why because I did that while I was fat too, it didn't make me healthier or skinnier. Mind you I was a lot more sore when I was fat and way out of breath.

Guys, the OP and some other poster deactivated their account. So we have no reason to continue with this thread. I wish we could close it.

I have a tendancy to be blunt myself so take it or leave it.

Putting up your Christmas tree logged as exercise? Really?

Exercise is defined as activity requiring physical effort, carried out esp. to sustain or improve health and fitness.

You put your Christmas tree up every year even before joining MFP and it didn't help you lose weight or have better health then either....

It might be different if you walked a mile finding the tree, cut it down with an axe and drug it back to the truck in 3ft of snow using snowshoes but really you picked up a box and carried it upstairs/downstairs. I sweat when I spring/fall clean or mow the lawn in the heat of the summer doesn't mean it's exercise.

BTW I shovelled my driveway (just the mouth of it) and it took 45mins to clear it out enough to get my car out....I am sore (even tho I lift) and I didn't count it, why because I did that while I was fat too, it didn't make me healthier or skinnier. Mind you I was a lot more sore when I was fat and way out of breath.

Well, I went to the gym, ran, biked, etc. for decades off and on without getting skinnier, so I guess by your logic I can't log exercise at the gym, running, or biking as exercise either.

If it's exercise [burning calories] that isn't accounted for in your basic activity to calculate your calorie goals, why shouldn't you log it?

jhc its almost Christmas maybe for exercise you could get off the couch at least 3 days before santa arrives MERRY CHRISTMAS hope you don't miss it

Guys, the OP and some other poster deactivated their account. So we have no reason to continue with this thread. I wish we could close it.

That's it, from now on I'm not responding to a thread until I see if the OP is sill with us. :bigsmile:

Great idea!! :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

Maybe also check the date of the original post, which in this case was December 2010.