Is tracking every "activity" right? Beneficial or harmful?

Deena_Bean
Deena_Bean Posts: 906 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Excuse my lack of knowledge, but really, out of complete curiosity...should you record things like grocery shopping and house cleaning in your exercise log? I have done it (the house cleaning), but I'm wondering if it's really beneficial or if it should just be considered in your lifestyle label - (sedentary/active, etc)? I really don't know how to treat these things. It's not like I clean the hell out of my house daily...so those days that I'm scrubbing tubs and mopping, etc...should I count that as an exercise?

Replies

  • yellowlemoned
    yellowlemoned Posts: 335 Member
    I track vigorous cleaning, and grocery shopping I log if I'm out walking for a longer period than usual. Some people log everything they do and some don't. My suggestion is to log it and see if it's a big enough calorie burn to warrant needing to eat those calories back. If it's not I don't bother logging it usually.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    People argue vehemently for both sides of this. To me, I don't care what someone logs, if it is right or wrong. As long as you are losing weight, I don't see it as harmful. If one is doing it and gets to a point where weight loss stalls, then it could be harmful.


    That said, I don't track any of that stuff, I consider it part of my daily activity. For those days I do have extra heavy house cleaning or something like that, I consider it a bonus or a safety net.

    ETA - the less you have to lose and the smaller your calorie deficit it, the easier the chance of overestimation when logging stuff like this is.
  • Deena_Bean
    Deena_Bean Posts: 906 Member
    So far whatever I'm tracking has seemed fine...I've been losing more often than gaining. I was really just curious how people handle that. I can generally tell when I put in more effort than a "normal" day and those are the times I log it. Otherwise, I don't really mess with it. I'm wondering more about these things because I just had a big hike in my calorie intake and it's got me considering the different facets of my lifestyle (mostly because I don't want to slip up or "fluff" my numbers). Thanks for the input :)
  • astronomicals
    astronomicals Posts: 1,537 Member
    it doesnt matter what you track as long as you're consistent... if you stop losing weight you adjust down after a couple weeks....


    variables man.. variables...

    do you hit on 16 or stay on 16? whatever you do, be consistent!

    ETA:

    Im active but im also sedentary.... my schedule fluxes greatly... My approach is to set it as sedentary and log all activity taht makes me sweat... Sports, intensive yardwork, cardio, and lifting... Nothing else. Im consistent, thus, I can make changes besed upon the constant which I have created.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
    I wouldn't log anything that you were doing before you decided to improve your health. I gained weight and I still did laundry, cleaned the house, etc.

    I really don't log anything that I don't need a shower after.
  • Deena_Bean
    Deena_Bean Posts: 906 Member
    I wouldn't log anything that you were doing before you decided to improve your health. I gained weight and I still did laundry, cleaned the house, etc.

    I really don't log anything that I don't need a shower after.

    I like this way of thinking. It's now been adopted. Thanks :)
  • djshari
    djshari Posts: 513 Member
    I wouldn't log anything that you were doing before you decided to improve your health. I gained weight and I still did laundry, cleaned the house, etc.

    I really don't log anything that I don't need a shower after.
    This is how I track it as well. My doctor has told me that I need to get my heart rate up for it to benefit me most.

    Personally, I think if I logged everything that would be harmful - normal daily activity is already taken into account when you choose your activity level. I feel it will lead to problems down the line when I think "look at all this stuff I did!" and wondering why I am not losing weight or I could use it as an excuse not to make time for exercise. Some people maybe just like spending a lot of time logging so it might help them stay on track that way.
  • chloematilds
    chloematilds Posts: 111 Member
    I think it depends on the person. if one is a bit obsessive, maybe it is bad. used to track non workouts since it seemed novelty to me. now, I just dont. its gotten boring
  • sullus
    sullus Posts: 2,839 Member
    I only track formal workouts. Even if I do manual labor (like landscaping) on a weekend, I won't track it. I did things like clean and grocery shop before I started eating well and formally exercising - they're just part of life.
  • jmv7117
    jmv7117 Posts: 891 Member
    It's your activity log to use as you see fit. Some log all activities while others only log exercise and then others a combination of both. It's up to you. I log mainly exercise with extra activity that I don't normally do. So regular cleaning doesn't get logged but a heavy duty cleaning does. Logging exercise and activity is a way to see if you are in a calorie deficit. The benefit is that if you were sedentary, logging some non-exercise activity like cleaning is a visual cue that you have at least been moving rather than sitting on the couch. That may be the motivator to get you moving more. The negative is non-exercise activity doesn't do much for fitness.
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,731 Member
    I only log activities that I would wear a HRM for. I don't even log the weightlifting unless it's done in direct conjunction with cardio. Only things that will elevate my heart rate consistently and to a degree that a HRM will accurately count caloric burns get logged. Yardwork and housework are rarely that intense.
  • gromithere
    gromithere Posts: 172 Member
    I wouldn't log anything that you were doing before you decided to improve your health. I gained weight and I still did laundry, cleaned the house, etc.

    Best logic I have heard on this subject yet!
  • lisalsd1
    lisalsd1 Posts: 1,519 Member
    I didn't read all of the responses, but here's my thought. If you track every daily activity, you run the risk of overestimating calories burned. It would make more sense to track intentional exercise and consider the physical work done during the day as "extra credit."

    I had my activity level in MFP set as "moderate," and my weight loss goal as .5lb per week. I didn't lose any weight. So I set my activity level to "light," and weight loss as .5 per week. I lost weight by doing this. I think I was overestimating how many calories I was burning doing daily chores. I also didn't consider that I spend about 2 hours a day in the car.

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