Unconventional Exercise

Well a lot of people will think different ways, but you did move. You were walking and pushing a heavy cart, so you were active. I think of it this way, if I was more active than my normal or really felt it then its exercise.

Even doing more walking than you normally do makes it exercise.

It's just part of your daily activity or NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis). I assume you did grocery shopping prior to joining MFP?

To me, that's just part of life. I only count what I mean to do as exercise.

I probably wouldn't log supermarket shopping because it just seems like one of those daily activities, I mean unless you were stocking up on really heavy cans and were stopping to do push ups every few aisles and jogging at the same time as pushing the trolley!?

How often do you do it? Do you exert yourself while pushing that cart? Does it challenge you?

If it's regular routine for you, it's not counted as exercise. It just so happens to have elements of exercise.

I don't count the actual shopping but I walk to the grocery store and back (40 mins each way). Toting home five bags of groceries is pretty hard work! Although I am cooking for myself so there may be less than you would have to carry. If possible try walking/jogging to the store and if you have too much to carry get someone to pick you up. Its a great way to sneak in some extra exercise.

I have my calories set to "sedentary", so if i end up shopping for more than an hour, i count it. I log it as "walking, slow pace, 2 miles per hour".

Unless you are pushing the cart full of groceries uphill all the way home or take the wheels off the cart I wouldn't count it as exercise.

So, I had originally planned on doing a Jillian Michaels DVD after work yesterday. However, on my way home from work, I realized it was Thursday, and I actually had to do my grocery shopping. So, my question is...does pushing a cartful of groceries around the store for an hour count as exercise? Or am I just fooling myself?

Does the cart have wheels? If so, then no.

I would describe it as "Activity" Activity is awesome. In some ways, living a lifestyle where you are active throughout the day (never sitting for more than an hour) trumps gym time. "Active" is a huge tool in combating the metabolic slowdown that comes with weight loss - several of my friends still eat the same amount of calories just because they are moving more throughout the day.

I wouldn't log it and eat back the calories, however.

Sometimes my shopping trips (grocery, big box, LOTS of trips to home improvement stores) take an hour to an hour and a half, or MUCH LONGER if my husband is along. I do add those, but only add as a slow walk, since my normal activity is sitting in an office chair and puttering around the house after work. But if I am just running in and hitting the perimeter isles I don't log it. Before I really started working out, sometimes it was enough to tire me. So yeah, I do count it.

I'm sorry, you're fooling yourself. Cleaning/shopping/etc are things we all did when we were overweight as much as we will do when we are fit.

I get about 5 miles of steps in a day (not all at once) so I don't log that. Unless, it is 2 hours straight...like I purposely went out for a walk/run.

You're fooling yourself!

It's just normal human activity, I'm afraid.

This. Anything that one does normally (shopping, cleaning, etc) is normal activity and not counted.
If you were to do a heavy spring-clean (moving furniture, lifting rugs, etc)....something over and beyond the usual cleaning.....that may count a little bit (but I still don't count it).

I might not have explained my actual activity well enough. yes it was grocery shopping. However, I do bulk grocery shopping only every two weeks or so, so it is not a daily activity for me. I also have my activity level set at sedentary because I have a desk job, so I'm not sure what MFP calculates as normal daily activities for a sedentary person. Nevertheless, I had no intention of logging it or eating those calories back anyway. I was just wondering if things of this nature help in losing weight (when not eating calories back) in any significant way. Deep cleaning is done sporadically and not all at once (I mean who has that kind of time?) so cleaning and cooking is part of my daily routine. Does MFP already account for that for a sedentary activity level?

I think that the answer to your question is yes and no. MFP gives you an average. Even two people living very similar lives (working a sit down job, taking care of one child, living and taking care of the same size house) can have vastly different calorie burns. Both would considered themselves sedentary. One might figit at their desk all day, take the stairs as much as they can, constantly be cleaning things and making beds, and chase their child around the house. All normal for her. The other might sit still, use the elevator, keep the house clean but doesn't constantly work on it, and have a child that likes to read. This is also normal, but uses less calories. No one else can determine exactly what calories you need daily, just give you an idea. Also people metabolism really are different even if they do exactly the same things.

The idea with MFP is that you go with the initial suggestion, add on additional, not daily exercise, and just see what happens over a month or so. If you're not losing weight, or not as fast as predicted, then you probably need less calories than the MFP guess. If you're losing weight quicker than predicted then you probably need more. So adjust as you feel and then re-evaluate again.

As you lose weight, especially a lot, things are likely to change. You might feel more energetic and add more movement just normally to your life, and might not even notice it. That means you might need more calories. But, you will need less calories just because you weigh less and MFP will want you to adjust for that. Just keep adjusting. But don't worry about it daily. Watch what's happening. Keep track of how hungry you are. Relax and adjust every month, every few months, every 6 months, whatever. It all depends on how much your life and weight is changing.