Can I really count "cooking or food prep" as exercise??

311Phil · January 2011

I cook 3 nights a week at a local restaurant, i just noticed that this is an "exercise" type on MFP, should I be logging this? I knew that i got a little workout every night from running around the kitchen, repetative chopping, etc etc...but i never thought to count it as exercise...

beetlevt · January 2011

I know *I* count it...I'll count anything LOL! And restaurant cooking is more intensive than home cooking, I believe. I would tack on a few extra calories burned, if I were you.

BrentGetsFit · January 2011

I would say no. Your work should already be factored in when you chose "sedentary, lightly active", etc. Now that being said, I must confess that I counted "moving boxes" one night because I went over my calories. I stock shelves at a grocery store a couple of nights a week and usually don't count that. I usually only count when I actually put on exercise shorts and sweat. Good luck

ElsieMae · January 2011

i think you should count it , if you are moving and busy isn"t that exercise , keep moving , you are using energy and it's all good . And if you enjoy it thats a bonus , they say you should find something that you like and do it , Keep moving , Have a Great Day

rayfromtx · January 2011

Are you losing weight at the rate you should be according to your current calculations? Then don't count it. Are you losing faster than you should be? Count it. Not sure yet? Don't count it and keep an eye on your weight loss rates and adjust as necessary. This whole thing is based on estimates and educated guesses. Use the results to modify your estimates. I never counted food prep and I cook every day. Perhaps my guesses elsewhere, such as my activity rate evened it out in the long run. I tried to lose 2 pounds a week and I lost almost exactly 2 pounds a week for months. I guessed right and adjusted as necessary. If I hit a plateau, I cut back for a few days until the scale started to move again. You will get a feel for it with time.

311Phil · January 2011

I would say no. Your work should already be factored in when you chose "sedentary, lightly active", etc. Now that being said, I must confess that I counted "moving boxes" one night because I went over my calories. I stock shelves at a grocery store a couple of nights a week and usually don't count that. I usually only count when I actually put on exercise shorts and sweat. Good luck

I picked Sedentary, lightly active because 5 days a week i sit at a desk. its a very different story when i work at the restaurant. I didn't use it to "get under my calories"

311Phil · January 2011

i think you should count it , if you are moving and busy isn"t that exercise , keep moving , you are using energy and it's all good . And if you enjoy it thats a bonus , they say you should find something that you like and do it , Keep moving , Have a Great Day

Thanks! Love cooking just wished it payed better!

311Phil · January 2011

Are you losing weight at the rate you should be according to your current calculations? Then don't count it. Are you losing faster than you should be? Count it. Not sure yet? Don't count it and keep an eye on your weight loss rates and adjust as necessary. This whole thing is based on estimates and educated guesses. Use the results to modify your estimates. I never counted food prep and I cook every day. Perhaps my guesses elsewhere, such as my activity rate evened it out in the long run. I tried to lose 2 pounds a week and I lost almost exactly 2 pounds a week for months. I guessed right and adjusted as necessary. If I hit a plateau, I cut back for a few days until the scale started to move again. You will get a feel for it with time.

I was losing it faster than expected, but it has kind slowed. Im well under my "2lb a week goal" as I've dropped 15 pounds in 18 days.

helenbeee · January 2011

Go by how you feel afterwards. If you feel puffed, tired, hot and you worked up a sweat well yes add it because those are an indication that you have raised your heartrate level and therefore burned calories. If you feel the same as before you began work then no I probably wouldnt add them and would be asking myself why Im looking for a way to add calories (food) to what Im eating. I would see it as a way of burning extra calories that doesnt require a gym visit or more time out of what is probably already quite a busy life.

antipholous · January 2011

You're going to lose the weight whether you log it or not. I think being pleasantly surprised by not logging it would be better than mildly disappointed by logging it.

311Phil · January 2011

You're going to lose the weight whether you log it or not. I think being pleasantly surprised by not logging it would be better than mildly disappointed by logging it.

this is a good point

thank bro.

311Phil · January 2011

Go by how you feel afterwards. If you feel puffed, tired, hot and you worked up a sweat well yes add it because those are an indication that you have raised your heartrate level and therefore burned calories. If you feel the same as before you began work then no I probably wouldnt add them and would be asking myself why Im looking for a way to add calories (food) to what Im eating. I would see it as a way of burning extra calories that doesnt require a gym visit or more time out of what is probably already quite a busy life.

I suppose i can wear my HRM when i get it to see if i actually do burn enough to "count"

heathersmilez · January 2011

Count it ONLY as long as your activity status is set to sedentary. If you are set to lightly active because of your job than that bit of running around you do is already counted.

heathersmilez · January 2011

Go by how you feel afterwards. If you feel puffed, tired, hot and you worked up a sweat well yes add it because those are an indication that you have raised your heartrate level and therefore burned calories. If you feel the same as before you began work then no I probably wouldnt add them and would be asking myself why Im looking for a way to add calories (food) to what Im eating. I would see it as a way of burning extra calories that doesnt require a gym visit or more time out of what is probably already quite a busy life.

The sweat may come from the temperature in the kitchen so I wouldn’t use that as an indicator. Also, you can walk for hours in an amusement park for example and your HR never increases by much (maybe to 100 or so, my resting is 52) but that doesn't mean those hours of walking don't count as exercise, you just have to log them as the 2.0 slow walk and be honest about how much time you spent walking vs. sitting and eating or on rides.

backinthenines · January 2011

I personally wouldn't log it, but perhaps set the lifestyle function to lightly or even moderately active, and then log formal exercising seperately.

Azdak · January 2011

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/activities-to-log-or-not-to-log-57883

katbass · January 2011

I look at it this way. If I was overweight while doing that activity before trying to lose weight, then I dont count it. If its a new activity that I've taken on in order to increase my activity level in an effort to shed pounds, I count it.

For example, Ive been lifting my daughter for the past 21 months. Into the car seat, into the crib, carrying her car seat, carrying her quite often. I gained weight/was overweight while doing thos activities, so I dont count them as exercise. They were part of my daily activity all along.
Now that Ive dedicated myself to losing weight the healthy way, I only log activities that I intend as exercise. Treadmill, workout DVD, weight lifting, etc. If I get my heart rate up, I count it.
The daily activity of lifting my daughter, carrying her around, giving her a bath (more of a workout than I thought it would be!), or chasing her around is just a bonus as far as calories burned. If it encourages more weight to fall of, GREAT! But since I have to do it either way, its just part of my activity level.

Congrats on your awesome weight loss success so far!! Keep it up!

Sharont213 · January 2011

I use the "have I always done this" thought process.. I don't log cooking, cleaning, shopping unless the activity itself is beyond the norm. I gained weight while cooking, cleaning, shopping so logging it as exercise - to me - doesn't make sense. However, on a day when I climb up and down the stairs 20 times carrying boxes so I can decorate - that I will log. It's a periodic activity. If you have always had your job cooking, than your weight gain happened in spite it. Using it as an exercise now will only slow down your efforts.

and Yes, I wish it paid better too. I LOVE COOKING..

backinthenines · January 2011

I look at it this way. If I was overweight while doing that activity before trying to lose weight, then I dont count it. If its a new activity that I've taken on in order to increase my activity level in an effort to shed pounds, I count it.

I think that's a very sensible way of looking at a realistic activity level.

311Phil · January 2011

to be clear, i don't want to add this to "eat the calories i burn" im well under calories without adding exercise. Im looking for an accurate count of my physical activity.

my "activity level" is set to sedentary, because i spend most of my week sitting at a desk. 3 days a week I cook at night, so it makes me slightly more active. I think the only true way i'll get my answer is to wear my HRM when i recieve it and see what it says.

myofibril · January 2011

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/activities-to-log-or-not-to-log-57883

^^^^^^ What he said. Very well put.

311Phil · January 2011

I use the "have I always done this" thought process.. I don't log cooking, cleaning, shopping unless the activity itself is beyond the norm. I gained weight while cooking, cleaning, shopping so logging it as exercise - to me - doesn't make sense. However, on a day when I climb up and down the stairs 20 times carrying boxes so I can decorate - that I will log. It's a periodic activity. If you have always had your job cooking, than your weight gain happened in spite it. Using it as an exercise now will only slow down your efforts.

and Yes, I wish it paid better too. I LOVE COOKING..

thats a good point. I just don't know to accurately set my activity level, as the majority of me week is spent sitting at a desk, but the 3 nights a week im on my feet for 4-6 hours cooking. Maybe Lightly active?

myofibril · January 2011

thats a good point. I just don't know to accurately set my activity level

Join the club. On other online calculators activity levels seem to factor in exercise as well. For example if you had a desk job but you worked out at a reasonable level 3 times a week you choose say "active." They then generate a single calorie level which aim for everyday without any of this "eating back your exercise calories" business as it has been averaged out over the week.

I have left a message in the technical support forum asking what activity level multipliers they use for the various activity levels they have on MFP. I want to get a clear understanding of how maintenance calorie levels are estimated here in my own mind. Hopefully once I get an answer I will be able to tweak the MFP settings to work best for my indvidual situation.

ps: nice job on the weight loss. Are you in the 200s yet?

311Phil · January 2011

ps: nice job on the weight loss. Are you in the 200s yet?

ALMOST! I am at 300.2. By next weigh in, I will be there!! (at least i hope!) Going to go for a walk after work today around the neighborhood (as long as it isn't raining!)

Azdak · January 2011

I use the "have I always done this" thought process.. I don't log cooking, cleaning, shopping unless the activity itself is beyond the norm. I gained weight while cooking, cleaning, shopping so logging it as exercise - to me - doesn't make sense. However, on a day when I climb up and down the stairs 20 times carrying boxes so I can decorate - that I will log. It's a periodic activity. If you have always had your job cooking, than your weight gain happened in spite it. Using it as an exercise now will only slow down your efforts.

and Yes, I wish it paid better too. I LOVE COOKING..

This is just a general comment--I'm just using your quote for a reference--because everyone can come up with their own system and it's all "artificial" anyway. The "activity factor" is meant to be an average--so those days in which you are unusually active are usually balanced out by days in which you were more sedentary. Plus, research shows that when people start doing more strenuous work or casual activity, they decrease it somewhere else. Either they decrease their activity the rest of the day to compensate or cut back on exercise because they are fatigued.

We tend to think in the short term and focus on unusual occurrences, but our bodies "keep track" all the time, so it 's the long term relationship between total activity vs total intake that counts.

As a rule I avoid a lot of personal anecdotes because they really don't mean that much, but my experience is one example of what can happen. I was unemployed for a long time and was working out quite a bit -- probably averaging at least 6000 calories a week in aerobic exercise + strength training. When I started my new job I went from "mostly sedentary + workouts" to "fairly active" in my daily activity. I work in a large, hospital-based fitness/wellness center. Most days I walk at least a couple of miles around the gym, climb 20-30 flights of stairs, pick up anywhere from 500 to 1000lbs of weight plates and dumbbells that lazy people leave lying around, and demonstrate a number of exercises, strength machines, etc.

But even with that radical change in activity, I didn't lose an ounce. Primarily because the increased work hours and the long commute (34 miles each way) have significantly cut into my workout time. My total daily energy expenditure did not increase--I just redistributed it.

Everyone can have a different system that can work for them, so I have stopped making specific recommendations on this topic. I just advise people to consider the bigger picture and, whatever the plan is, keep analyzing your results and make adjustments if things aren't going as expected.

Can I really count "cooking or food prep" as exercise??

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