Do you log all exercise?

amandalc980
amandalc980 Posts: 383 Member
edited September 24 in Fitness and Exercise
I only log my exercise that I would actually call exercise. For example running and 30 day shred gets logged. House cleaning and yard work do not. This weekend I used the weed whacker on my whole backyard then raked it all up. It was a lot of work, but I felt like I shouldn't log it. I feel like once I start logging my everyday activities it might make me reconsider my real running... What do you think?

PS – Big yards = Big arms. I am feeling the burn today!!!

Replies

  • vzepol
    vzepol Posts: 131 Member
    I agree. I only log what I do on purpose. Anything else is a daily activity.
  • Melis25Fit
    Melis25Fit Posts: 811 Member
    STRONGLY AGREE--- When people log "house cleaning" or "making the bed" as excercise. REALLY? C'mon. I think that if ppl log those kind of things, they may be a tad lazy!

    Go out and do a REAL work out! LOL
    Thanks for posting.
  • twooliver
    twooliver Posts: 450 Member
    I agree for the most part....however yard work and gardening tend towards strenuous work. I would be inclined to wear my HRM to see if it generated much in terms of burning calories. Otherwise, for normal house work, etc...I don't consider that exercise. Some folks however wear ankle weights and do housework in an aerobic fashion...
  • kittytrix
    kittytrix Posts: 557 Member
    I only log in out-of-the-ordinary housework. My mom cleans home and offices. When I go and help her I log it in when it's a deep cleaning. I don't log in my everyday cleaning and housework.

    I also do not log in when I take a walk to the Target to do some lunchtime shopping.

    My reasoning is if I did burn extra calories, it will be a nice suprise at the end of the week.
  • Melis25Fit
    Melis25Fit Posts: 811 Member
    HA! Yeah thats amusing too when I see "Shopping for graduation dress" under an exercise!
  • sbilyeu75
    sbilyeu75 Posts: 567 Member
    I normally log only actual exercise, but I did log shovelling snow.
  • thedeegan4
    thedeegan4 Posts: 422 Member
    I did some major cleaning yesterday (on top of my normal workout) and burned over 300 calories, so yes, I logged it. Just for the record, I'm not lazy.
  • udallmom101
    udallmom101 Posts: 564 Member
    I do count when I mow the lawn in the Spring and Summer. I have an awful big yard and I mow once a week. It takes about 2 hours, and a push mower really gets that hr up. I don't log house cleaning though. That is just a given!
  • pandafoo
    pandafoo Posts: 367 Member
    i agree - i log the exercises i do on purpose. so i don't log calories from walking around while i'm running errands, etc.

    but whether you log daily activities is up to you. i can definitely see how cleaning the house or other things would burn calories and tone the muscles! :)
  • SuZeeeee
    SuZeeeee Posts: 3
    I log house cleaning, only if it is my weekly house cleaning and it takes me about 3 hours
  • AndreaWyland
    AndreaWyland Posts: 142 Member
    Ya me too. I only log my "exercise" not daily chores or work. I do childcare in my home I dont do much sitting at all, chasing kids, up and down from the floor, meal prep, cleanup, house chores, playing in the yard or even standing in the yard...etc. I feel like if I logged those and ate more because I was doing that stuff I wouldnt lose.
  • edorice
    edorice Posts: 4,519 Member
    I don't log house cleaning or washing my car. I only count actually, made me sweat, exercise.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    I logged the walking I did as shopping at first. Now I only log things were I plan to get very sweaty and need to have a water bottle nearby. Normal housework? Not exercise. Moving furniture around? Exercise, but I only log half of it.
  • KokomoJoe
    KokomoJoe Posts: 435
    I walk at lunch and log that. I use google and try and find out of the way stores you would never find and walk there and back. I monitor my time there as walking through a store or shopping isn't exercise, nor is the 4 flights of stairs to get to my train by transit. My specific walks even if it is to do shopping I log usually because I find a place about 1 km or more away to check out.
  • AndreaWyland
    AndreaWyland Posts: 142 Member
    And I do log when I do hardcore yard work as well, IE mowing our very large yard with a push mower, thats a workout. I do that on top of my normal workout and I did where my hrm and in an hr I burned 350 cal, thats def worth noting:)
  • cbs1974
    cbs1974 Posts: 98 Member
    i log sleeping

    its amazing how many calories you burn asleep :p
  • fitfocusedfamily
    fitfocusedfamily Posts: 117 Member
    If it is a household chore that is NOT done DAILY, log it! I'm guessing you don't whack weeds and rake your yard daily. I don't shovel snow out of my driveway on a daily basis. You can bet I logged that 2 hours & 700+ calorie burn!

    I agree routine household chores should not be logged, i.e. laundry, dinner dishes, making the bed, etc.

    However, if you are doing "spring cleaning," moving furniture and cleaning beneath and around it, washing walls/ceilings, cleaning out the garage, yard work, throwing a football around with the kids (& running after it yourself), then log it! These things are not factored into your daily "lifestyle" which is used to calculate your caloric need. If you do not log these things and continue a normal "on purpose" workout routine, you may not be getting the nutrition your body needs. Proper & sufficient fuel is vital!
  • mielikkibz
    mielikkibz Posts: 552 Member
    I normally log only actual exercise, but I did log shovelling snow.

    I did too, but then, it ended up being 2 hrs LOL
  • Nigel99
    Nigel99 Posts: 498 Member
    I don't log things like house cleaning. I consider that part of daily activity, even if it is a little more vigorous. I generally log workouts, strenuous activity (like shoveling snow), and playing drums when I'm playing particularly hard, fast, and for an extended time.
  • trud72
    trud72 Posts: 1,912 Member
    i only log the "exersices" the j.m shred and walking usually i dont bother with anything else!
    class it as a bonus!
  • outersoul
    outersoul Posts: 711
    I only log my running and weight lifting. Anything else I consider part of my daily/weekly routine. To each his own I guess...
  • novatri
    novatri Posts: 262 Member
    I'd log mowing the lawn as long as it's a push mower, not riding lol. I don't log walking around school, but I may do shopping. You burn tons of calories running for that last must have toy.
  • amandalc980
    amandalc980 Posts: 383 Member
    i agree - i log the exercises i do on purpose. so i don't log calories from walking around while i'm running errands, etc.

    but whether you log daily activities is up to you. i can definitely see how cleaning the house or other things would burn calories and tone the muscles! :)

    One of my friends on here wears her HRM and she got her calories burnt to 900+ for house cleaning. I like what one person said, its a nice suprise at the end of the week. :happy:
  • hpsnickers1
    hpsnickers1 Posts: 2,783 Member
    I once logged a bath/shower scrubbing. I burned over 400 calories in and hour and a half. I did that once. I only log my exercise.
  • cbs1974
    cbs1974 Posts: 98 Member
    All these things you did as part as normal life before you did a lifestyle change!!
    given shoveling snow is a seasonal thing!!

    so why log them ?

    i chase the kids all over the place do alot of bits and bobs most days that i could log
    but i did all these things before and never lost any weight or had the thought of eating anymore because i had!!

    log proper things like running gym sessions ect
    all the other stuff is part of daily life even if its a once a month thing imho!!
  • CelesteENelson
    CelesteENelson Posts: 89 Member
    I only log extra's that I do to my daily routine. Like what I did at the gym. Or I just logged where I walked from home to the vet then from vet to the store and then from store home it was like 4 miles (normally I would have drove) while pushing my 45 lb kiddo in a stroller and from the store home (2 miles alone)was my 45 lb kiddo plus two 4 lb roasts a 5 lb bag of potatos lol.So I logged it. But walking around shopping or doing laundry or making my sons bed everyday (he is potty training) or chasing him, or feeding my 8 dogs twice a day, vacuuming up after their hair, spot cleaning my floors or even doing a deep cleaning of my tile isnt something I would log. Because it is stuff I did before I tried losing weight (where I wasnt losing weight) so wont count it towards losing when I wasnt before just doing that. I hope that makes sense. I kind of feel like I am rambling.
  • novatri
    novatri Posts: 262 Member
    I once logged a bath/shower scrubbing. I burned over 400 calories in and hour and a half. I did that once. I only log my exercise.

    LOL When I first read this I though your actually shower was counted. 1 1/2 hr shower is a workout lol
  • OceanAddict
    OceanAddict Posts: 55 Member
    Mmm... I dunno. I have a sedentary office job, and many nights before MFP I would just crash on the couch. If I'm worn out at the end of the day, I make myself get up and do SOMETHING, even if it's scrubbing the kitchen down or vacuuming, and I count that as activity.

    If I'm honest with myself, we don't do a lot of cleaning around here, and it certainly wasn't part of my previous "daily activity".

    That said, if I had chosen a daily activity level other than "sedentary", I might not log it. I think higher activity levels assume you're doing some moving around during the day.
  • circadianswing
    circadianswing Posts: 55 Member
    Logging the cardio exercise is great, but I'm bummed MFP don't give you calories back for strength training exercises. I still log what I can, it just keeps me focused!
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