calories from driving?

pepefifer
pepefifer Posts: 14 Member
edited September 26 in Fitness and Exercise
I feel like I've been asking a lot of questions lately! Actually, this is only my 3rd topic. Anyway. . . What is your take on figuring out calories for EVERYTHING you do? Right now I'm deducting calories just from planned exercises. Should I be figuring in calories burned from housework, driving, etc? I drive a school bus, and according to a calorie burning website it says I burned over 400 calories driving for 2 hours this morning. Should I figure that in so that I eat enough? I'm trying to do this right so I lose the desired weight. I'm having a whole lot of fun doing it to! However, the more I get into it, the more confused I get! lol :tongue:

Replies

  • DonnaLFitz
    DonnaLFitz Posts: 270 Member
    Honestly, don't count normal daily activity ... you'll be disappointed in your results.
    Count your actual deliberate activity. Housework and gardening count -- if they are exceptional efforts. Walking counts -- as long as it isn't from the TV room to the kitchen, but is around the block or at the track.
    Smaller activities don't generate enough of a calorie burn to be considered.
  • Juliebean_1027
    Juliebean_1027 Posts: 713 Member
    The way I see it, if it's part of your normal daily life then it doesn't count. The other day I logged 'cleaning' for the first time ever, and it was only because I was literally running up and down the stairs for about 20 minutes.
  • therobinator
    therobinator Posts: 832 Member
    I think this might be taking it a bit too far. MFP figures in not just your BMR but also your daily lifestyle (sedentary -to- active) in telling you how much to eat. I would only count activities that make me actually sweat or breath heavy, personally.
  • JustMichelleB
    JustMichelleB Posts: 290
    IMHO< if it's something you've always done regularly, you don't count it as "exercise".
    I also don't really get the concept of driving a vehicle ==> burning calories.
  • KLo924
    KLo924 Posts: 379 Member
    If you're moving around a lot during the day on a normal basis I think you would change your personal settings to reflect that, and then MFP takes that into account when calculating your BMR/calories. Go to Settings, Update Your Diet Profile - maybe lightly active or active instead of sedentary?
  • Sporty98
    Sporty98 Posts: 320 Member
    Those calories are taken into account in the lifestyle you set (sedentary to active) in your profile. If it's something extra that you're doing, like a long trip, you might want to count them......I'm planning on figuring my calories burned on our motorcycle trip this summer. Whether or not I will log them in as exercise, I don't know.....But, it's fun to figure out!
  • pepefifer
    pepefifer Posts: 14 Member
    Thanks everyone! I was kind of thinking the same thing - that if I do it everyday as part of my regular life style, then it doesn't count. Seeing this HUGE list of activities with calories burned started me thinking that I wasn't logging enough! Think I'll go back to just planned activities. :smile:
  • saldridge
    saldridge Posts: 125 Member
    What's the difference between sitting in the driver's seat vs. sitting in front of the TV? Turning the wheel every now and then and yelling at kids? Naaaa, that is no exercise.

    Here is the sad news -- you actually have to move your *kitten* in order to burn enough calories to count it as exercise. Believe me, I wish it wasn't so, but if you start logging those things, you'll be way over your calorie goal and very disappointed at your weigh-ins
  • sandyfeet10
    sandyfeet10 Posts: 280 Member
    i was curious about my daily calorie burning as well. i purchased a heart rate watch that monitored calories burned throughout the day. i use it all the time to help motivate me!!!
  • Egger29
    Egger29 Posts: 14,741 Member
    IMHO< if it's something you've always done regularly, you don't count it as "exercise".
    I also don't really get the concept of driving a vehicle ==> burning calories.

    To explain the concent...your BMR is the # of calories you would burn lying prone doing nothing for a 24 hour period. (Bed rest or Coma to be extreme).

    IN that respect...any kind of action that is greater than lying prone, requires energy to perform (Law of Thermodynamics - Stored energy to Kinetic Energy). While these amounts may be miniscule...they CAN add up over time.

    Eg...Lying down might be 1.0 Cal/min...sitting upright might be 1,7 CAl/Min...Standing might be 3.5 cals/min...walking and pacing could be 4.2 Cals/min. I.E. Anything more than lying prone...the heart needs to work slightly higher to circulate blood and oxygen to the extremeties.

    Now, while these might be negligible over the course of a 24 hour period....they could play a factor over the course of several months. (As a change from an active job to a desk job can attest).

    I had a client who said he didn't have time for much working out. I asked him how many phone calls he made every day and how much time he spent on the phone. He responded about 2-3 hours of his day was spent on calls.

    So, I suggested he get himself a 20' phone cord and make all his calls standing up. He would be doubling his calorie burn from what he would be doing sitting at the desk and added up of the course of a year...would be a significant calorie burn.

    Since the heart needs to work harder to provide blood to the extremeties.

    That being said...(And in response to the initial question), MFP takes your lifetyle into account so you don't log your daily activities and work as exercise.....only those items which are the exception to your daily routine (Walk to the store instead of driving....Cleaning up the yard...washing the car...swimming, gym time...etc...)
  • kgool
    kgool Posts: 177 Member
    Not sure how driving could account for that many calories, unless you were driving in a NASCAR race of course.
  • Mike523
    Mike523 Posts: 393 Member
    Not sure how driving could account for that many calories, unless you were driving in a NASCAR race of course.

    I think the school bus would have a rough time in the corners... :)
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