Am I allowed to include walking to and from the station?

NaomiMc_Ra
NaomiMc_Ra Posts: 64 Member
edited November 18 in Health and Weight Loss
So, every day I walk to and from my house to the train station and the train station to my office. The first is a 10 minute walk and the second a 12-14 minute walk so all under a mile. I have never previously included these in my 'calories burnt' section as I felt it was too insignificant....should I be calculating these? Seeing as I calculate even the smallest thing I eat or drink maybe I should also be including this?

Replies

  • Soopatt
    Soopatt Posts: 563 Member
    I would pop it in because it might be nice to see it and feel good about it, but I would not recommend eating back the extra calories you might earn off it.
  • Paperchains38
    Paperchains38 Posts: 42 Member
    If it's not in my house or garden I include it. It takes me about 15 min to take my daughter to nursery and come home and the same to pick her up again. I do have to catch a bus but I actually walking for 30 min on nursery days which I am happy to add as it is exercise as some days it is all I get to do.
  • NaomiMc_Ra
    NaomiMc_Ra Posts: 64 Member
    Yeah that could be a good idea. I walk fast so according to MFP I burn about 166 calories a day from these walks.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Nope - it's activity level

    or get a fitbit or similar pedometer, enable negative adjustments and allow it to automatically update your base activity
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    do you do it everyday? regardless of weather? activity level.
  • David_2015
    David_2015 Posts: 231 Member
    NaomiMc_Ra wrote: »
    So, every day I walk to and from my house to the train station and the train station to my office. The first is a 10 minute walk and the second a 12-14 minute walk so all under a mile. I have never previously included these in my 'calories burnt' section as I felt it was too insignificant....should I be calculating these? Seeing as I calculate even the smallest thing I eat or drink maybe I should also be including this?

    I do the exact same amount of walking every day but just assumed it was part of my aim for 10,000 steps per day.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    I walk that far from my vehicle to my desk every morning. I still say I am sedentary, because a walk like that is just one of the normal things that office workers have to do.
  • ihad
    ihad Posts: 7,463 Member
    Some thoughts that might help: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/ihad/view/mfp-101-logging-exercise-734937
  • WBoulay
    WBoulay Posts: 12 Member
    Everybody is different, but as I do a similar commute with trains and subway two or three times a week, wearing a backpack with laptop, charging cord, work files and things like umbrella and lunch, I log those minutes as "hiking". I do walk at an accelerated pace a compared to just about all the other commuters. This works very well for me.
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  • tinascar2015
    tinascar2015 Posts: 413 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Nope - it's activity level

    or get a fitbit or similar pedometer, enable negative adjustments and allow it to automatically update your base activity

    YES. I always raise an eyebrow when I see exercise posted by friends for "light cleaning". I figure that sort of activity should be covered in your activity settings. I don't believe for a second that MFP's 450 calories for an hour of gardening is accurate. I garden all the time, and standing up pruning a shrub or being on my knees planting sure isn't cardio. Mostly, my stiffness after 4 hours is from stretching and contorting. Unless I'm moving and spreading a mountain of mulch, I don't feel any heart pumping.

    I've decided to get a Fitbit so I can get a more accurate estimate based on my base activity level, which I've set at "mildly active".
  • Krock83
    Krock83 Posts: 64 Member
    I have a walk to and from the train every day too, but I never count it. It's so small and I don't want to have the temptation to eat back even that small amount of calories!
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
    No I wouldn't log that. We all walk from our homes to our cars or to the train and back. It's just part of your daily life so I wouldn't log that.
    I clean for a living. I'm on my feet 12 hrs a day cleaning, carrying vacuums up and down steps, moving furniture around. I don't log any of that. It's included in my activity level already so I'd be double dipping if I counted that. I then come home and clean my own house and do my daily chores , Again I don't count that because it's part of my daily activities.
    I only count actual workouts.
  • grandmothercharlie
    grandmothercharlie Posts: 1,356 Member
    edited May 2015
    Most devices and sites consider anything over 10 minutes at a pace of 2 mph or greater cardio exercise, so yes, your walks qualify! However, I look at things this way: If it was a routine before when I was at my maximum weight, then I don't count it. I only count the exercises I have added since coming to MFP.
  • prettyleelee
    prettyleelee Posts: 236 Member
    I have my plan set out for sedentary because I do sit most of the day in meetings or at my desk. So I count all of my steps for the day. However I never eat the calories back that I say I have burned unless I know I burned burned them like getting in a run or a work out.
  • terricherry2
    terricherry2 Posts: 222 Member
    I probably do about the same as you and have my activity level set to sedentary. I don't include my walks as extra unless I go significantly over 10,000 steps a day though. Just personal preference I guess.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    NaomiMc_Ra wrote: »
    So, every day I walk to and from my house to the train station and the train station to my office. The first is a 10 minute walk and the second a 12-14 minute walk so all under a mile. I have never previously included these in my 'calories burnt' section as I felt it was too insignificant....should I be calculating these? Seeing as I calculate even the smallest thing I eat or drink maybe I should also be including this?

    Anything you do every day (including work, housework, yard work & child care) is part of your activity level—not exercise. Increase your activity level, wait a couple of weeks, then reevaluate your progress.

    Have you read the Sexypants post? So much good "MFP 101" information: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1
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