Shopping, etc? Count as exercise?

lovinmamaxo
lovinmamaxo Posts: 368 Member
edited September 29 in Fitness and Exercise
I went food shopping and spent a total of probably 70 minutes just walking around and shopping but it was enough to sweat quite a bit and i didn't sit down once. I know some people don't count certain things as exercise but if it was enough to make me sweat should i count it?

Replies

  • Saruman_w
    Saruman_w Posts: 1,531 Member
    I suppose you could perhaps log that as walking? You could determine how much of that 70 time period you were continually walking and log that time instead
  • TeenaMarina
    TeenaMarina Posts: 420 Member
    Seriously?
  • clrrrr
    clrrrr Posts: 261 Member
    If I spend a whole day wandering the mall or something like that, I usually enter about half or 2/3 of the total time I was shopping as walking 2.0 mph. It might not be totally advisable, but my profile is based on me being "sedentary" (I'm a student) so I'm assuming it counts for something.
  • lazatin
    lazatin Posts: 452 Member
    You could use this website to help you out.

    http://www.caloriesperhour.com/index_burn.php
  • heathersmilez
    heathersmilez Posts: 2,579 Member
    Log is as slow walking 2.0. You may not want to eat all those cals back b/c it wasn’t an intense workout but they definitely count as movement and good for your heart so don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
  • absolament
    absolament Posts: 278 Member
    You most certainly can count that as exercise. Just don't make a habit of it unless you feel it required extra effort.
  • maryd4love
    maryd4love Posts: 164 Member
    Seriously?

    Seriously, what?
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    It depends on what you have your activity level set as. If you are fairly active then no. I don't usually count things like that because it's a part of every day life.
  • denitraross
    denitraross Posts: 325 Member
    I would not log normal activity - Did you shop before you started dieting and excersing? Did you clean you house, cook, etc? It is part of your normal activity...the only things I log that are not at a gym or with weights are mowing the lawn, shovelling snow and gardening if it is really strenous..these things get your heart rate up....my two cents worth anyway :)
  • katlynm
    katlynm Posts: 12
    i enter it as 2.0 too. and if you pushing an extremely heavy cart (ie heavy bags of dog food etc) you can log it as pushing child in stroller walking 2.0) x amount of minutes.
  • lovinmamaxo
    lovinmamaxo Posts: 368 Member
    You could use this website to help you out.

    http://www.caloriesperhour.com/index_burn.php

    Wow so it does calculate quite a bit burned hmmm

    Shopping - groceries, with cart
    494 calories in 1 hr 20 min
  • lovejoydavid
    lovejoydavid Posts: 395 Member
    I went food shopping and spent a total of probably 70 minutes just walking around and shopping but it was enough to sweat quite a bit and i didn't sit down once. I know some people don't count certain things as exercise but if it was enough to make me sweat should i count it?

    I would say yes only if you a) have your activity level set at the minimum, and b) you find a way to get your resting metabolic rate out of the calculation.
  • hush7hush
    hush7hush Posts: 2,273 Member
    I would say, you can log it if you REALLY want to, but don't eat those calories back, and don't count them toward your weekly goal burn.

    It's something you'd be doing even if you weren't trying to lose weight. And if you count things like that, you're really only setting yourself up for failure.
  • midwesthiker
    midwesthiker Posts: 144
    I count everything I normally don't do. I don't spend that much time in the store, however in the winter time I go to the Mall of America and spend hours just walking around to get out of the house. I would count that.
  • Codefox
    Codefox Posts: 309 Member
    No, its not exercise
  • sara_rose
    sara_rose Posts: 40 Member
    Heck ya I do. I have two kids and we went thrift store shopping a few weeks ago. We were in and out of like 5 different stores. I only counted the actual walking around, pushing the stroller, and carrying the kids in and out of the car, I looked it up on a site called caloriecount.com and I does count as a form of exercise. I count everything I possibly can. If cleaning your house is a form of exercise then so is grocery shopping.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    Depends what your regular day looks like. If you are set as sedentary and this is a LOT of extra movement in your day, then I would log it as slow walking. However, if you normally walk around during the day then it isn't going to be a lot different so I wouldn't log it.

    To those who mock and say it isn't exercise, if you are a very sedentary person who doesn't usually move much, then walking for over an hour IS exercise. At my weight, walking at 2mph comes in at 187 cals/hour.

    Personally, I don't count this kind of stuff because I have my activity settings at "lightly active" to account for the regular walking in my day. The OP may be in a different situation.
This discussion has been closed.