Standing - how would you log it for mild exercise?

MidModJenn
MidModJenn Posts: 216 Member
edited November 20 in Fitness and Exercise
Have any of you ever logged "standing" in some way as exercise? I'm not talking about standing in line at the grocery store for a few minutes... I mean like many hours of standing such as at a concert or a party. Last night I was at a cocktail party where I stood / walked around for 5 hours non-stop in heels... Of course it wasn't a major workout, but I want to capture it (and offset my nibbles at the party)... my only real options seem to be choosing "fishing while standing", or choosing "walking 2.0 pace" and lessening the amount of time I did it. Any suggestions? :)

Replies

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    No, I would not log that. Standing does burn more calories than sitting and I know that there are some days when I stand for hours on end and then look at my step counter, thinking that surely I have a lot of steps, but have relatively few (e.g., days when I spend a lot of time in the kitchen) but I'd still not log that.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    I don't log it. If I'm taking a long walk to a store and have to spend some time standing in line or at intersections, I try to move around a bit (e.g. 8 reps march in place, 8 reps heel dig, 8 reps toe dig, 8 reps leg lift, reverse order), but that's more so when I say I walked 90 minutes, I kept moving for 90 minutes instead of having to check my watch and deduct the time. I know I'm probably moving a bit slower, but I also clocked my walking pace at about 3.25 mph and I log it as 3.0, so it kind of balances.

    Generally, if I'm not moving around, I don't think of it as burning extra calories.

    I also sit on a stability ball for a few minutes every day, just reading a book. It's a mild core-strengthener and I think my posture is a little better. (Note: That isn't the only core exercise I do.) But I don't log it.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,422 Member
    I think the heels should count for something.

    Other than that...I wouldn't log it as exercise.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    No point. I would just count it as bonus burn to offset maybe one beer at the concert.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    Not something I would ever log.
  • MidModJenn
    MidModJenn Posts: 216 Member
    Thanks everyone, this is helpful.
  • fjmartini
    fjmartini Posts: 1,149 Member
    Would you be standing still or slightly swaying from side to side?
  • Unknown
    Unknown
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  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    Not worth it to log it. I have a standing desk and will stand for 4-5 hours a day and then i'm in the gym, walking around the city, etc. According to this calculator:
    http://www.juststand.org/OnlineToolbox/tabid/637/Default.aspx

    • If standing while working: 625 calories burned
    • If sitting while working: 469 calories burned
    • Calorie-burn increase: 156

    This is like nothing and completely negligible when accounted for the rest of my daily movement and exercise.
  • zannatagged
    zannatagged Posts: 27 Member
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    Not worth it to log it. I have a standing desk and will stand for 4-5 hours a day and then i'm in the gym, walking around the city, etc. According to this calculator:
    http://www.juststand.org/OnlineToolbox/tabid/637/Default.aspx

    • If standing while working: 625 calories burned
    • If sitting while working: 469 calories burned
    • Calorie-burn increase: 156

    This is like nothing and completely negligible when accounted for the rest of my daily movement and exercise.

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    zannatagged wrote: »
    Log it anyway, if you're disabled or have any kind of physical issues these things count. Don't let anyone on here tell you something doesn't matter. All the best on your journey ;) xox

    :huh:
  • zannatagged
    zannatagged Posts: 27 Member
    Please read what I wrote with regard to physical limitations instead of picking out one section of a paragraph to jump on. I don't know people's back stories, nor do you, so I don't JUDGE.

    Please don't turn this thread into what you did to my thread and ruin the valuable information ppl provided me which I now cannot access because of your behaviour. Thanks. I won't be back so you can go ahead and have yr whatever last words as we all know you must.
  • MidModJenn
    MidModJenn Posts: 216 Member
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    Did I miss OP saying she had physical limitations?

    You didn't, but I do. I have a bad back that sometimes forces me to be carful with strenuous exercise. Until I lose some of this weight, traditional working out has not been recommended. Standing in low heels last night for so many hours made me sore when I woke up this morning, which is why I wondered if I could at least count it for *something* until I can actually exercise again like a regular person. I appreciated @zannatagged 's perspective... I'm not using this to justify eating massively over my calorie limit, I was just curious. I think everyone needs to take a deep breath! :)

  • amtyrell
    amtyrell Posts: 1,447 Member
    edited July 2017
    I wouldn't log it. I would assume it was offset any extra gain in some part of the nibbles that I am certain to have accidentally underlogged
  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
    MidModJenn wrote: »
    Have any of you ever logged "standing" in some way as exercise? I'm not talking about standing in line at the grocery store for a few minutes... I mean like many hours of standing such as at a concert or a party. Last night I was at a cocktail party where I stood / walked around for 5 hours non-stop in heels... Of course it wasn't a major workout, but I want to capture it (and offset my nibbles at the party)... my only real options seem to be choosing "fishing while standing", or choosing "walking 2.0 pace" and lessening the amount of time I did it. Any suggestions? :)

    I have one MFP friend who often logs "Standing at desk, working". I would consider logging it as you were both standing and walking around. Without an accurate count of how much you stopped or moved, I would split the 5 hours in half, and log it as "Walking, 2.0mph, slow pace". Just my opinion.
  • MidModJenn
    MidModJenn Posts: 216 Member
    @TonyB0588 - thanks. I checked out both options this morning - halving the time and doing 2.0 walking gave me ~300 exercise calories... 5 hours of fishing while standing gave me ~150 calories. I chose fishing so the calorie count would be more conservative.

    @jayemes - not to split hairs, but it was my legs and butt (and back) that hurt this morning, not my feet. which is why I wondered if it could count as mild exercise.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,631 Member
    zannatagged wrote: »
    Log it anyway, if you're disabled or have any kind of physical issues these things count. Don't let anyone on here tell you something doesn't matter. All the best on your journey ;) xox

    The question you have to ask yourself is ... are you losing weight when you count these things as exercise.

    If yes ... then great. Keep doing what you are doing.

    If no ... then stop logging them.

    You can put whatever you want in your diary . .. but your body follows the real math .
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    You can do what you want. Logging is just an academic exercise--you will lose weight if you sustain a deficit, regardless of how you do your accounting. Some people are motivated by seeing a running total of small activities; others figure ignoring it creates a "cushion" to make sure they don't go over. (Others use the TDEE method and don't log at all).

    The caution I urge about taking the "nickel and dime" approach is not a moral judgement, but a practical concern.

    Even when someone lists their lifestyle as "sedentary", there is still an allowance for everyday activity. That allowance is an average number of calories--it's not an automatic "credit". Some days you might burn a little more, some days a little less. You often can't be really sure if that "standing" or "housework" you are claiming actually represents extra calories over and above your allowance. If you were really sedentary the rest of the day, it might not be any extra at all.

    The second thing to consider is BMR, i.e. Resting metabolism. That has to be subtracted from any activity calorie burn. For these low-level calorie burning activities, the amount may be completely trivial after subtracting BMR. The extra 150 or so calories might only be 75 NET calories.
  • wheelieguy79
    wheelieguy79 Posts: 5 Member
    I am disabled, I have a degenerative bone disease that is not only painful but limits my mobility as well. I try to move around as much as possible. I had read that every hour you should try to do some type of movement if possible. I set my phone to alert me to get up and just even walk around for a couple of minutes. I also do try to fit in some sort of measurable exercise 3 to 5 days a week, though it depends on how bad the pain is. I think really diet is the more important part of this equation, and I think most of my weight loss has come from use sticking to a calorie deficient.
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