Thoughts on logging "exercise"

artanis50
artanis50 Posts: 96 Member
edited November 21 in Health and Weight Loss
I've seen some people logging things such as vacuuming, doing laundry, making the bed, etc as "exercise" and I don't see the point. I mean I do all those things too. Always have. But I still got fat doing them so I don't think they should count as exercise calories.

What do you think?
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Replies

  • artanis50
    artanis50 Posts: 96 Member
    @SezxyStef That was my original thought as well.
  • vivelajackie
    vivelajackie Posts: 321 Member
    I personally do not log my exercise. My work schedule is on 4, off 3. When I work, I walk, a lot. I also go to the gym three times a week. Currently, I'm set as "Lightly active" and I'm not losing at a devastatingly fast pace (recommended 2-3lbs a week on average). Now... if I were down to my goal weight where maintenance was lower and I had to balance the calories on a more precise level, I may. I still wouldn't log my daily chores as exercise though since that's factored in to my activity levels.
  • collectingblues
    collectingblues Posts: 2,541 Member
    artanis50 wrote: »
    I've seen some people logging things such as vacuuming, doing laundry, making the bed, etc as "exercise" and I don't see the point. I mean I do all those things too. Always have. But I still got fat doing them so I don't think they should count as exercise calories.

    What do you think?

    I use Runkeeper to track it all. I wouldn't enter vacuuming into Runkeeper, so ...

    The exceptions I make are for mowing the lawn and gardening.

    I have an electric push lawn mower that isn't self propelled, so my Watch may track the steps -- and that's hit or miss, since it's also like tracking when you push a stroller -- but it's not actually tracking the exertion involved.

    Ditto with gardening. I have a 160 square foot garden. Certain times of the year ... it is very work intensive. But if I'm just going out to do a basic harvest, and I'm not actually tilling or prepping anything, I don't count it.
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
    No, if it's things like that, I account for it in my daily activity setting. Even climbing the stairs at work are all part of that daily activity. The only thing I count is when I deliberately hit 'record' on my HRM and do a purposeful workout. Recording daily activities as exercise is double dipping to me.
  • toxikon
    toxikon Posts: 2,383 Member
    I only log intentional exercise, not chores and the like. I do log my daily lunchtime walks as long as they're longer than 20 minutes. The extra calories give me a bit more wiggle room for dinner.
  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
    Bonus calories. I really dont see a point but all the power to them if they want to, Just seems to me thats counted in your base activity level, And the more side "exercise" you log, The more factors into possibly overestimating your calorie burns and slowing down/halting your losses.
  • Adc7225
    Adc7225 Posts: 1,318 Member
    I think it depends. Last night I needed to get 4K steps to reach my step goal so when I got home I made a point to, I'll say putter around the house. I changed my bed, hung up some clothes, made busy work of doing household chores - like walking items to hang up to the closet one at a time. While, for me this didn't register on my FitBit for some, something like this is a workout.
  • GrumpyHeadmistress
    GrumpyHeadmistress Posts: 666 Member
    My very rough judgement as to what to log is "does this activity require me to change clothing?". Swimming, running, gym - that's exercise. Mowing the lawn, putting the bin out, housework - that's included in my daily calories.
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