When do you log walking as an exercise?

AI1108
AI1108 Posts: 488 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Ok so I live in a big city and end up commuting everywhere by walking/train/bus which adds a lot of incidental walking in there, as I don't have a reason to own a car. I realize that some people log walking as an exercise. I did in the beginning if it was a long distance but was curious as to when people log walking as exercise.

Also.. this is daily for me (going to/from work, going to/from the gym, going out with friends/fam/coworkers, running errands, etc.), so I just assumed it was part of my daily grind. Someone suggested I just not touch it and try to up my activity level to lightly active, as sedentary may be kinda low for me. What do you all think?

Replies

  • rjvt006
    rjvt006 Posts: 146 Member
    I would say in your case its a daily thing your body is use to it. just my opinion:happy: But if you took a longer way one day just to add some steps then i would add some of it?
  • whisperingdragon
    whisperingdragon Posts: 334
    I personally only log excercise if I work up a sweat..

    :flowerforyou:
  • photorific
    photorific Posts: 577 Member
    Sounds like you're definitely not sedentary. I'd bump up your activity level and not worry about tracking/logging the particulars of your commute(s).
  • Run4UrHealth
    Run4UrHealth Posts: 348 Member
    I would just up your activity level....you are not sedentary.
  • chryciw
    chryciw Posts: 124 Member
    Someone suggested I just not touch it and try to up my activity level to lightly active, as sedentary may be kinda low for me. What do you all think?

    I agree with this ^^.
  • ShaoonaRae
    ShaoonaRae Posts: 60 Member
    If you're walking for an extended period of time I would add it, how ever, if you walk like this every day for a couple hours total, I would just up your activity to light.

    I walk a lot, but not everyday, and I only log it when I go out specifically for a walk.
  • Cam_
    Cam_ Posts: 515 Member
    It all burns calories so you could have a low activity level and log the walking or up the activity level and don't log the walking.
  • 27strange
    27strange Posts: 837 Member
    In your situation I would set my lifestly as lightly active and not log all the daily walking. Sounds like you are walking a lot and burning quite a few calories!

    My general rule is this... did I do this activity before I started the weight loss/healthier living lifestyle? If the answer is yes, I don't log it. If no, then I log it. I don't count mowing the yard, walking the dogs, cleaning the house, grocery shopping, etc because I did all these things before committing to this new lifestyle...and while doing those things I gained weight....so I don't count them. But if I spent the day walking the beach or at the zoo, I'd probably consider logging that...its not the normal daily routine.
  • lizhipwell
    lizhipwell Posts: 70
    Sounds like you're definitely not sedentary. I'd bump up your activity level and not worry about tracking/logging the particulars of your commute(s).

    Ditto what he said...I agree. In my case, I've led a pretty sedentary life due to some personal illness, so the walking is extra cuz it's something I wasn't doing before I decided to lose weight. In your case I agree with the above quote. All the best to you and good luck!!
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    I walk a fair bit in my daily life (to the bus, from the train, to the shops etc) so I upped my activity level to "lightly active" to account for this regular walking.
    Now I only log walking if I do an extra walk that is outside what I normally do - for example some days I will walk for 30-60 mins to catch a different bus or train to work, so I log this but not my usual 5 -10 mins to the nearby bustop.
  • AI1108
    AI1108 Posts: 488 Member
    oh wow these responses were quick!

    I'm going to up my cals for a bit and see where it takes me.

    Thanks everyone!!
  • mamagooskie
    mamagooskie Posts: 2,964 Member
    I only log walking when It's above and beyond what I usually do. Like if I go to the zoo (which I only do a few times a year) and I'm walking like 3-4-5 hours I'll log it. Anything else like walking to mailbox or parking farther at the grocery store, or taking stairs instead of elevator, walking at the mall etc I don't count.
  • tofeelwell
    tofeelwell Posts: 34 Member
    I have long been a walker and sometimes a dayhiker but not enough to keep the weight off. I guess that is true for you too.

    One of things I did when I started with MFP was use my heart rate monitor to figure out what my existing calorie burn was, kind of way of learning more about what my body did. I used it too to find out what my calorie burn was for walks that I took regularly. I even kept it on for most of the day on a sedentary day to use it to get an idea of what my body uses in quiet mode. One of my regular walks was about an hour so I made it an MFP exercise, wearing the HRM, and worked to see if I could walk faster and burn more. You could do the same with any walk 30 minutes or greater. On day hikes, my pace is slower as I'm with friends but the time and distance are longer, so I wear my HRM and track it in MFP. Other than that, I also had to up my aerobic sessions at the gym and of course track those.
  • 16mixingbowls
    16mixingbowls Posts: 205 Member
    Think of it like this:
    Sedentary is for people who drive or ride a bus to work and sit at a computer all day. Lightly active is for people who walk but at a normal pace (Me, a teacher who is constantly walking around my classroom. I average 3 miles a day ((I used a pedometer a few times!!)), and then above that is people who walk a lot at work, like waitresses and mailmen.

    Like a lot of PPs have mentioned, I wouldn't log the walking as exercise unless you do a longer than normal walk. I WOULD up your base activity level because that is used to calculate your base calories.

    I log walking for my daily 45 minute walk I take with my dog. I log it as "brisk: because I walk really fast and don't let my dog stop and sniff around:)
  • nicolegetsfit
    nicolegetsfit Posts: 25
    I normally only do when I go for a walk specifically for exercise, or if I'm out walking around/shopping for a few hours. I'd definitely bump up your activity level from sedentary to lightly active though. :)
  • Glucocorticoid
    Glucocorticoid Posts: 867 Member
    Ok so I live in a big city and end up commuting everywhere by walking/train/bus which adds a lot of incidental walking in there, as I don't have a reason to own a car. I realize that some people log walking as an exercise. I did in the beginning if it was a long distance but was curious as to when people log walking as exercise.

    Also.. this is daily for me (going to/from work, going to/from the gym, going out with friends/fam/coworkers, running errands, etc.), so I just assumed it was part of my daily grind. Someone suggested I just not touch it and try to up my activity level to lightly active, as sedentary may be kinda low for me. What do you all think?

    Why do you feel the need to count calories burned in the first place?
  • withchaco
    withchaco Posts: 1,026 Member
    My own litmus test:

    if it's something I've been doing every day while I was gaining (or wasn't losing), I don't count it.

    If I'm doing more work than what I did while I was gaining, then I count it.

    I walk my dog every day, but I don't log it as exercise since I was walking her when I was gaining too.

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