What do you count as exercise vs. daily activities?

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  • shannon_stallone
    shannon_stallone Posts: 136
    I count my walking at work as calories..I'm a server and I'm speed walking at least three hours a shift...it earns me a glass of wine each night :)
  • iAMaPhoenix
    iAMaPhoenix Posts: 1,038 Member
    Just me...and it is because I am not a big calorie eater backer. I don't take my daughter for walks everyday, and if I do, I don't log it because I am just going for a leisurely stroll and my HR usually won't go into the Fat Burning Zone. There are times I go lift weights and won't log calories burned because it is not consistent enough for me. mostly log Cardio that I am doing for an extended period of time and I get a good burn. But once again, this is what I do and really don't care if someone logs the calories burned when they are straining to take a poop.
  • pa_jorg
    pa_jorg Posts: 4,404 Member
    I don't count housework. That was something that needed to be done anyway and I did it when I wasn't active, so it doesn't help me. However, for someone who might be morbidly obese, if that is all they can manage, then I say log away to keep motivation up!
  • dkb228
    dkb228 Posts: 73 Member
    If I sweat, I log it. Lol.

    But seriously, choosing your daily activity (sedentary, lightly active, etc.) is supposed to cover your normal daily routine. So if you regularly clean the house, garden, walk to work, etc., and have therefore set your activity level at a higher level, then don't count it because if is already assumed in your allotted calories. If it is something above and beyond what you normally do every day (and therefore not taken it into account in your activity and calorie allowance), then log it.

    I'm a stay at home mom and a full time student (I'm on campus all day, two days a week). I would consider my lifestyle sedentary as I spend most of my day sitting. I also make my cleaning and other household chores into exercise (I purposely work faster, harder to get my heart rate up while I clean). For me, if it feels like I've been exercising after my chores are done, I log it. If not, I don't.
  • merryfaith
    merryfaith Posts: 81 Member
    I have counted walking at work on some days--typically I work in the copy center and a LOT of our orders and customers need to use our computer so I sit down quite a bit. and I'm in a small part of the store for most of my shift, so when I do move around the machines, it's really not much walking. every once in a while I get scheduled on the sales floor, where I walk the entire length of the store many times to show customers where things are and I stand up all of that time, too. since it's kinda rare for me, I log it. but I only count it as maybe 10-20 minutes of slow walking, even though my shift will be 5-6 hours. if that makes sense, since I'm stopping and going a lot.

    edit: I'm also set at sedentary, cause most of the time I'm sitting down for school, driving, homework, etc.
  • kjannan
    kjannan Posts: 248 Member
    I don't log it, even when I spend half an hour solid vacuuming at work. I see it as an added extra that's quietly helping me lose a bit more weight :wink:
  • pinky04p
    pinky04p Posts: 9
    I only log it if I get down on my hands and knees and scrub the floor for a long time. That will definitely get your heart rate up! Other housecleaning I don't log.
  • purseus
    purseus Posts: 54
    for me everyday is a workout especially at work where I'm pushing carts and assisting the cashiers running back items that need to go back or getting an item a member missed.
  • scooterboy2003
    scooterboy2003 Posts: 181
    I count exercise calories as anything that is out of the ordinary day to day activity
  • Pangea250
    Pangea250 Posts: 965 Member
    I only count things that are outside of my normal, everyday activities. Heavy cleaning (the kind I might only do 4 or 5 times a year) gets counted. I've seen people count folding clothes as exercise. Yeah, no, not for me.
  • rslifer
    rslifer Posts: 1
    When I walk the golf course MFP says I've burned 1600+ calories. Does all of that go to the Calorie budget on the same day?
  • Kate6868
    Kate6868 Posts: 159 Member
    I also only count stuff that is not included in my regular day. If I'm walking in the grocery store, I don't count it. If I go outside to take a walk, I do. If I lowered my calories, I could probably count the other stuff, but what I'm doing now seems to be working.
  • deanadimples
    deanadimples Posts: 419 Member
    If I'm not puttiing the girls in a sports bra, putting on my shoes or my HRM...it's NOT exercise it's DAILY LIFE.

    This is my way of thinking....sure, I could log my cleaning calories, etc. However, I got FAT doing those things. So why give them credit? They are like my ex...not that special and do no use to me. Plus, my heart rate doesn't get up cleaning, etc. Heck I can barely get it up going on a fast walk. My cardiio has improved. My resting HR is now in the low 50s. I figure active days are just a bonus. They are like a cushion for those days I log "non packaged" food that may be off in my calorie counts.

    I have my calories set to low. I eat most of my burned calories back, sometimes more, sometimes a lot less. It varies. I lose about 1 lb/week. I feel like I get the best of both worlds so I don't really "need" to log the extra stuff.

    But that's my deal. Someone else may see it another way and that's what's cool about this.

    Plus...there's the whole, do I log cleaning? If I do, should I log getting groceries? Jumping to conclusions? Evading answers? Ooooh, maybe I should log chewing.
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