what do you all count for a day of shopping/sightseeing?

marilu3
marilu3 Posts: 18 Member
edited October 7 in Fitness and Exercise
Just about to go on a day-long shopping trip--to costco, several stores. then to some sightseeing, etc. Do you just count these as 'slow walking'? Or ignore it and chalk it up to part of a regular day's activities?

Replies

  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
    Ignore and chalk it up to regular day activities.

    Grocery shopping/regular shopping and sightseeing are not anything special.. It's what you'd be doing on a normal day before you started calorie counting and counting exercise calories. If you didn't count it before then, why would you start now?
  • Chrisborro
    Chrisborro Posts: 85
    I do that once a month so id like to know too
  • Equinata
    Equinata Posts: 10 Member
    I don't count it as a workout. I wear a step tracker just for my own information, but I do not count my steps as exercise.
  • crazyellybean
    crazyellybean Posts: 999 Member
    depends... a long day like at the mall or just an hour or so?


    If it consumes my day and I'm doing it all day, I take half the time and log is as walking slow pace
  • DoubleE615312
    DoubleE615312 Posts: 173 Member
    same here, I don't count it....
  • 2dogzrule
    2dogzrule Posts: 245 Member
    I typically ignore these activities.
  • tashaperk
    tashaperk Posts: 8 Member
    I ignore it and chalk it up to regular day activities. Find ways to exercise on top of these normal activities. Focus on reaching your target heart rate. :)
  • maryjay51
    maryjay51 Posts: 742
    when im working at the nursing home im running ragged for 8 hours with only a half hour to sit on my break and two 15 minute breaks.. i do not count it as exercise even though its great calorie burner activity ... i make sure my cardios are in and that is what i document ..
  • busterbluth
    busterbluth Posts: 115 Member
    Ignore and chalk it up to regular day activities.

    Grocery shopping/regular shopping and sightseeing are not anything special.. It's what you'd be doing on a normal day before you started calorie counting and counting exercise calories. If you didn't count it before then, why would you start now?

    I agree. I don't count stuff like this, cleaning, etc. If I'm in my regular clothes and it's not an intentional workout, I don't count it.
  • amandakay3000
    amandakay3000 Posts: 22
    Don't count it.
  • swilkie1961
    swilkie1961 Posts: 107 Member
    I count my shopping days since I don't go shopping that much and also on very low daily calories. For every 2 hours of shopping or sight seeing, I count as 1 hour and put about 100 calories
  • cpow81
    cpow81 Posts: 114
    Ignore and chalk it up to regular day activities.

    Grocery shopping/regular shopping and sightseeing are not anything special.. It's what you'd be doing on a normal day before you started calorie counting and counting exercise calories. If you didn't count it before then, why would you start now?

    I agree. I don't count stuff like this, cleaning, etc. If I'm in my regular clothes and it's not an intentional workout, I don't count it.

    ITA!!
  • SarahMorganP
    SarahMorganP Posts: 921 Member
    It would depend on what my activity level is set at. Since I work in an office and sit on my *kitten* 90% of the day, I would count it as slow walking. Days like that are NOT normal for me. They are NOT regular day activities for me at all. So there is a huge difference in just sitting all day every day and then one day walking all day.

    I logged when we walked for hours trick or treating. Why wouldn't I? It's not like I was 5 miles every day so of course I logged it.
  • jennajava
    jennajava Posts: 2,176 Member
    Well, think about it.

    If you don't count it, you will err on the side of netting LESS calories than you thought, so you will benefit from that.

    If you do count it, you run the risk of it not really burning as many as you thought, and netting MORE calories than you thought.

    So if it were me, I wouldn't log it.
  • jodieh06
    jodieh06 Posts: 49
    Depends on what your activity level is set at, if its the minimum (sedentry i think), then log an hour or two of slow walking, because thats what you did! :)
  • happy_jax
    happy_jax Posts: 289 Member
    depends... a long day like at the mall or just an hour or so?


    If it consumes my day and I'm doing it all day, I take half the time and log is as walking slow pace

    Agree with the above...

    I wouldn't log my weekly shop, or popping into town for a couple of hours browsing around.

    However, we spent 12 hours Sale shopping the other day. Must have walked for absolute miles and was carrying the HUGEST amount of bags around with me too (which were really heavy!!) - so I most certainly logged that - and I just logged it was 'Walking Slow Pace' - but I always only log 1/2 the time (so logged 6 hours on that day) because when you're trying stuff on...stopping for a coffee...generally browsing, I can't see you burning much. This is what I usually do when it comes to shopping (I have to say there have been a good few "workouts" in recent weeks that have been shopping related!)

    I do the same for cleaning too. I don't log week-by-week cleaning when I just do one room of the house after work or run around with the vaccum - but around once a month I'll do a "mammoth clean" top to bottom of the house and I will log this - as I'm always sweaty!! I usually wear my HRM to accuratley log this though rather than guessing.

    At the end of the day - do what works for you. If it feels like a workout, log it.
    I can see why people are saying not to - but if your activity level is set to sedentary and you're running to all these stores flustered, carrying heavy things - then sure you've earned yourself a little extra here!!
  • mem50
    mem50 Posts: 1,384 Member
    It would depend on what my activity level is set at. Since I work in an office and sit on my *kitten* 90% of the day, I would count it as slow walking. Days like that are NOT normal for me. They are NOT regular day activities for me at all. So there is a huge difference in just sitting all day every day and then one day walking all day.

    I logged when we walked for hours trick or treating. Why wouldn't I? It's not like I was 5 miles every day so of course I logged it.

    What she says. ^

    If I have to do something out of the ordinary I log it. I don't do the grocery store but I do the Mall expeditions and sightseeing. I don't walk 5 -10 miles a day. Well, I do, except it's on the treadmill and we all log those calories don't we?
  • iplayoutside19
    iplayoutside19 Posts: 2,304 Member
    Time out here. What are your settings? I work 8+ hours at a desk and another 2 in the car. A day like this is completely out of my routine, and there is an increase in energy usuage over a normal day.

    I ran across a situation like this last week when I was moving boxes, and doing a lot of lifting over a period of several hours. I didn't log any of it. But I was more hungry than normal and I did allow myself more calories.

    If this type of day is a departure from your normal routine then by all means allow for some extra calories. But I wouldn't call this type of activity exercise, but you are certainly active.
  • LuluC13
    LuluC13 Posts: 14 Member
    I think it depends if you set your daily activity as sedentary, lightly active etc. What if you only grocery shop once a week or shop for other items every three to four weeks? I usually just count it as leisurely or slow walking but I am careful to approximate the time correctly. Even if I was in a store for a half hour, I wasn't walking non-stop the entire time. And even if it doesn't get your heart rate up, you are expending calories doing this that aren't expended everyday. I never counted that before, but during the holidays when my mom and I would be out 8 hours at a time buying gifts for everyone, I'd feel dog tired when I got home. During comparison shopping there can be a lot of back and forth in the store, from one department to another. Plus if you are also carrying heavy items around the store/ to your car/ in the house, you need to count that activity. I would be hungry when we got home even if I ate a regular-sized meal while we were still out between shopping.

    I say if you don't normally do this everyday, or most days of the week, you are using energy that is not part of your maintenance calories. While it may not replace an intense aerobics session, if you find you are a little more fatigued or more hungry than normal on a day you've gone shopping, from an hour to a full day, think about the speed and for how long you actually walked while shopping. Also if you are carrying a lot of heavier items into the house by yourself (cans, gallons of juice/water/milk).
  • warmachinejt
    warmachinejt Posts: 2,162 Member
    Just about to go on a day-long shopping trip--to costco, several stores. then to some sightseeing, etc. Do you just count these as 'slow walking'? Or ignore it and chalk it up to part of a regular day's activities?
    hate to ring a bell here but exercise (aerobic) is mostly about getting your heart rate up. And walking...does not do that.
    Of course it burns calories but not enough
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