Bartending excercise?

MumaTo4
MumaTo4 Posts: 7 Member
edited October 7 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi
I bartend once in a while, it is an 8 hour shift, fairly large bar, and usually fast paced and physically challenging for sure! How would I determine estimated calories burned with out wearing a heart rate monitor? What do you think excercise activity I could compare that to do you think?
Thanks for any thoughts!
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Replies

  • addisondisease
    addisondisease Posts: 664 Member
    You wouldn't count this as actual exercise.
  • MumaTo4
    MumaTo4 Posts: 7 Member
    But cleaning the house is?
  • MumaTo4
    MumaTo4 Posts: 7 Member
    I guess actually it doesn't matter, any calories burned that are not logged are just a extra bonus.
  • lipt8611
    lipt8611 Posts: 60 Member
    you could also set your activity to highly active?
  • addisondisease
    addisondisease Posts: 664 Member
    In you life style settings you can set it to very active to very seditary. This is your best option. counting house cleaning is just ridiculous and only a practice of people who want to cheat as much as they can on their diets.
  • MumaTo4
    MumaTo4 Posts: 7 Member
    I only fill in once in a great while so changing my settings may not work. I thought the same thing about house cleaning when I saw it! I am constantly cleaning up after my family! Thanks for the responses!
  • addisondisease
    addisondisease Posts: 664 Member
    Ok if you don't do it often, don't change the settings for just one day. Its like helping someone move on the weekend, or chasing after the dog when it gets out, its an isolated event that you don't have to worry about.
  • ryno0618
    ryno0618 Posts: 361
    If you bartend regularly then set your activity to lightly active instead of sedentary and then don't log the bartending as calories burned. BUT if you only bartend occassionally, once a week or less, then log the calories burned since its not daily activity and it is exercise. Maybe log it as walking for the 8 hour shift?

    My rule of thumb for logging exercise is this.... 1) Did I do this regular activity prior to joining MFP and trying to lose weight? If yes, then I don't log it because it didn't help me lose weight before, it won't now. This would be stuff like mowing the yard, cleaning house, etc. 2) How often do I perform this activity? If I only do it a handful of times over the course of months or a year then i will log it. For example, splitting wood for the fireplace. I only do this a few weekends a year and its a huge calorie burn. I log it.

    If I were you, since the bartending is only weekly or so I would leave the activity level as sedentary and log the bartending as calories burned. But i would just make a guesstimate on the low side because while its a lot of work and moving around there is also a lot of just standing without your heart rate elevated very high
  • lisakyle_11
    lisakyle_11 Posts: 420 Member
    since it is a job that you do, i would just set your activity level to active and not log it as extra exercise.... just my opinion. you could go crazy trying to log everything (including housework, etc.).
  • momma3sweetgirls
    momma3sweetgirls Posts: 743 Member
    If it's a 'once in a while' type activity, then I wouldn't count it. Consider it a gift for all the times you might not be acurately (or honestly) logging your food!
  • MaximalLife
    MaximalLife Posts: 2,447 Member
    But cleaning the house is?
    Actually, no.
    People who log that in as "exercise" are usually wishful thinkers on a fast track to failure.
  • MumaTo4
    MumaTo4 Posts: 7 Member
    Thank you all, I am new to this program and appreciate the feedback!!
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    Honestly, I would just consider that bonus calories and not count it.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    If you bartend regularly then set your activity to lightly active instead of sedentary and then don't log the bartending as calories burned. BUT if you only bartend occassionally, once a week or less, then log the calories burned since its not daily activity and it is exercise. Maybe log it as walking for the 8 hour shift?

    My rule of thumb for logging exercise is this.... 1) Did I do this regular activity prior to joining MFP and trying to lose weight? If yes, then I don't log it because it didn't help me lose weight before, it won't now. This would be stuff like mowing the yard, cleaning house, etc. 2) How often do I perform this activity? If I only do it a handful of times over the course of months or a year then i will log it. For example, splitting wood for the fireplace. I only do this a few weekends a year and its a huge calorie burn. I log it.

    If I were you, since the bartending is only weekly or so I would leave the activity level as sedentary and log the bartending as calories burned. But i would just make a guesstimate on the low side because while its a lot of work and moving around there is also a lot of just standing without your heart rate elevated very high

    This is a good idea but remember the cals burned MFP and HRM's give you are total cals burned and will include maintenance cals which are already taken into account so if you burn 1.5 cals/min at rest (maintenance/24/60) you would have to back that out from the total burned. And over 8 hours 1.5 cals per min ads up to 492 cals, so if you ate all of them you would over eat by that much.
  • Brettski111
    Brettski111 Posts: 2 Member
    I guess actually it doesn't matter, any calories burned that are not logged are just a extra bonus.

    This is how I think of it. Not worth getting caught up in the details. Not worth the risk of getting burned out on tracking everything.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    If it's a 'once in a while' type activity, then I wouldn't count it. Consider it a gift for all the times you might not be acurately (or honestly) logging your food!

    I like this advise, and don't feel bad if you are 100 cals over a few days a week.
  • jennajava
    jennajava Posts: 2,176 Member
    If only making money burnt fat. Or vice versa.
  • becoming_a_new_me
    becoming_a_new_me Posts: 1,860 Member
    But cleaning the house is?
    Actually, no.
    People who log that in as "exercise" are usually wishful thinkers on a fast track to failure.

    I log housecleaning if it is especially rigorous and not something I normally do. Dusting...no way...attacking the baseboards, floor, tub, etc with a toothbrush like a maniac...yeah. But I only log 1/2 the time and do the light setting, and I still work out anyway.
  • CaptainGordo
    CaptainGordo Posts: 4,437 Member
    Gin & Tonic, please.
  • adjones5
    adjones5 Posts: 938 Member
    When I used to bar tend if it was a fight night or a football game I for sure burned some calories but since you really can't wear a HRM, in my opinion, you shouldn't log it because its not worth the risk of overestimating calories burned.
  • chickybuns
    chickybuns Posts: 1,037 Member
    If you are set as active you can always count an extra 300-400 calories for it. I think cleaning the house counts, it's not an "exercise" but it burns calories. I have a bodybugg and days where I have done deep cleaning for several hours I burn at least an extra 500 calories without working out.
  • KLo924
    KLo924 Posts: 379 Member
    As a former bartender who weighed considerably less when I had that job, I think you should log something (maybe cleaning for half the time or something), or change your settings just for those days to active (change them that day and change them back the next day). I'm in the east most of your exercise calories camp, and wouldn't want you to not get enough nutrition to compensate for the walking, stacking beer and glasses, slugging kegs around, etc.

    Good luck! :drinker:
  • PrincessKittenpants
    PrincessKittenpants Posts: 144
    In you life style settings you can set it to very active to very seditary. This is your best option. counting house cleaning is just ridiculous and only a practice of people who want to cheat as much as they can on their diets.

    I would disagree with this. I count house cleaning since it is calories I burn. I clean my house top to bottom once a week and I do sweat from running up and down stairs and scrubbing my floors. This is exercise. I don't however, eat back these calories. This is my decision not to count them and I do not feel as though this is cheating.
  • RoanneRed
    RoanneRed Posts: 429 Member
    If you bartend regularly then set your activity to lightly active instead of sedentary and then don't log the bartending as calories burned. BUT if you only bartend occassionally, once a week or less, then log the calories burned since its not daily activity and it is exercise. Maybe log it as walking for the 8 hour shift?

    My rule of thumb for logging exercise is this.... 1) Did I do this regular activity prior to joining MFP and trying to lose weight? If yes, then I don't log it because it didn't help me lose weight before, it won't now. This would be stuff like mowing the yard, cleaning house, etc. 2) How often do I perform this activity? If I only do it a handful of times over the course of months or a year then i will log it. For example, splitting wood for the fireplace. I only do this a few weekends a year and its a huge calorie burn. I log it.

    If I were you, since the bartending is only weekly or so I would leave the activity level as sedentary and log the bartending as calories burned. But i would just make a guesstimate on the low side because while its a lot of work and moving around there is also a lot of just standing without your heart rate elevated very high
    I agree with this - I would always err on the side of caution when logging it so walking at a slow pace and then you've got a little extra if it's busier/faster.
  • RoanneRed
    RoanneRed Posts: 429 Member
    In you life style settings you can set it to very active to very seditary. This is your best option. counting house cleaning is just ridiculous and only a practice of people who want to cheat as much as they can on their diets.

    I would disagree with this. I count house cleaning since it is calories I burn. I clean my house top to bottom once a week and I do sweat from running up and down stairs and scrubbing my floors. This is exercise. I don't however, eat back these calories. This is my decision not to count them and I do not feel as though this is cheating.
    I don't see it as cheating either - I don't log 'washing the dishes' or regular meal preparation but on a day when I clean the whole house or spend 2 hours making batches of food then that's not part of my regular activity level and is worth logging.
  • kristelpoole
    kristelpoole Posts: 440 Member
    I logged it when I was bartending. If it was a slow night, I might not worry about it, but on busy nights? You'd better believe it. It can be a workout, depending on where you work and what time of day/night.
  • alexiaans
    alexiaans Posts: 113 Member
    So happy to see this post!

    I am a bartender, and I bartend twice a week. It can get to be VERY strenuous, especially on busy nights. I was curious about logging it and whether it was worth it or not, so I tried to track it different ways. I wore a pedometer one night, a heart-rate monitor another night. Both nights I found that I burned a substantial amount of calories or took a lot of steps, almost as many steps as I take on one of my runs. So I definitely count it. I usually just use the option "cooking" when I log it. That activity doesn't particularly give you a lot of calories burned, but it does give you some for the effort you are putting in.

    IMO, if my back, legs, arms are killing me at the end of the night, I did some work! :) That's just me though. lol
  • audreanna76
    audreanna76 Posts: 82
    But cleaning the house is?
    Actually, no.
    People who log that in as "exercise" are usually wishful thinkers on a fast track to failure.

    I think it's hilarious when I see people log in exercise. It's like "Are you freaking kidding me"?
  • darlilama
    darlilama Posts: 794 Member
    But cleaning the house is?
    Actually, no.
    People who log that in as "exercise" are usually wishful thinkers on a fast track to failure.

    I log housecleaning if it is especially rigorous and not something I normally do. Dusting...no way...attacking the baseboards, floor, tub, etc with a toothbrush like a maniac...yeah. But I only log 1/2 the time and do the light setting, and I still work out anyway.

    ^^ I'm with her. I usually log half the time and I work up a sweat cleaning my house. What, maybe you guys never clean house?
  • addisondisease
    addisondisease Posts: 664 Member
    shut up and let the thread die
This discussion has been closed.

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