Logging exercise for absurd things

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  • karinapeterson
    karinapeterson Posts: 197 Member
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    I log mowing the lawn but our lawn is a full acre and takes over 4 hours to mow. I do try to time myself and go faster each time. But if you saw it in a log as mowing the lawn it looks lame. Believe me, it is dang hard work hehe. If you do anything you dont normally do and feels like a workout to you and it motivates you, it is your right to log it. After all we are all doing this for ourselves not anyone else or their opinions. Here to support and motivate. Go us!! :)
  • MrsDundas87
    MrsDundas87 Posts: 31
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    I log my daily walk to work, cos its 1.5 miles each way. I dont log the walk to school or the fact that I run around like an eejit all day at work. I dont always eat my exercise calories, but on days where I have been up all night with the baby, or feeling full of the cold then I dont do any additional exercise, so dont feel so bad about not doing any as I know I have done a good walk.. Most days I will try and do something as well as my 3 mile walk. The way I see it, its better for me than jumping on the bus and as walking is exercise, I'm gonna log it.
  • meggy_182
    meggy_182 Posts: 60 Member
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    Baby steps! People are on here for support not judgment on their activities so what you did 2 hours in the gym, to some people any exercise is a step in the right direction so good on them!!!
  • thefuzz1290
    thefuzz1290 Posts: 777 Member
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    I only log planned exercise. I my play with my daughter and burn some calories, but that's just bonus calories burned for me. Now I know people who will log "exercise" so they have an excuse to cheat on their diet.

    Thats exactly why I exercise. So I can have an extra snack. I earned it so I'm going to eat it as instructed by myfitnesspal. I do not consider it cheating.

    I meant cheating as in junky food. "I burned 20 calories doing dishes, 30 calories sweeping, another 40 washing the car....now I can have that piece of cake."
  • econut2000
    econut2000 Posts: 395 Member
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    I have some pretty serious health issues that prevent me from doing exercise regularly. I used to be a runner and I probably would have thought the same as the OP but now, I log things like cleaning. Why? Because many days I literally cannot get off the couch. Don't rush to judgement on people. If people are logging things like "standing up singing" and use it as an excuse to eat extra but then complain repeatedly about not losing weight then I say offer advice and then if they don't take it, by all means unfriend them. But don't unfriend people for logging cleaning or mowing the lawn or whatever. Aren't we here to be supportive of everyone else on this journey regardless of what path they have chosen? If you can't be supportive, then I say don't bother "friending" anyone.
  • tycholien
    tycholien Posts: 33 Member
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    myfitnesspal is a calorie counter. You log what you eat, you log what you work off.

    Absolutley no reason why people shouldn't log cleaning etc. myfitnesspal is a tool to help people get rid of weight and be healthy, the community is here to help people do that.

    If someone does a load of cleaning and wants to log it the that is up to them. Ultimately they are burning calories over and above their BMR so it should count. It doesn't matter if it is on a treadmill, stepper or cleaning a window.

    The calories burned on the running machine are the same ones burned doing cleaning and some cleaning can work up a sweat. If people don't like it then that is up to them but it isn't for anyone else to judge.

    Yes, if someone complains that they aren't loosing weight even though they are cleaning every day then maybe we gently suggest doing something else, or point out that maybe mfp isn't that accurate on those things when it comes to calories burned, but you shouldn't ever judge. People need support, if they have taken the choice to start using mfp then they are trying, they then need support to go further.

    Food and weight are very sensitive issues to some people and we should never ever judge people, we should encourage them.
  • TheMrsBee
    TheMrsBee Posts: 226 Member
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    the other day I made bread by hand and not in the mixer - as in june I collapsed and was then on enforced bed rest and no activity for over a month and my fitness is still not back I did include that - have you made bread by hand lately - its not something most people do as part of their daily lives

    Oh, man, kneading dough is a great upper body workout. On paper it looks simple, but when it's a recipe that requires 10+ minutes your arms will definitely feel it.

    I make Stollen for all my relatives every Christmas and by the end of it I swear my arms aren't attached to my body anymore. /bread-baking story

    I agree, I bake a lot and ice a lot of cakes and that makes my arms ache like crazy and i'm on my feet ALL the time when i'm in the kitchen! i don't use a kitchen aid or electric whisk i do it all by hand! sometimes i'll log it, but recently i have been using this as extra points! :-)
  • becka63
    becka63 Posts: 712 Member
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    I think if just as logging everything you eat makes you really think about your calorie intake, then some people might find that logging everything they do makes them think about calorie expenditure, which I know for me, before MFP, I wasn't thinking about either of those things.

    I often wonder about the motivation of starting topics like this?
  • Martucha123
    Martucha123 Posts: 1,093 Member
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    Well I understand your intention
    I saw one of my friends logging cooking 10 minutes 20 kcal, and I agree,
    that really is included in your daily goal, so no, if you want to make progress you shouldn't log that.
    but if it's walking, moving loan, cleaning for hour(s), then why not?

    I recently switched my profile from light activity 1 h per day to sedentary and started logging all the walking. so yes, now it looks like i spend all the working out (like yesterday, I did 20 min hiit, but then added walking for 2h...)

    why i do that you ask? well, I do walk 1h each day from Monday to Friday (to work) but I don't on weekends and holidays, and I hope that this will push me to do extra walking on those days, while now, pretty often I hit the gym in the morninh and after that sit on the couch all day...

    Also this way I hope to be able to track my deficit more accurately

    Don't judge, support. And if you feel that some behaviours discourage you, unfriend, it's not popularity contest, not everybody has to be your friend :)
  • erinkeely4
    erinkeely4 Posts: 408 Member
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    I log practicing piano and drums... may seem kind of weird to some, but it helps me keep track of how much I'm practicing. Basically I'm expanding the use of this app with other important things in life! Ha. :)
  • Veganniee
    Veganniee Posts: 460 Member
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    I really don't think the op was judging but I agree we all should support each other. I've never logged my 2x 10 min walks to/from office and station because I've always done that so its part of my daily life, but if I walk the mile and a half to the station from home I do log it as I always used to get the bus. Maybe people that have been completely sedentary should log absolutely everything because then they'd see they do burn some cals each day.
  • PoleBoy
    PoleBoy Posts: 255 Member
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    I log what I need to to keep MFP in sync with my Ki Fit (Body Media) - cheating on the exercise is "as bad" as cheating on the food
  • lisaelainee
    lisaelainee Posts: 248 Member
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    I am not judging, I just don't understand why people log such things when mfp takes that into consideration already.
    I do understand people that mow lawns for quite a while but logging such things like minor things that are daily is considered cheating to an extent because mfc has already calculated that.
  • HorrorChix89
    HorrorChix89 Posts: 1,229 Member
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    This, right here is why I don't log my exercises on MFP. I log mine on LoseIt! At least there people don't delete you for logging things like driving or shopping. My bad that I burn more calories pushing a grocery cart around for 2 hours than you do running in place for 3. But I'm not here to impress anyone but myself. If a person thinks what I'm doing is absurd or petty then more power to you. Be on your marry way because I'm doing what I want to do to keep out with my weight lost.
  • joshis_bunny
    joshis_bunny Posts: 18
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    I log everything exercise wise that i do, even sex....for me it gives me a reason to eat a little extra some days and i can justify it as i have burnt calories....when you suffer from an eating disorder it is important to see those calories going in and out
  • caramkoala
    caramkoala Posts: 303 Member
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    Last night I typed into my status [CaramKoala] burned 100 calories doing 15 minutes of "putting my rubbish in other people's bins under the cover of darkness"

    While I had to walk up and down the street a few times, sometimes breaking into a light jog, and do it carrying heavy bags, I didn't really log it. It was just a laugh.

    I hope if it bothered anyone they either sucked it up or quietly deleted me. If you have a problem with ANY of my activity, what I log as exercise or what I eat, that is your problem, not mine. I have no problem deleting people that annoy me.

    Why do you let it upset you, OP?
  • lisaelainee
    lisaelainee Posts: 248 Member
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    I never said it upset me, people can do as they please I was just questioning it because the light things you do daily is already taken into consideration by MFC already.
    Last night I typed into my status [CaramKoala] burned 100 calories doing 15 minutes of "putting my rubbish in other people's bins under the cover of darkness"

    While I had to walk up and down the street a few times, sometimes breaking into a light jog, and do it carrying heavy bags, I didn't really log it. It was just a laugh.

    I hope if it bothered anyone they either sucked it up or quietly deleted me. If you have a problem with ANY of my activity, what I log as exercise or what I eat, that is your problem, not mine. I have no problem deleting people that annoy me.

    Why do you let it upset you, OP?
  • castadiva
    castadiva Posts: 2,016 Member
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    I do like seeing some of the things people add. The best had to be singing standing up!

    There's a category for singing standing up? That's good to know! I've been logging my practise as 'Playing music' (I'm an opera singer, and believe me when I say that singing at high intensity can make you sweat!). If it's exercise over a sustained period of time, 'say 10 mins plus, I log it, regardless of the activity. Tiny bursts of activity, I can't be bothered with. That's my personal choice, and it works for me. Everyone has to find their own method, and everyone's circumstances and lifestyle is slightly different.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
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    I only log sustained, purposeful exercise. I once saw someone asking how to log an anxiety attack. I'm not sure if she wanted an excuse to eat back the many, many calories she thought she burned while freaking out. Sure, you might burn a few extra, but just consider it a bonus burn and don't be so eager to earn more snacks. I love earning more food, but I do it with vigorous exercise, not by taking out the trash and changing the kitty litter. One person I know was logging light household chores and earning herself extra snacks that way (she already had her activity level set to light activity). She wondered why she wasn't losing any weight after weeks of this habit. Another woman was talking about how she earns popcorn and soda by watching funny or sad movies because supposedly you burn tons of calories from laughing and crying. :huh: It's not my business how other people use MFP, I just know that for myself, I want to be as honest as possible and it has served me well so far. Good luck everyone. :flowerforyou:
  • BelleEns
    BelleEns Posts: 36 Member
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    I log anything that makes me sweat. That includes gardening and vigorous cleaning (unfortunately neither is done very often!)

    I don't get why it would bother you, to be honest. Everyone's different. Doesn't mean there's a right way and a wrong way.
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