Logging exercise for absurd things

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  • Veganniee
    Veganniee Posts: 460 Member
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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.
  • spookystitches
    spookystitches Posts: 37 Member
    I say whatever works for them. lol Usually I don't log cleaning, but if I had to scrub the floor by hand, I'd sure as heck log that.

    I did use "cleaning - light, general" the other day just as a sort of marker to estimate some calories burned. WTF are you supposed to list "taking down christmas lights" as? It was definately a work out climbing all over the place and I was doing it for hours. LOL
  • lisaelainee
    lisaelainee Posts: 248 Member
    Once again I was only questioning, and like I have said over and over it is basically cheating because mfc already takes the day to day daily things into consideration.
    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.
  • psiren28
    psiren28 Posts: 530 Member
    Usually no, I only log what I consider to be exercise 'extra' to what I normally do in a day such as walking for exercise, not walking to the shops, work etc. However I did log my work once. I'd been out for a meal and had way over my calorie allowance and figured, hey, I did the work, why not? 4 hours of cleaning: making beds, scrubbing baths, cleaning windows etc. Just out of interest, lets see what I burn in my normal day's work. It was quite surprising!

    Personally, I think when people log small things, they're just curious as to how much everyday activities burn.

    I don't do this all the time because I don't see the point for myself, I did it once out of interest, but if someone logs everything, so what? If it works for them then so be it. I have no idea what their reasons are so it's not my place to make a judgement.

    I do agree that logging everything just to be able to eat more is counter-productive. And if this is the reason then they'll soon find out that it doesn't work. However, I really don't think most people do it for this reason because, well, that'd be daft!
  • tycholien
    tycholien Posts: 33 Member
    Slightly related but reading this and another similar post I am somewhat confused and maybe someone can explain.

    I spend my day sat on my backside at a desk using a computer. So, from looking at the options on the site I have chosen my activity level as "Sedentary: Spend most of the day sitting (e.g. bank teller, desk job)".

    Exercise wise I run 6 days a week and I got the gym 3 times a week.

    I am getting the impression that I shouldn't be classing myself as sedentary, but that is what the guide implies.

    What is the situation?

    Thanks
  • lisaelainee
    lisaelainee Posts: 248 Member
    You are Sedentary, just log the time you exercise :)
    Slightly related but reading this and another similar post I am somewhat confused and maybe someone can explain.

    I spend my day sat on my backside at a desk using a computer. So, from looking at the options on the site I have chosen my activity level as "Sedentary: Spend most of the day sitting (e.g. bank teller, desk job)".

    Exercise wise I run 6 days a week and I got the gym 3 times a week.

    I am getting the impression that I shouldn't be classing myself as sedentary, but that is what the guide implies.

    What is the situation?

    Thanks
  • castadiva
    castadiva Posts: 2,016 Member
    Once again I was only questioning, and like I have said over and over it is basically cheating because mfc already takes the day to day daily things into consideration.

    Where do you get the impression that day-to-day activity is taken into consideration from? MFP considers what the body needs to keep functioning on a biological level, in setting calorie goals, but I'm not so sure it factors in much activity if your activity level is set at Sedentary...
  • monkeymouse74
    monkeymouse74 Posts: 288
    I only log planned exercise. I dont log incidental exercise. I do understand that if you are unwell or in some way crippled etc that some of the things logged would apply, but I work really hard on my exercise and eating, so if someone who is NOT unwell etc loggs their weekly grocery shop etc I just dont comment.

    I'm also tired of hearing all the excuses! I am a severe brittle asthmatic, I spent a month in intesive care on life support after an asthma attack, where I was given a drug to paralise my muscles so I wouldn'tt fight the pipes. When I came around,I had to learn everything from scratch from walking again to even feeding myself. I also had a motorbike accident where I broke my left femur, fib, tib multiple fractures every 5 cm down my leg, broke my pelvis and my hip. I still exercise hard! I dont make excuses if I dont do the work for the day, I dont log anything! Find something you can do, I swim at the moment and I'm adding other things as I go.When I was learning to use my body again all I did to start with was lift each arm 10 times every hour. I could have just lay there and felt sorry for myself, but I did'nt and now I have full function of my body in less than 6 months!

    So if you always used to do certain things, set your activity level higher, and strive to do more. You only cheat yourself by putting in exercise that doesn't help you get to your goal. And for all those of you who will freak out at me after this post, remember I am NOT talking about people who are in some way crippled/injured or ill, I'm talking about people who are more than capable of doing other exercise.
  • aiwich
    aiwich Posts: 63 Member
    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.

    :noway:
  • lisaelainee
    lisaelainee Posts: 248 Member
    If the persons daily activity isn't sedentary then it isn't sedentary.
    That would be their fault for logging it wrong
    Once again I was only questioning, and like I have said over and over it is basically cheating because mfc already takes the day to day daily things into consideration.

    Where do you get the impression that day-to-day activity is taken into consideration from? MFP considers what the body needs to keep functioning on a biological level, in setting calorie goals, but I'm not so sure it factors in much activity if your activity level is set at Sedentary...
  • gtfcnat
    gtfcnat Posts: 199
    I don't wash my car every week, and when I do wash my car I spend around an hour doing it - washing it, cleaning the wheels, drying it off. So why I shouldn't I log that as exercise?
    When the weather gets better I will probably be spending 2 or 3 hours doing it, as it will need polishing and waxing as well.
  • lisaelainee
    lisaelainee Posts: 248 Member
    Never said you couldn't. Things that require quite a lot of effort is okay, but putting out the trash and logging one or two minutes isn't IMO.
    I don't wash my car every week, and when I do wash my car I spend around an hour doing it - washing it, cleaning the wheels, drying it off. So why I shouldn't I log that as exercise?
    When the weather gets better I will probably be spending 2 or 3 hours doing it, as it will need polishing and waxing as well.
  • efwolfcub
    efwolfcub Posts: 99 Member
    I delete people that overlog, may sound harsh but I just come from the gym for a hour where I only burned 300 calories working my *kitten* off I dont want to come log it and see "so and so had burned 678 calories cleaning- light-moderate for 30 mins" ect... Bums me out lol

    Think about this for a minute - the person who burned 600 calories from cleaning the house has a HELL of a lot farther to go than you do for weight loss. I started over 300 lbs - at that weight, walking 3mph for 90 minutes was over 750 calories. now its down quite a bit. Tiny little people who are stressing over 2 pounds or 2 inches annoy me and bum me out a lot more than the guy who's struggling to make a life changing (and life-SAVING) move to responsible & healthy living.
  • castadiva
    castadiva Posts: 2,016 Member
    If the persons daily activity isn't sedentary then it isn't sedentary.
    That would be their fault for logging it wrong
    Once again I was only questioning, and like I have said over and over it is basically cheating because mfc already takes the day to day daily things into consideration.


    Where do you get the impression that day-to-day activity is taken into consideration from? MFP considers what the body needs to keep functioning on a biological level, in setting calorie goals, but I'm not so sure it factors in much activity if your activity level is set at Sedentary...

    I don't think you understood my question. What I was asking is where you got the idea from that MFP factors in most day-to-day activity when setting goals? As far as I can tell, the major thing that MFP considers is what level of intake your body needs to remain functional, biologically. It then takes into account the level of activity you tell it you have. If you set it at sedentary, the assumption must be that you have very little activity in your day-to-day life, not least because MFP often sets a net goal of 1200 for 'sedentary' lifestyles, which is the number below which most people would agree you shouldn't go on a regular basis. If MFP was assuming that even sedentary lifestyles involved a lot of vigorous or semi-vigorous day-to-day activity, this goal would need to be higher to be safe, long term.
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
    I very much doubt people always log exactly what they do. For instance, I occasionally log housework, but when I do that I don't mean I spent a couple of hours pooling around folding washing. I mean I have spent 5 hours moving furniture, on hands and knees scrubbing the floor, bailing out water, digging out drains etc. Physical work.

    For that reason I wouldn't ever dream of judging anyone else for what they do and don't log. Diaries aren't literal, they are a rough estimate. I would be surprised if most people don't under-log rather than over.
  • Miss_dannii
    Miss_dannii Posts: 1,351 Member
    Hmm I don't know I see both sides, if someone who is maybe unable to do 'normal' exercises can do something else to burn calories then fair enough! I do wonder about the cleaning one though as I see people add 4 hours of cleaning in one go and I wonder how those calories can be accurate because I know when I am cleaning my house it is not all active, some is like sweeping/washing floor and some is not like washing dishes etc you know? So I wonder how many of those calories burned are real, and only for the persons sake I'd worry that they are allowing themselves too many calories then

    But it's none of my business anyway x
  • charlybu
    charlybu Posts: 47 Member
    Someone mentioned singing standing up didn't seem like it should count as exercise, but singing correctly with lots of support is an exercise. I'm just as pooped after a 2 hour rehearsal as I am after a long, brisk, walk. Anyway, just setting the record straight on that one, and yes, I plan on adding my rehearsals as exercise, because they totally are!
  • gazzajam
    gazzajam Posts: 28 Member
    I think that we need to support each other and if logging opinions differ then so be it.
    People need different challenges and targets to keep them going. I think as long as people are losing the pounds then their regime is OK.
    If they are moaning about not losing weight then people could help by commenting about the amount of superfluous exercises that they're logging.
    I think that he amount of exercise we log should be relative to what we did before we started trying to lose the pounds, if people didn't take the bins out before, the feel free to log it. It's not hurting anybody and if it helps their weight loss, then even better.
  • castadiva
    castadiva Posts: 2,016 Member
    Someone mentioned singing standing up didn't seem like it should count as exercise, but singing correctly with lots of support is an exercise. I'm just as pooped after a 2 hour rehearsal as I am after a long, brisk, walk. Anyway, just setting the record straight on that one, and yes, I plan on adding my rehearsals as exercise, because they totally are!

    Hear hear! BTW, I've just searched the exercise data base, and nothing comes up for 'singing' - I wonder where this person found it?!
  • Di3012
    Di3012 Posts: 2,247 Member
    i saw someone log driving as exercise lol

    How many colories did it burn?
  • missy_1975
    missy_1975 Posts: 244 Member
    knitting.. yep saw it.

    My opinion is if it is working for them then they should keep doing it .
    We do whatever it takes for us to be motivated, good on them.

    :laugh:

    There was a thread a while back where a girl wanted to know how to log having sex. I couldn't decide if she was trolling or being serious. A whole discussion ensued that kept me mildly amused for several minutes.
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