What do you count as exercise?

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13

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  • bushidowoman
    bushidowoman Posts: 1,599 Member
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    I see my friends logging cleaning a lot, and I say if that works for them, then great!
    Personally...I've cleaned my house and chased after children for years and have still been overweight despite doing those activities. Since they haven't helped me build muscle or lose fat in the past, I don't count them.
  • KnitChick89
    KnitChick89 Posts: 56 Member
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    I mean, I burned 296 calories just cleaning yesterday, and that was more than a lot of people did when they counted their actual "exercise," so you see why I counted that. Because it's a LOT and I worked HARD.

    how was that calculated? if it was by heart rate monitor thats one thing but id be skeptical if it was MFPs numbers. they are off.,
    My heart rate monitor. I spent an hour cleaning as hard as FAST as I could because my newborn doesn't sleep very long and I really needed to get it done! Lol. Mfp said I burned a bit less than my hrm did.
  • thelovelyLIZ
    thelovelyLIZ Posts: 1,227 Member
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    I'm the same as you- if it's intentional, I log it. Most of the time I don't count cleaning and stuff, unless it's really hardcore. Anything else I just consider as part of my day to day doings.
  • muddyventures
    muddyventures Posts: 360 Member
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    I count intentional exercise, but if we spend a saturday doing spring yard work or fall cleanup, I would count that as very low impact aerobics (as I'm usually sweating). This is only a 5 or so times a year that I would add something extra like that. I will go and jump rope for 20 minutes for an extra latte though. lol
  • beeker75
    beeker75 Posts: 109
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    I am a Stay-At-Home Mom, with a +1 1/2 year old at home, and my Husband works 2 jobs, the full time one being 12 hour shifts. So I do not have a lot of opportunity to get workouts in, between our 9 year old's school activities, and meals and naps. So, when I do housework I put everything into it. I vacuum every room, some rooms 2ce, and I really work hard when I do the dishes, scrubbing them. High dusting and dusting, etc. I do it all. That way, I have calories I can count that day, even if I was unable to get a nice brisk walk in.
  • xMsAlly
    xMsAlly Posts: 164 Member
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    My pedometer tells me how many calories I burn (based on my height and weight), how many steps I took and the distance, and speed. So if I'm walking around the mall for hours, you bet I'm going to count that. Otherwise I only count workout DVD's and other intentional exercise. I don't bother counting anything else.
  • slrrese
    slrrese Posts: 180 Member
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    I have a seditary job and my setting is seditary, so log my morning and evening intentional exercise. I do house cleaning and yard work, etc...on the weekends but I don't log that. Only once when my husband and I did really heavy yard work all day long, including trimming bushes, tilling the garden, hauling mulch to the garden I logged yard work. Then I logged only half he time I actually did the work. I eat most of my exercise calories back so I am pretty conservative on what I log.
  • Dogwalker1989
    Dogwalker1989 Posts: 15
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    I think it depends on your level of fitness what your body considers exercise.

    When I was on MFP a few years ago and was obese and sedentary I did log things like cleaning, shopping walking the dog etc. But because of my weight and poor fitness there was alot of effort involved in these tasks and they'd all increase my heart rate quite abit.

    Now I'm 70lbs lighter, fit and with an active job where I walk 4-7 miles a day and what I've log has changed. I do not log any walking as my HRM suggests that this doesn't increase my heart rate that much or burn that many calories. I just set my profile to lightly active and then log my gym workouts, classes and DVD's.
  • tami101
    tami101 Posts: 617 Member
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    The first time I saw someone post cleaning as exercise I was so excited for a way to add more calories I can eat! My house has never been cleaner! I only log sweeping and mopping and deep cleaning. I usually don't eat those calories back, but I like to know they are there if I want them! = )
  • philco41
    philco41 Posts: 68 Member
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    I don't count the supermarket or shopping trips. Mostly I too count "intentional" exercise. I also count something like mowing the lawn. So far that's the only non-intentional exercise I've counted. If I happen to be at a mall and have some extra time, I may walk around for 10-20 minutes and count that. I try not to count anything where I feel I've moved at less than 3 mph.
  • shannoni_23
    shannoni_23 Posts: 25
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    I only count intentional exercise that is in the fat burning zone. 65-85% of my threshold (or whatever it's called). If I do weights, then it doesn't even ask for you calories. But when I was lifting weights, I was staying in my 65-85%, so I thought those calories should count.
    I know my heart rate goes up when carrying in groceries & stuff, but I don't count it. I'm a nanny & I walk to the park & stuff, but I don't count that either. I am set at like a medium activity level tho, so it's prob factored in already.
    Yesterday I carried cases of beer from my car, thru the backyard, and up to the porch (for my boss, I don't drink) and also a case of glasses I picked up from a rental place. Def got my heart rate up, but did not have my heart rate watch on, and wasn't wearing a sports bra, so it didn't count :laugh:
  • JenAiMarres
    JenAiMarres Posts: 767 Member
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    usually just intentional excercize but sometimes on the weekends I count my cooking and some cleaning..I cook and bake for the entire week alot of saturdays & sundays so it does add up!
  • jaysonhijinx
    jaysonhijinx Posts: 663 Member
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    Personally I log intentional exercise only such as playing basketball or lifting weights. Even though my daily activity level is listed as sedentary, I do walk around the office a bit (and go for strolls outside too) and see that as part of the included calculations.

    The way I see it, if I'm getting changed into some shorts and a t-shirt/tank/jersey that says to me I'm going to do some proper exercise.

    The only exception to this is my walk home from the train station after work. It's a 2.5km walk that I try and do as fast as possible (normally 3.5-4.0mph while carrying either a laptop bag or my gym bag). I have a HRM attached as well and I can tell you, once I get home that work shirt is pretty damp.
  • bfbooty
    bfbooty Posts: 189 Member
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    I have been counting exercise I do at the gym, or an outdoor walk, or exercise video as exercise...basically, anything I do as intentional exercise. Now that I have been here awhile, I do see others putting in cleaning, gardening, grocery shopping, even sitting at a desk all day as exercise. So where is the line on what is exercise? Things we do to break a sweat? - sports games, heavy cleaning or gardening, etc seem to be okay to me, but grocery shopping? What do you count as exercise?

    I put in anything that is out of the ordinary to my day which for me is intentional exercise like my workout dvd's going for a long walk e.t.c
    Cleaning e.t.c is something I do everyday and always have I don't see it as exercise as such
  • Rachelito
    Rachelito Posts: 119 Member
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    I count intentional exercise, heavy duty cleaning, and long walks if its a decent pace.
  • Mom2thePookies
    Mom2thePookies Posts: 7 Member
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    I do not count cleaning as exercise. However, today I did pull a lot of weeds (four bags worth!) and hauled heavy branches so I did consider that since it was really super taxing.
  • Trallaurrum
    Trallaurrum Posts: 25 Member
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    I'm marked as sedentary lifestyle since I work a desk job and I don't own a car, so I count some things others probably shouldn't, like going out for groceries. For me, that's a two hour walking and weight lifting exercise, since I use a basket instead of a shopping cart in the store and when I'm walking, I book it! I don't, however, count the general walking/stair climbing I do en route to work everyday.

    Also counted:deliberate exercise, even if it's just going out for a walk I wouldn't normally have done, geocaching, heavy gardening (like my spring rake and soil augment.) Also, housework that gets me sweating, which is the out of the ordinary stuff, generally.
  • nbsambucca
    nbsambucca Posts: 123 Member
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    I put myself as sedentary...so I get the least calories. But at work I am sitting, however from the minute I get home I am not sitting still.Im stacking wood, straightening the house for 10 minutes, grooming horses.... If I have a no formal exercise day, I log some of my daily stuff to make myself see I AM doing SOMETHING but I am careful not to eat those calories back unless I 'have to'.
  • yesthistime
    yesthistime Posts: 2,051 Member
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    Only intentional exercise for me, too. If it's something I did regularly and I was able to become and stay this big, it clearly isn't enough of a workout!
  • hbrittingham
    hbrittingham Posts: 2,518 Member
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    I only log intentional exercise. I am set up as sedentary. I worked in the yard this morning for two hours trimming hedges, cutting down bushes, pruning and raking. I also bagged 5 bags of leaves and debris. And picked up two trash cans full of branches that I had trimmed. I won't be counting and of that.

    I am headed to the gym in a few minutes and I will log whatever I burn when I am there.

    It's my personal decision to not log anything that I have not done as intentional exercise. This is my lifestyle change and I will be cleaning house and doing yardwork for the rest of my life. I won't be using it as an excuse to eat more.

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