What counts as exercise?

[Catherine_kent]

On the 12 week nhs weight loss plan will doing the Garden or Cleaning the house count as exercise?

Thanks

Catherine

[returner]

Hi Catherine_kent,

Instead of exercise, read exercise/activity.

It's not actually that much about burning calories. It's more about the fact that upping your exercise/activity will cause changes in your hormones as your body 'adapts' to the increased exercise levels and those changes which will aid the weight loss processes.

Now for some people that will be going to the gym, or running significant distances, or whatever. However, as a general rule, I would recommend against trying to "exercise yourself thin", so as to speak. I would suggest an approach that is more about changing your eating habits, so that you eat sensibly-sized amounts of good healthy nutritious food at sensible intervals, supported by increased exercise/activity.

If you consider most people's weight gaining process, it usually just sneaks up on them and suddenly they go "Oh Gosh, I'm now XXX kgs/lbs/stones overweight!". In parallel with that process, most people also become less active and just generally slow down. That's probably pretty flipin' obvious really as a heavy body is more work/effort to move around. I mean when I was four stone overweight, I really did not feel inclined to sprint up the office stairs!

Now becoming heavier and less active are really just your body's natural adaptations to the food input and activity levels it is experiencing and, generally, with some exceptions , that process is eminently reversible. Having said that, just as the way most people put on weight takes time, the reverse process should be seen similarly, i.e. as one that will take some time and that needs to occur at a sensible rate.

So as well as taking control of your eating - how much, how often, and just what you are eating - you should also try to bring your activity levels up. If you've become a real 'couch-slouch', then obviously start gently and work it up.

Yes, it could be washing the car, or walking (perhaps even running) up the stairs at the office/ shopping mall instead of taking the lift, or going for a brisk walk, or vacuuming the house, or mowing the lawn, or redecorating the front room, or any of dozens of 'sporty' activities like swimming, rowing, dancing, gym sessions, football, hockey, hill-walking, etc.

I'd personally suggest that you don't just do a 'session' of activity, but generally try to be more active throughout your day. Get off the bus a stop earlier and walk the last bit. Do a bit of a jig while you're standing there waiting for the kettle / microwave / photocopier. Stand up and move around a bit as you're talking on the phone. Generally, just speed your movements up a gear and try to 're-mobilise' yourself.

What you choose to do will be a matter of how it fits into your lifestyle.

[louise67]

Hi Catherine yes gardening and housework are both forms of exercise and will aid your weight lose

[GoogleMe in reply to louise67]

These are all 'Random Acts of Fitness' and they are well worth doing. Be wary though of counting as 'increasing activity' something you do already, or using activity as an excuse to eat more. (Anyone know how to persuade MyFitnessPal *not* to offset exercise calories?)

[gingernut49 in reply to GoogleMe]

I just ignore the exercise calories - they're a bonus when you're trying to lose weight!

[GoogleMe in reply to gingernut49]

The way mine seems to be set, it adds them on in such a way that you have to make an effort to mentally subtract them from your calorie allowance for the day. I agree with you, best ignored in calorie terms.

[gingernut49 in reply to GoogleMe]

Hi, I've disconnected all my exercise trackers and apps from MyFitnessPal. That way I can only see my food calories, as I'm ignoring all my exercise calories anyway!

[petekane]

hi there - burning calories is what we do all day. in my opinion too much exercise is bad, moderation is the key word. housework burns a lot of calories, but remember calories are your friend if they are the right ones. we need calories to maintain life and for daily activity. the uk nhs say that for females you need something like 2000 kcal's per day. something i always remember is that there is an 80-20% split between diet & exercise. So you need to concentrate on diet and less on exercise - just stay active at moderate level. have between a 500-1000 calorie deficit per day and you will lose body fat. Food is so important to support our fat lose ventures. in reality you have to know what you burn in a day and what you eat in a day. To that end i use a gadget i wear on my arm, that tells me. check out this kiperformance.co.uk/default...

regards

Pete

[Catherine_kent]

Great replies! Thankyou.

I will try to be less hung up on how many calories I am burning and enjoy my walks with my newborn and dogs.

Great gardening and cleaning is considered being active. It will encourage me to keep on top of the housework and gardening which most new mums will agree is tough to motivate yourself to do.

Catherine

[GoogleMe in reply to Catherine_kent]

Are you breastfeeding? If not, is it something you thought about doing? It can be hard work to re-lactate or initiate lactation after a few weeks but there are four national breastfeeding charities in the UK with the skills to help you do so, even if you don't achieve a full supply. It's what your body expected to be doing and it is usually easier to work with your body in achieving weight loss. (Sometimes people have been wrongly told that their medications are incompatible with breastfeeding which is only occasionally true, again, there is expert support available) It's also an investment in your baby maybe not having to deal with obesity issues in later life.

Not that it helps with what happens to your waistline when your children are older and get fussier about eating and you keep eating their leftovers....hey ho.

Just getting out for walks sounds like a great strategy for you now, whatever you decide about feeding. It is also worth trying to make time to do postnatal exercises. You won't lose fat as such but it will restore tone and thus you'll look slimmer and will be less likely to get back problems which might make exercise difficult later on. And however you are feeding your baby, well fitting bras make a big difference too.

[gingernut49]

I wear my little Fitbit Zip all the time and that measures my steps/distance/calories each day. It really motivates me to move more and I try to get to my 10,000 steps every day, even if that means pacing in front of the TV in the evenings. Win-win as I'm burning more calories instead of just sitting on my btm!

[Starmonkey]

MyFitnessPal is a great website/phone app. The sync with each other, too. It lists all sorts of activities that you can log as exercise. You can also log your food diary and track your weight. You might not want to do all that, but you could easily use it to find out calories burned through non-traditional exercise. Because you enter in your own statistics, the programme calculates the calories YOU are burning. Good luck.