Gardening burns more calories than walking?

[JustWatchMe 7,117]

Ok, I prepped and planted my veggie garden today. Small garden, so it took only 45 minutes. Yes, I was sweating and tired and sore (arthritis) when done, but when I calculated the calories burned on MyFitnessPal and another calc site, it came out to way more burned than a mile of walking does on the treadmill at 3.0 mph. I found this weird. Does anybody else consider gardening to be exercise? (Maybe because of all the bending and digging.....?)

[Fiddleman 4,376]

Ok, I prepped and planted my veggie garden today. Small garden, so it took only 45 minutes. Yes, I was sweating and tired and sore (arthritis) when done, but when I calculated the calories burned on MyFitnessPal and another calc site, it came out to way more burned than a mile of walking does on the treadmill at 3.0 mph. I found this weird. Does anybody else consider gardening to be exercise? (Maybe because of all the bending and digging.....?)

You should talk to my wife about gardening and exercise. You sound just like her. She gardens every day for hours and that is her workout. So I believe the answer is yes. it is sort of a functional workout for the whole body. Her PM is phoenix79.

[Bandista 7,466]

I noticed that on MFP, too, and it just seems ridiculous. I am a serious gardener and yes, there's the bending and wheelbarrow filling/emptying, digging, etc. but I never lost a pound gardening. Good for strength, though. Treadmill does it for me for weight loss.

[Leepers 1,195]

You can't really trust MFP. If I put in that I did 60 minutes on the elliptical, it tells me I burned over 900 calories. When I put my weight in the elliptical machine, at the end of 60 minutes, it says I burned 550 calories. That's why I never eat back my calories burned. But I do like keeping a record of my activity.

[DLCoggin 1,788]

I have read that burned calorie estimates are often based on relatively large, muscular individuals which means that they tend to be overstated. Many have suggested that burned calories based on a heart rate monitor (configured for age, height, weight, gender, etc.) is a much more accurate way to determine calories burned. It works independent of the exercise since it is measuring your heart rate over a given period of time regardless of whether you're gardening or running a marathon. The only down side is that good heart rate monitors tend to be a little on the pricey side.

Edited April 29, 2014 by DLCoggin