I ate about ten pounds of Chinese food for dinner. But the beef in the Beef and Mushrooms was a little tough and did require some extra chewing. I figure the extra chewing must have burned off at least a few of the calories. Plus, when I picked it up, the bag was really heavy and I had to carry it a fair distance. That should cound as some kind of weight lifting. Right?

You definitely racked up some quality exercise points while "working" for your dinner. Isn't the one of the reasons why celery is so "good" for you is because it burns more calories to eat the troublesome vegetable than you gain by digesting it? I figure that extra chewing bumps you into the "more calories than it's worth" category.

As for the "gathering" portion of dinner preparation, I've previously used the same hypothesis when doing my 12 oz. curls. Nowadays, though, I had to give up that particular exercise regimen since the only adult beverages of the 12 oz. variety I'm able to afford would send me to the ER - a "luxury" I can no longer afford.