Cleaning calories
spm2010
Posts: 197 Member
I notice there is always a big debate for if you should or shouldn't count calories from cleaning. Here is why I do and please feel free to correct me if I am wrong. I am doing a massive clean today, I mean my whole house top to bottom, I will be moving furniture, dusting the ceiling, vacuuming, carrying stuff out to my shed, cleaning out every closet, scrubbing baseboards, packing away summer and fall clothes (yes I am that slow lol), scrubbing counters, toilets and bath tubs, cleaning under my fridge and stove, cleaning in my stove and a lot more. That is a lot of hard work that will take me hours, so why are some people so against including that in their exercise for the day?
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Because I did all the same crap when I was fat and it didn't make any difference, so why the hell would I count it as exercise now that I am "keeping score"0
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Actually it is not my goal to eat back those calories, my goal is to keep track....isn't this what this site is for? keep track of your food and exercise, how much and how hard you move in a day? To just assume I would spend all that time to reward myself with pizza is a very unfair assumption especially since you do not know me, if I was like that I would skip the cleaning and eat the pizza. Do I think you should log sweeping the livingroom, no, but isn't this all about calories in vs calories out?0
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I think that is reasonable to count as exercise OP. Not sure how you will measure it though as it is so varied.
I think what people are usually against is counting every day light things like sweeping, hanging clothes on the line etc especially if they over estimate the calorie burn involved.
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paperpudding wrote: »I think that is reasonable to count as exercise OP. Not sure how you will measure it though as it is so varied.
I think what people are usually against is counting every day light things like sweeping, hanging clothes on the line etc especially if they over estimate the calorie burn involved.
See that's what I can say "okay that's a little crazy" to, I put half the time and as light not vigorous because I will not be sweating it out the whole time, sweeping vs scrubbing baseboards...not the same amount of effort put in.0 -
Why do you need approval on if you should count it or not. If you think it's something worth counting that's your decision. If you need someone to say yea go ahead.. than it would seem you have doubts on claiming it as exercise and that would make me say no don't count it. But again the decision is entirely up to you0
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I think you have to be very careful with the NEAT (MFP) method and logging things as exercise and eating back those "exercise" calories. It is difficult to estimate actual exercise, let alone accurately estimate your calorie burn from a few hours of cleaning.
At least with running and walking and other various forms of cardiovascular work there have been a lot of studies and work done on "perfecting" various formulas for determining calorie burn for these activities...I don't think the same can be said for vacuuming.
Are you going to burn a bit more than you otherwise would? Of course...but really, that number is going to be difficult to accurately determine. If it were me, I'd chalk it up to owing myself a beer...0 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »I think you have to be very careful with the NEAT (MFP) method and logging things as exercise and eating back those "exercise" calories. It is difficult to estimate actual exercise, let alone accurately estimate your calorie burn from a few hours of cleaning.
At least with running and walking and other various forms of cardiovascular work there have been a lot of studies and work done on "perfecting" various formulas for determining calorie burn for these activities...I don't think the same can be said for vacuuming.
Are you going to burn a bit more than you otherwise would? Of course...but really, that number is going to be difficult to accurately determine. If it were me, I'd chalk it up to owing myself a beer...
Lol my treadmill *kitten* the bed so this is my cardio for the day, or else Id say eff the cleaning and go for a jog.0 -
Actually it is not my goal to eat back those calories, my goal is to keep track....isn't this what this site is for? keep track of your food and exercise, how much and how hard you move in a day? To just assume I would spend all that time to reward myself with pizza is a very unfair assumption especially since you do not know me, if I was like that I would skip the cleaning and eat the pizza. Do I think you should log sweeping the livingroom, no, but isn't this all about calories in vs calories out?
Actually, the reason you track "exercise" on MFP the way you do is because MFP uses the NEAT method of calorie counting...where your activity level is just your day to day hum drum and you account for exercise activity after the fact when you log it. Ever wonder why when you log "exercise" your calorie goal increases? Because that is how this program is actually designed...that is how you account for that activity with MFP.
Other calculators assume some estimate of exercise in your activity level so your overall calorie goals are just higher to begin with. You have to understand the tool and the method utilized by the tool you are using.0 -
So what is the NEAT method? So really is it worth putting in any exercise no matter what is it if they expect me to eat back those calories I just burned? This is where I am confused...if I burn 300 calories why would eating them back be a good idea?0
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Personally , things I do all the time , cleaning ,mowing lawn ..jobs around the house get added into my activity level.
Those things I do specifically for exercise, walking, running etc are things that I count as exercise.
If however, it was a long period of work , then by all means add it in, BUT .. not if it's part of what you do all the time, every week or every day. That is your activity level.
Hope that makes some semblance of sense
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Personally, I think cleaning is part of regular activity level and should not be counted. If I chose to not clean throughout the week and do it all on one day, then that's on me.0
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GiveMeCoffee wrote: »Why do you need approval on if you should count it or not. If you think it's something worth counting that's your decision. If you need someone to say yea go ahead.. than it would seem you have doubts on claiming it as exercise and that would make me say no don't count it. But again the decision is entirely up to you
Don't need approval, never asked for it. What I asked is why is there such a big issue for some people when others log cleaning calories. I do not need anyone approval I would just like to know the reasons behind it, am I missing something? are the calories MFP put in for that totally bogus? I honestly do not know which is why I asked. I didn't ask for people to start accusing me of wanting to than shove my face with pizza.0 -
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Personally , things I do all the time , cleaning ,mowing lawn ..jobs around the house get added into my activity level.
Those things I do specifically for exercise, walking, running etc are things that I count as exercise.
If however, it was a long period of work , then by all means add it in, BUT .. not if it's part of what you do all the time, every week or every day. That is your activity level.
Hope that makes some semblance of sense
Once a month I do a massive cleanin up, don't have time for anything other than dishes and sweeping so that why I added it.0 -
Hey I think you answered your own question when you said your goal is to keep track. Then you definitely should log everything you do! People with different goals probably have different opinions... the only thing I worry about is that MFP (actually most) calorie burned estimators seem to be inaccurate and estimate more then you actually burn. I feel like the only way that is close to accurate if you get a heart rate monitor and have your body stats punched in.0
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I'm sure the issue is that a lot of people look at someone logging cleaning as "too lazy to do real exercise". Yet what would be the point of logging it unless they were trying to eat more??
Don't need approval, never asked for it. What I asked is why is there such a big issue for some people when others log cleaning calories. I do not need anyone approval I would just like to know the reasons behind it, am I missing something? are the calories MFP put in for that totally bogus? I honestly do not know which is why I asked. I didn't ask for people to start accusing me of wanting to than shove my face with pizza.
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Liftng4Lis wrote: »Personally, I think cleaning is part of regular activity level and should not be counted. If I chose to not clean throughout the week and do it all on one day, then that's on me.
I agree that the regular cleaning is just part of everyday activities and should not be counted. The deep cleaning that the OP is talking about is a 2 to 4 times a year thing (for me) and is above and beyond the normal daily activities built in.
I don't log cleaning calories but I have a fitbit and it gives me steps for cleaning and, after I go above a certain step count, it gives me extra calories. Depending on how many there are (and if I feel hungry or not) I may eat back 1/2 of those.
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I believe the every day house work shouldn't be counted as calories burnt, only because those are things you were doing before. But I would def. count a massive house cleaning - I am puertorrican so cleaning to me includes loud music and lots of dancing as well - no workout needed after. Just be careful you don't over estimate the calories burnt.0
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Well, my opinion is count them. Its movement, exertion, and if you're breaking a sweat then yes count them. But here is the BIG kicker, DO NOT REPLACE THOSE CALORIES THAT YOU HAVE BURNED WITH FOOD!! That is where I see a lot of people getting this wrong. Just because the program gives you back those calories doesnt mean you should use them. It will tell you that you are consuming too few calories but just ignore it. If you have met your calorie quota in food then STOP, even if it says you have some left.0
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Hey I think you answered your own question when you said your goal is to keep track. Then you definitely should log everything you do! People with different goals probably have different opinions... the only thing I worry about is that MFP (actually most) calorie burned estimators seem to be inaccurate and estimate more then you actually burn. I feel like the only way that is close to accurate if you get a heart rate monitor and have your body stats punched in.
Do you know of any good ones?0 -
So what is the NEAT method? So really is it worth putting in any exercise no matter what is it if they expect me to eat back those calories I just burned? This is where I am confused...if I burn 300 calories why would eating them back be a good idea?
NEAT = Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis.
You "burn" calories by merely existing...if you actually just get out of bed, you burn more calories...you "burn" calories brushing your teeth and walking around and driving your car and typing on the MFP forums, etc. These things are accounted for with your NEAT.
Here's an example using my numbers...
Without exercise I "burn" roughly 2300 - 2400 calories by merely existing and with my day to day hum drum...this means that to lose about 1 Lb per week I need to cut out about 500 calories per day from my diet (this is what MFP calculates for you when you say you want to lose X Lbs per week) which gives me about 1800 - 1900 calories to eat to lose weight WITHOUT exercise.
Now let's say I go work out and burn 600 calories...with MFP, I would log that and my calorie goal would increase by 600 calories...but I would still have the same net deficit of 500 calories per day because while my gross intake would be 2400 - 2500 calories to lose, my maintenance number will have also increased by the same...so my new theoretical maintenance number would be 2900 - 3000 calories (which is accurate for me).
Other calculators would just assume that exercise up front in the equation and simply cut from my 2900 - 3000 calories and give me a goal of 2400 - 2500 to lose weight. You just have to understand the method and the tool you're using. Beyond that, it's just math.
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The reason people don't generally log cleaning is because it is part of their regular activity level. If the cleaning you're planning to do today is way beyond your regular activity level, you could choose to see it as "exercise" and log it. MFP's method is to ask what your regular activity level is like and use that when calculating how many calories you are "allowed" each day to fit your goal. Extra exercise (which is good for fitness, toning, health etc.) allows you more calories if you want to eat them back.
I walk my dogs most days for almost an hour but I don't log that as exercise unless I go much faster or longer than usual. I consider those regular dog walks part of my general activity level. If later in the day I walk or run on my treadmill I log that and then have more calories to play with for the day.
Make sense?0 -
clearly you have NO idea how this tool ACTUALLY works. smhWell, my opinion is count them. Its movement, exertion, and if you're breaking a sweat then yes count them. But here is the BIG kicker, DO NOT REPLACE THOSE CALORIES THAT YOU HAVE BURNED WITH FOOD!! That is where I see a lot of people getting this wrong. Just because the program gives you back those calories doesnt mean you should use them. It will tell you that you are consuming too few calories but just ignore it. If you have met your calorie quota in food then STOP, even if it says you have some left.
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I keep a pretty clean house throughout the year, but two or three times a year I'm down on the floor with a scrub brush and up on a ladder with a rag. I wouldn't count running a mop over the floor, but I would count buffing the grout with a toothbrush on my hands and knees. Extra, out-of-the-ordinary activity would get logged. That being said, I use TDEE calculations so the point is moot for me. I get no extras for being superwoman. :-(0
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ex·er·cise
ˈeksərˌsīz/Submit
noun
1.
activity requiring physical effort, carried out especially to sustain or improve health and fitness.0 -
Hey I think you answered your own question when you said your goal is to keep track. Then you definitely should log everything you do! People with different goals probably have different opinions... the only thing I worry about is that MFP (actually most) calorie burned estimators seem to be inaccurate and estimate more then you actually burn. I feel like the only way that is close to accurate if you get a heart rate monitor and have your body stats punched in.
A HRM isn't going to be remotely accurate for house cleaning or yard work or anything like that. Your calorie burn is not directly correlated to your HR...your HR is just used in an algorithm to determine some level of estimated VO2 max you are working...so a HRM also assumes you are doing a steady state cardiovascular event.0 -
I notice there is always a big debate for if you should or shouldn't count calories from cleaning. Here is why I do and please feel free to correct me if I am wrong. I am doing a massive clean today, I mean my whole house top to bottom, I will be moving furniture, dusting the ceiling, vacuuming, carrying stuff out to my shed, cleaning out every closet, scrubbing baseboards, packing away summer and fall clothes (yes I am that slow lol), scrubbing counters, toilets and bath tubs, cleaning under my fridge and stove, cleaning in my stove and a lot more. That is a lot of hard work that will take me hours, so why are some people so against including that in their exercise for the day?
I first posted that I agree but after reading the numerous other posts against counting them I must say I agree. And it really doesn't matter a calorie burned is a calorie burned
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To me, exercise is actual exercise. A walk, a run, a lifting session, dance class, yoga, tennis game, bike ride and so on.
Everything else is just life. Even if I sweat. I would not log a cleaning session, not matter how much my home sparkles after it.
Some people log the calories burned while cooking. I don't get that one either.
Edited for typo0
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