Calories Burned - Cleaning: Light/Moderate vs Vigorous

cammiecane

I had a question about the MFP calories burned. I just started doing part-time work as a house cleaner. I spend the majority of my time scrubbing things, ie toilets, showers/tubs, floors, etc. I’ve been logging it as “cleaning - vigorous” as I am usually drenched in sweat and often dizzy when I’m done, but the calories burned it’s been giving me seem ridiculous. Like 1500, 1700. Should I be logging as light/mod? How do I know what the calculator considers light/mod vs vigorous? Thanks!

collectingblues

Include that in your daily setting.

nutmegoreo

That should be part of your activity level since it's part of your life and livelihood. Try increasing to active for now and see how things go. Don't add it as exercise.

cammiecane

collectingblues wrote: »

Include that in your daily setting.

nutmegoreo wrote: »

That should be part of your activity level since it's part of your life and livelihood. Try increasing to active for now and see how things go. Don't add it as exercise.

But I dont do it everyday and the days I do it it’s always for different amounts of time? There is no set schedule at all. One day I could be doing 3 hours, then do nothing for 3 days, and then the next day 7 hours. Wouldn’t changing the activity level give me inflated calories on the days I’m doing nothing?

TavistockToad

cammiecane wrote: »

I had a question about the MFP calories burned. I just started doing part-time work as a house cleaner. I spend the majority of my time scrubbing things, ie toilets, showers/tubs, floors, etc. I’ve been logging it as “cleaning - vigorous” as I am usually drenched in sweat and often dizzy when I’m done, but the calories burned it’s been giving me seem ridiculous. Like 1500, 1700. Should I be logging as light/mod? How do I know what the calculator considers light/mod vs vigorous? Thanks!

Sweating isn't an indication of burning loads of calories.

If you're dizzy you probably want to drink more or try an electrolyte drink.

I'd try logging half the time you're cleaning and see what the scales do after 4-6 weeks.

nutmegoreo

cammiecane wrote: »

collectingblues wrote: »

Include that in your daily setting.

nutmegoreo wrote: »

That should be part of your activity level since it's part of your life and livelihood. Try increasing to active for now and see how things go. Don't add it as exercise.

But I dont do it everyday and the days I do it it’s always for different amounts of time? There is no set schedule at all. One day I could be doing 3 hours, then do nothing for 3 days, and then the next day 7 hours. Wouldn’t changing the activity level give me inflated calories on the days I’m doing nothing?

The activity level will be for an average. For example a waitress is going to be highly active on work days, but she doesn't work 7 days a week (hopefully). She will have higher and lower days, but they average out.

Play with the settings and see what happens, but I'm fairly certain That if you set yourself at inactive then log 4 hours of cleaning your calorie goal will be considerably higher, to the point of being inflated beyond just setting your activity level higher. In the end, you're only cheating yourself.

sijomial

cammiecane wrote: »

collectingblues wrote: »

Include that in your daily setting.

nutmegoreo wrote: »

That should be part of your activity level since it's part of your life and livelihood. Try increasing to active for now and see how things go. Don't add it as exercise.

But I dont do it everyday and the days I do it it’s always for different amounts of time? There is no set schedule at all. One day I could be doing 3 hours, then do nothing for 3 days, and then the next day 7 hours. Wouldn’t changing the activity level give me inflated calories on the days I’m doing nothing?

Activity level is an average - some days will be over, some will be under.
You don't need to micro manage your numbers to the degree you are proposing. Don't fall into the trap of thinking you have to be perfect every day, life isn't like that!

For example when I retired from a mostly sedentary desk job my activity level went up.
It went up again when I started a casual gardening/decorating job but that part time job varied from days doing no work to days doing a 12 hour day - on average it worked out fine.

PAV8888

There is nothing magical (other than convenience) about a particular activity or exercise that makes it more suitable to be accounted for in daily activity vs accounting for it as an add-on exercise.

Logging calories-out is an accounting exercise with the goal of most accurately capturing ALL activity.

Some activity, which happens every day, is more suitable for lumping into a predictable activity level. Activities that are less predictable are usually more conveniently accounted for as separate exercises.

If you start your day as a purported to be "sedentary" individual and work a shift as a hard working cleaner (or for that matter go for out for a 3 hour walk or bike ride up and down some hills)... you WILL end up spending as many or more calories as a purported to be "very active" individual would.

So you can account for all that any which way you want to (base level or add-on exercise)... as long as you account for it.

Your weight trend results (from a trending weight app or web site) over 4 to 6 weeks when compared to the caloric balance that you've logged during that same time period will tell you whether your logging is reflective of reality or not.

Feeling dizzy doesn't sound good. Eat a bit more before/during your cleaning (drinking fluids was covered above)

Also: look at your calories as a weekly as opposed to a daily budget.

(PS: While you're actively scrubbing you're probably vigorously cleaning. While you're carrying supplies or vacuuming you're cleaning but probably not as vigorously)

rosebarnalice

If it were me, I'd keep my activity level as "sedentary" and then add "light/moderate cleaning" as an activity on the days I actually did it.

If you're losing weight faster than MFP calculates, then, you could up your exercise to "vigorous."

lynn_glenmont

TavistockToad wrote: »

cammiecane wrote: »

I had a question about the MFP calories burned. I just started doing part-time work as a house cleaner. I spend the majority of my time scrubbing things, ie toilets, showers/tubs, floors, etc. I’ve been logging it as “cleaning - vigorous” as I am usually drenched in sweat and often dizzy when I’m done, but the calories burned it’s been giving me seem ridiculous. Like 1500, 1700. Should I be logging as light/mod? How do I know what the calculator considers light/mod vs vigorous? Thanks!

Sweating isn't an indication of burning loads of calories.

If you're dizzy you probably want to drink more or try an electrolyte drink.

I'd try logging half the time you're cleaning and see what the scales do after 4-6 weeks.

And if hydrating and electroylytes don't work, try wearing a painter's mask, as it might be the fumes from the cleaning products making you dizzy.

chulipa

I would leave it as sedentary log it as light/moderate cleaning but you can change the amount of calories it says change to about half and see if or how much you are losing if to fast eat more to slow eat less of the extra calories

psychod787

I never track it. It's just part of my day. I get a few added steps for sweeping or mopping, I have my settings as active, when I am more highly active.

Roxyy_Rawrr

I am also a part time cleaner. I have my activity set to sedentary and then log the calories from my job separately on the days that I work. I used to log it under light/moderate effort (despite my effort being super high, ha!) and I found that it gave me a pretty good estimate of calories if I ate around 75% of it. I would suggest logging it under that setting, eating the amount given for a while, and then perhaps allowing yourself slightly less/more calories if you are not losing weight/losing too fast.

kshama2001

rosebarnalice wrote: »

If it were me, I'd keep my activity level as "sedentary" and then add "light/moderate cleaning" as an activity on the days I actually did it.

If you're losing weight faster than MFP calculates, then, you could up your exercise to "vigorous."

Roxyy_Rawrr wrote: »

I am also a part time cleaner. I have my activity set to sedentary and then log the calories from my job separately on the days that I work. I used to log it under light/moderate effort (despite my effort being super high, ha!) and I found that it gave me a pretty good estimate of calories if I ate around 75% of it. I would suggest logging it under that setting, eating the amount given for a while, and then perhaps allowing yourself slightly less/more calories if you are not losing weight/losing too fast.

Another vote for the above.