Do you count cleaning as exercise?

13»

Replies

  • ereck44
    ereck44 Posts: 1,170 Member
    Cleaning, no! Mowing grass or shoveling snow, yes! If it is not part of my daily activity, I log it.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    d hauling fallen trees or branches, and other periodic "heavy" jobs like that, I will wear my HRM and log it. A couple months ago, I helped a friend tear down his deck using a sledgehammer for a few hours and I burned over 1,200 calories!

    Probably not unless you were on a run the whole time. A HRM is only accurate for steady state cardio. You need to have your HR significantly raised for an extended period of time for it to work properly. Otherwise you get exaggerated burns.
  • LeslieN65
    LeslieN65 Posts: 127 Member
    I log it if it is more than my daily cleaning/picking up....:wink:
  • Sovictorrious
    Sovictorrious Posts: 770 Member
    Only when done in my underwear.
  • xombiebite
    xombiebite Posts: 276 Member
    what is this cleaning you speak of
  • sunfirelynn
    sunfirelynn Posts: 186 Member
    I don't log cleaning , that is a every day thing to me I wouldn't feel right to log it:ohwell:
  • jeremyw1977
    jeremyw1977 Posts: 505 Member
    Unless I am cleaning inside a sauna, with wrist and ankle weights, and with a weighted mop/vacuum/duster...........no!
    While I'm at it, I'm also going to log the calories I burn to walk to the bathroom, squat, and bear down.
  • xombiebite
    xombiebite Posts: 276 Member
    Unless I am cleaning inside a sauna, with wrist and ankle weights, and with a weighted mop/vacuum/duster...........no!
    While I'm at it, I'm also going to log the calories I burn to walk to the bathroom, squat, and bear down.

    that could be a serious squat and log (hahahaha) you some serious calories!!!
    ps doctor who is the ****:drinker:
  • EvaW36
    EvaW36 Posts: 7
    I sure do count cleaning as exercise. I have this little game a call "beat the clock". I set my timer to a certain amount of time. I then clean as fast as I can in order to get as much done as I can within the amount of time I choose. I end up braking a sweat during my cleaning session. Now if I'm just unloading/loading the dishwasher or folding clothes I won't count that. Things like vcuming, sweeping, mopping and such like these I will count.:wink:
  • EvaW36
    EvaW36 Posts: 7
    i would not dream of counting cleaning or sex ....



    sex can be a fun way to burn those calories!
  • alisonlynn1976
    alisonlynn1976 Posts: 929 Member
    I don't consider things that I would do anyway as a part of my day as exercise. Yes, any movement burns calories, but isn't that the point of selecting a baseline of lightly active, etc.? I tried to explain this on another thread about walking, where I said that I have always walked every day, so that's just a part of my baseline and I have to do something else if I want to add exercise, and people criticized me because they thought I was saying that walking isn't exercise (and then someone declared that I'm fat because I eat too much, which, yeah, thanks for the insight), but that's not what I meant. Cleaning is exercise, walking is exercise, sex is exercise, etc., but if you were doing that stuff before and you want to *increase* your level of calories burned, you need to add something to your baseline.
  • Lisah8969
    Lisah8969 Posts: 1,247 Member
    I apparently don't clean as much as everyone on here! LOL! Cleaning is not a daily thing for me, but I would still never log it and since I am using TDEE method and not giving myself calories burned for exercise it doesn't really matter.

    But for those of you who do log it and want to get in an additional workout, I will let you know where I keep the spare key and the cleaning supplies and you can let yourself in and burn as many calories as you would like! :drinker: Thanks!
  • explosivedonut
    explosivedonut Posts: 419 Member
    Cleaning is my super-secret tech for getting shredded. Barbell squats? Deadlifts? Bench presses? Running? Who needs that crap when I have the might of Swiffer and Dyson behind me! /s

    Listen, 90% of us are on here cause we are or were fat. If we got fat doing it, what makes you think you will get skinny doing it? If you do log it (which you shouldn't) you certainly shouldn't eat back the calories. You are just making excuses for yourself so you can eat more, and that will destroy your progress.
  • ctodd58
    ctodd58 Posts: 7 Member
    If you clean frequently (like 20-30 minutes daily), I'd just bump your baseline activity level up and take care of it that way, rather than logging every time you clean.
  • Morgaath
    Morgaath Posts: 679 Member
    Listen, 90% of us are on here cause we are or were fat. If we got fat doing it, what makes you think you will get skinny doing it? If you do log it (which you shouldn't) you certainly shouldn't eat back the calories. You are just making excuses for yourself so you can eat more, and that will destroy your progress.

    Just going out on a limb here, but I am going to guess that 90% got fat while eating everything in sight.
    Pre-MFP: Doing a quick 15 minute light cleaning of the house (54cals), and then rewarding myself with a Big Mac, large Fry, and large non-diet soda (1000+cals), for a gain of 950+cals
    And Now: Doing the same housework, and rewarding myself with a Diet Coke, for a gain of -54cals.
    Which version do you think fits the folks using this site?

    Now of course, if that person had done what I think of as spring cleaning (Move every piece of furniture, sweep and mop under it, put coat of wax down on the floor, etc) resulting in you sweating and feeling it the next day... well that is going to get you a lot more of a calorie burn.

    But even that quick light cleaning burns more calories than sitting here on my computer.
  • bettysmith5
    bettysmith5 Posts: 2
    I do because being 300 lbs I sweat a lot and I feel it. Also I believe that everything we do burns calls. But I don't eat more.


    Usyouandme2010@comcast
  • Ely82010
    Ely82010 Posts: 1,998 Member
    I just spent the last hour cleaning and according to MFP, I burned 232 calories. It kind of feels like cheating to log it, since it's not really exercise. But, I already worked out for 75 minutes today, so it's not like I replaced a real workout with cleaning... Should I log it? Do you?

    No, I don't log any cleaning as exercise not matter how much I sweat. I do log or count gardening because it is something that I don't do very often. Although I don't log all the calories that MFP gives me
  • icimani
    icimani Posts: 1,454 Member
    Nope.

    I only count what I call "intentional" exercise. But if it's something that you don't normally do then I say go for it!
  • phjorg1
    phjorg1 Posts: 642 Member
    ITT: overweight people thinking cleaning is exercise and fit people saying it's not.

    Your results are the byproduct of what you put in. Wanna count cleaning as exercise, all the power to you. But you will have the results of someone who counts cleaning as exercise...
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
    If you're talking about "cleaning" in terms of the Olympic lift, then yes I count cleans as an exercise. However the concept of tracking "calorie burn" through an inaccurate measuring device (the HRM) is rather ridiculous to me, so no I don't track exercise calories period. If you're talking about house-work as exercise... Then I would have to ask how serious are you about working towards your goals if you're going to count house work as exercise.
  • Morgaath
    Morgaath Posts: 679 Member
    If you're talking about "cleaning" in terms of the Olympic lift, then yes I count cleans as an exercise. However the concept of tracking "calorie burn" through an inaccurate measuring device (the HRM) is rather ridiculous to me, so no I don't track exercise calories period. If you're talking about house-work as exercise... Then I would have to ask how serious are you about working towards your goals if you're going to count house work as exercise.

    See, I think calories burned are calories burned, just as calories consumed are calories consumed.
    Does it matter if I climbed 12 flights of stairs on a stair master vs doing it taking the clothes up from the laundry?
    If I do 4k steps more than my normal day, does it only count if I do them on a treadmill, or on a trail, vs doing them in my house while doing housework, or wandering around a mall? And seeing as normally while doing housework, or being at the mall, I often have tons of stuff I am carrying, vs just holding my water bottle.
    Would you count raking up ten 30gal bags of leaves as part of a cardio workout, or do the calories only count if you burn them in a gym?
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
    If you're talking about "cleaning" in terms of the Olympic lift, then yes I count cleans as an exercise. However the concept of tracking "calorie burn" through an inaccurate measuring device (the HRM) is rather ridiculous to me, so no I don't track exercise calories period. If you're talking about house-work as exercise... Then I would have to ask how serious are you about working towards your goals if you're going to count house work as exercise.

    See, I think calories burned are calories burned, just as calories consumed are calories consumed.
    Does it matter if I climbed 12 flights of stairs on a stair master vs doing it taking the clothes up from the laundry?
    If I do 4k steps more than my normal day, does it only count if I do them on a treadmill, or on a trail, vs doing them in my house while doing housework, or wandering around a mall? And seeing as normally while doing housework, or being at the mall, I often have tons of stuff I am carrying, vs just holding my water bottle.
    Would you count raking up ten 30gal bags of leaves as part of a cardio workout, or do the calories only count if you burn them in a gym?
    .
    Not to be disrespectful, but if you're burning the same amount of calories in the gym as you do folding laundry then you're not working hard enough in the gym. Secondly, the concept of counting calories is burned is too loosely used. The "counters" on the cardio machines are not even remotely accurate and should not be used. Secondly, the HRM's are pretty inaccurate themselves and are probably not worth using. It's more worthwhile to calculate your calorie needs for losing weight based on a healthy deficit of your TDEE or BMR. Is a lot less stressful too and losing weight or even managing your weight can be stressful enough.
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,474 Member
    yep, my vacuum is brutal,
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    When I was using the MFP method, Cleaning, cooking, etc...that's all just a part of my NEAT (Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis)...my day to day hum drum...it was accounted for in my MFP goal. I only count actual exercise as exercise.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    If you're talking about "cleaning" in terms of the Olympic lift, then yes I count cleans as an exercise. However the concept of tracking "calorie burn" through an inaccurate measuring device (the HRM) is rather ridiculous to me, so no I don't track exercise calories period. If you're talking about house-work as exercise... Then I would have to ask how serious are you about working towards your goals if you're going to count house work as exercise.

    See, I think calories burned are calories burned, just as calories consumed are calories consumed.
    Does it matter if I climbed 12 flights of stairs on a stair master vs doing it taking the clothes up from the laundry?
    If I do 4k steps more than my normal day, does it only count if I do them on a treadmill, or on a trail, vs doing them in my house while doing housework, or wandering around a mall? And seeing as normally while doing housework, or being at the mall, I often have tons of stuff I am carrying, vs just holding my water bottle.
    Would you count raking up ten 30gal bags of leaves as part of a cardio workout, or do the calories only count if you burn them in a gym?

    The problem is that day to day chores and what not are already accounted for in your activity level...actual exercise is not accounted for when you set your MFP activity level...so if you're counting activity that has already been accounted for...then you're double counting and hosing yourself.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    If you're talking about "cleaning" in terms of the Olympic lift, then yes I count cleans as an exercise. However the concept of tracking "calorie burn" through an inaccurate measuring device (the HRM) is rather ridiculous to me, so no I don't track exercise calories period. If you're talking about house-work as exercise... Then I would have to ask how serious are you about working towards your goals if you're going to count house work as exercise.

    See, I think calories burned are calories burned, just as calories consumed are calories consumed.
    Does it matter if I climbed 12 flights of stairs on a stair master vs doing it taking the clothes up from the laundry?
    If I do 4k steps more than my normal day, does it only count if I do them on a treadmill, or on a trail, vs doing them in my house while doing housework, or wandering around a mall? And seeing as normally while doing housework, or being at the mall, I often have tons of stuff I am carrying, vs just holding my water bottle.
    Would you count raking up ten 30gal bags of leaves as part of a cardio workout, or do the calories only count if you burn them in a gym?

    The problem is that day to day chores and what not are already accounted for in your activity level...actual exercise is not accounted for when you set your MFP activity level...so if you're counting activity that has already been accounted for...then you're double counting and hosing yourself.

    If he is walking 4k steps or taking 12 flights of stairs more than usual, how is that a day to day chore?

    It's not the activity that should determine whether you count it. It's whether it's above and beyond your usual activity level.
  • chezjuan
    chezjuan Posts: 747 Member
    I've been pretty much all over the map on this question.

    When I started on MFP a year ago I would count major cleaning efforts as exercise (basically top-to-bottom, 3-hour active efforts, not simple dusting/vacuuming) but I would only count 1/2 the time I spent doing it. Likewise, I would count doing errands if I was actually out walking around for several hours (like if I walked to the grocery store rather than drove, then lugged my bags home). Again, I would only log about 1/2 the time. I had my daily activity set to sedentary (M-F is spent behind a desk), so I figured that if it was outside of my normal daily activity, it could be logged. My weight loss progressed about where it should have during that time.

    The more in shape I got, and the more time I spent at the gym, the less I logged those activities. I was also more active in my daily life and, although I wasn't cleaning I was moving more than when I started, so it really didn't seem like something I should log. My weight loss kept progressing about as expected.

    Now, I follow TDEE and don't log any exercise. I am at maintenance, and it is also going as planned.

    The best recommendation I have is to do what works for you, but don't log cleaning if you just want to eat a bowl of ice cream and don't want to see a red number on MFP. If you do decide to log it, only do so if you are going above and beyond your normal activity level, and then be conservative with your estimate.
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
    Now, I follow TDEE and don't log any exercise. I am at maintenance, and it is also going as planned.

    The best recommendation I have is to do what works for you, but don't log cleaning if you just want to eat a bowl of ice cream and don't want to see a red number on MFP. If you do decide to log it, only do so if you are going above and beyond your normal activity level, and then be conservative with your estimate.

    ^

Categories