Cleaning(Light/Moderate)(Heavy/Vigorous) What's the differen

LilSweetie785

Just started tracking yesterday. How do you know what is considered light/moderate or heavy/vigorous? Trying to track "exercise" and as a Stay at Home Mom I clean quite a bit and need to know how to track it correctly. Thanks!

Jess

khrys1

I would think that things that are using many parts of the body, like mopping, hand scrubbing the floor, bathtub, etc., that gets your heartrate up would be more vigorous, whereas folding laundry would be light/moderate.

sweetdee88

i would say light/moderate is general house clean up--dusting, sweeping, dishes, etc. heavy/vigorous would be scrubbing the floors, vacuuming large areas or up and down stairs, etc. try to go by what your body is feeling--if you work up a sweat, i'd say it was vigorous. hope that helps!

Andee_P

you know i just started this too and im trying to figure out how to incorporate daily chores into the exercise routine. like if you dont actually get to hit the gym, or so a workout. what exercise is considerd for moving furniture, or cleaning the house, or doing laundry, walking the dog. etc... that was a good question, sorry i couldnt answer it but maybe someone else can help us both.

LilSweetie785

Thanks ladies!! I think I have a good idea now. Although half the time I wash the dishes I end up sweating(not all the time) so I'm still a little confused about that one. lol I think that is a good idea though to let my body tell me how "hard" the work is that i'm doing.

Jess

tillybabes

I found this hope it helps

Calories Burned Doing Housework Calculations based on a 150 pound person.

Activity

---

#Of Minutes

---

Calories Burned

Waxing furniture

---

30

---

82

Washing dishes

---

30

---

79

Ironing

---

30

---

75

Cooking

---

30

---

85

Making the bed

---

30

---

68

Doing laundry

---

30

---

73

Window cleaning

---

30

---

112

Vacuuming

---

30

---

112

Painting

---

30

---

144

Sweeping

---

30

---

112

Mopping

---

30

---

127

Stair climbing

---

30

---

210

Perhaps it doesn’t take you a full 30 minutes to complete these particular cleaning projects, so by splitting the time up and combining the cleaning projects, you can figure out the amount of calories you burn daily. For example:

Sweeping

---

10 minutes---37 calories

Vacuuming

---

10 minutes--37 calories

Ironing

---

20 minutes--50 calories

Mopping

---

10 minutes--42 calories

Making beds

---

10 minutes--23 calories

washing dishes----10minutes---26 calories

MariaAlexandra

I don't know why i feel this way, but i personally don't count cleaning as an actual workout. I mean you do burn calories but yet I dont want to risk putting it into my diary without knowing if it is accurate. I consider workouts like cardio as exercising, certainly you can keep noting it down at MFP but it's just my personal opinion.

Remember you can end up OVER eating if you rely too much on putting things like cleaning in diary since it might not be accurate. What about owning an HRM (Heart rate monitor) The ones with the chest straps are the most accurate and they can track your calories. Hope i helped :^)

MzBug

Most of your daily activities like doing dishes, laundry, dusting...the boring daily stuff that has got to be done kinda stuff is already calculated in your goal. It is included in with where you put sedentary, lightly active, active...etc. Many people DO enter the out of the ordinary kind of stuff like scrubbing walls, mopping the floors, deep spring cleaning kinda stuff, as exercise.

In my OPINION the cals burned are rather high for the cleaning activities. I usually enter half the time spent doing the activity just to be on the safe side.

CarolHudson11

I don't enter cleaning at all because it's something I've always done in my normal daily activities and I think they actually factor in the cleaning, grocery shopping, and other stuff that you would do even if you were pretty much sedentary. I did enter it when I painted the walls in my living room because it's not something I normally do, and my arms and back were really sore the next day.

eamartin

You would be surprised at how many calories you do burn by doing your "normal cleaning"
I own a HRM and I was very surprised. Besides that, if you have your account set for light/sed. then yes, you should be counting those things as a work out because you want to net 1200 calories or w/e your account is set for. Over eating is just as bad as under eating!
I usually count mine if I do a bunch of things at once, like doing laundry while I am doing dishes, cleaning floors ect and then just put it under light if I felt like it was an easy day or heavy if I felt like I was busting my bum doing those things

TakeOne

I don't know why i feel this way, but i personally don't count cleaning as an actual workout. I mean you do burn calories but yet I dont want to risk putting it into my diary without knowing if it is accurate. I consider workouts like cardio as exercising, certainly you can keep noting it down at MFP but it's just my personal opinion.

Remember you can end up OVER eating if you rely too much on putting things like cleaning in diary since it might not be accurate. What about owning an HRM (Heart rate monitor) The ones with the chest straps are the most accurate and they can track your calories. Hope i helped :^)

I agree. I never count that stuff. I figure it just balances out. I never enter cooking spray on the rare occasion I when I actually use any.

caroline1851

I don't know why i feel this way, but i personally don't count cleaning as an actual workout. I mean you do burn calories but yet I dont want to risk putting it into my diary without knowing if it is accurate. I consider workouts like cardio as exercising, certainly you can keep noting it down at MFP but it's just my personal opinion.

Remember you can end up OVER eating if you rely too much on putting things like cleaning in diary since it might not be accurate.

I agree with this

prencesskl

I don't count this, as I was doing it before and it made no difference, I only count what is extra to my day : )

388gigi

I don't count any normal day to day stuff, i only count gym, gym classes, running, swimming, bike riding.

Jeriathsbaby

The reason you break out in a sweat cleaning dishes, is the hot/warm water. The vapors/steam from your water and the fact that your hands are in the hot/warm water cause you to sweat just like sitting or walking on a warm day makes you sweat even if you aren't really doing anything that takes a lot of effort.

SamanthaJoNickel

My mother in law was told by her doctor that vaccuming isn't going to be considering a workout for her, considering its part of her job and she does it daily. Task you do daily will start to burn less calories because your body gets use to them

lsmsrbls

I only put it down as heavy if I feel like I got more of a workout from cleaning than I do from running. That happens maybe once every several months. The vast majority of the time I put down light. Of course, I don't clean as vigorously as some people do. haha.

I have my activity level set to sedentary and I've been successful and very happy while logging cleaning.

Mokey41

Your budget has already accounted for the fact that you don't lay in bed all day doing nothing. General housework is not exercise because it doesn't significantly raise your heart rate for an extended period of time. It is certainly not exercise that needs to be counted for calories to eat back.

Exercise is meant to increase your fitness level and cleaning doesn't meet that criteria. Just because you can log something doesn't mean you should and a lot of those online calculators don't deduct your BMR which is the calories you would have burned just doing nothing.

KandiceB85

I have to disagree a little with the ones saying that it isn't a workout to clean. As far as being sedentary, it would mean sitting and watching tv most of the day (in my opinion) and probably doing as little as possible. I personally work up a good sweat when I clean, but I add a little pep into it by "racing against the clock" to get it done before the hubby and kids get home. And if you really get down to what should and shouldn't count, than should you really count walking as an exercise since you do it everyday?

gordonsdetail

I count house work as cleaning but add it as light just to be on the safe side. I clean houses and detail cars which takes several hours and I'm often drenched in sweat so I'm pretty sure it is exercise.

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JoRocka

If you count cleaning your house as exercise, you don't understand exercise.

yeah I only count it if I'm like up and down on the furniture- or moving furniture- rearranging- like heavy duty spring cleaning.

So it gets put on my feed maybe once a year- otherwise yeah no.

it's not exercise it's just **** that needs to get done.

Serah87

I count house work as cleaning but add it as light just to be on the safe side. I clean houses and detail cars which takes several hours and I'm often drenched in sweat so I'm pretty sure it is exercise.

Sweat doesn't mean your burning more calories!! I live in Florida, just sitting outside I sweat. If that was the case everybody living in Florida would be skinny.

rileamoyer

Housework, I only count it if it is heavy, like spring cleaning, rearranging furniture etc. And I use my HRM. Same for working in the yard, I use the HRM!

sheldonz42

If you count cleaning your house as exercise, you don't understand exercise.

Perhaps, having sat on my fat rear for far too long, for me, cleaning house can be exercise. But thanks for judging.

Lleldiranne

I would set your activity level to lightly active, or even moderately active, and then not log the normal cleaning stuff.

I logged cleaning a few weeks ago. I was helping my mom clean out her old apartment after she moved out. A lot of work ... I logged it as light even though it was probably heavy. I also only logged 1/2 the time I worked. But that day was an exception, I don't log my normal at-home chores like laundry (even with the stairs), vacuuming, or cleaning the kitchen or bathroom.

vvendy_darling

Make sure to count sex as exercise too.

wilsoje74

Don't count cleaning

Armagan123

I have to disagree a little with the ones saying that it isn't a workout to clean. As far as being sedentary, it would mean sitting and watching tv most of the day (in my opinion) and probably doing as little as possible. I personally work up a good sweat when I clean, but I add a little pep into it by "racing against the clock" to get it done before the hubby and kids get home. And if you really get down to what should and shouldn't count, than should you really count walking as an exercise since you do it everyday?

Agreed! One burn calories even during sleep, our bodily functions needs energy/calorie to fulfill their jobs. There is not such a thing that something has to be named as "exercise" to burn calories. One needs to have a calorie deficiency to lose weight, how you manage that deficiency, eating less or being more active or eating a little less and being a little more active, is a personal choice. And how you be more active is also a personal choice.

To be on the safe side, I log all type of cleaning as light, and never eat all that amount back, maybe just 1/3 or half of it.

KeshiaBanks

Cleaning shouldn't be count IMO

KeshiaBanks

I don't count this, as I was doing it before and it made no difference, I only count what is extra to my day : )

I so agree.