Beware the cleanng "exercise"

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  • helloiloveukitty
    helloiloveukitty Posts: 448 Member
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    I see a lot of people who log cleaning and everything to cooking as exercise, they are just cheating themselves.

    Totally agree. Don't really care if people choose to do this but yeah...
  • mommacool
    mommacool Posts: 138 Member
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    I agree you have to be careful. However, i have mine set to sedentary, and when I really do a lot of cleaning i give myself some credit. This past weekend I worked hard for about 6 hours both days, cleaning bathrooms, walls, floors, closets, cupboards, and cooking and preparing for a party 20 people. I did not log all the hours, but I gave myself (i think) 1 or 1.5 hour each day. I am sure I could have logged more, as I really worked hard both days, but logging 6 hours seemed ridiculous
  • helloiloveukitty
    helloiloveukitty Posts: 448 Member
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    Something to remember is that you were doing this activity (cleaning etc) when you got fat. I only include activity I have added on top of my normal life, such as running or circuits. The other stuff is just living.

    Yup! This.
  • elainegsd
    elainegsd Posts: 459 Member
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    I see a lot of people who log cleaning and everything to cooking as exercise, they are just cheating themselves.

    That sounds quite judgmental. I think it depends on how you have your activity level set to calculate your BMR. Mine is set to sedentary because I work at a computer all day and am, well, sedentary.

    When I clean, and my heart rate goes up, I do log it if it is more than 30 minutes. That said, I don't eat back my exercise calories on a regular basis, so am not sure just HOW I am cheating myself by logging the activities.

    Bottom line, anybody can log whatever they want, and eat whatever they want. If they are losing weight and getting healthier at a rate that satisfies them, who are you to claim they are cheating themselves?
  • nikkiiheat
    nikkiiheat Posts: 12
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    Point taken!
  • Katcatters
    Katcatters Posts: 90 Member
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    What's wrong with logging it, if it makes you feel good about doing something other than sit on your bum all day?... so long as you don't cash them in for what you eat, there is no harm in it ... is there?
  • AHealthierRhonda
    AHealthierRhonda Posts: 881 Member
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    I only log cleaning when i break a sweat. Basically when I mop my entire house I'll add it in. When it is just vacuuming, dusting, and regular bathrooma nd kitchen cleaning, since I do t on weekends, when I am more sedentary, I figure that is my daily activity. However, I did log in shoveling snow because I would be ouitside pushing, lifting, adn throwing the stuff for close to an hour. That was way beyond my usual activity level too.
    Thanks for the info though! Always good to know!
  • strandedeyes
    strandedeyes Posts: 392 Member
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    I think it depends on the kind of cleaning everyone is logging. If you scrub your house top to bottom, that isn't an everyday activity...but if you broom your kitchen floor so you don't get ants...that isn't extra to your day (in my opinion). If you want to log your cleaning, by all means if it helps and motivates you, but I personally believe that many people out there (sorry to judge) to log cleaning in order to eat that extra something they want to indulge on.
  • kristimartiny
    kristimartiny Posts: 62
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    I don't count cleaning at all...is kinda general calories that are somehow calculated already in our daily calorie burn I feel anyway... you can be real lazy with cleaning or zealous, but only count it if you are lifting heavy things and going up and down stairs more than 10 minutes at a time. I just consider that a bonus if I burn calories other than actually exercising...but not counted.
  • btrflyflutter
    btrflyflutter Posts: 68 Member
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    I see a lot of people who log cleaning and everything to cooking as exercise, they are just cheating themselves.

    That sounds quite judgmental. I think it depends on how you have your activity level set to calculate your BMR. Mine is set to sedentary because I work at a computer all day and am, well, sedentary.

    When I clean, and my heart rate goes up, I do log it if it is more than 30 minutes. That said, I don't eat back my exercise calories on a regular basis, so am not sure just HOW I am cheating myself by logging the activities.

    Bottom line, anybody can log whatever they want, and eat whatever they want. If they are losing weight and getting healthier at a rate that satisfies them, who are you to claim they are cheating themselves?

    That does sound judgmental especially since even though alot of us log our exercise and or cleaning we don't EAT those calories anyway.....
  • needamulligan
    needamulligan Posts: 558 Member
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    Cleaning burns more calories than sitting at a computer! Also, the number of calories burned depends on a number of factors, including your weight! I don't usually log it but happened to log cleaning yesterday. I did think that the number was too high but it made me feel a little more successful at this! I just may go clean something now!
  • CarolHudson11
    CarolHudson11 Posts: 372
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    I don't log my cleaning because I was doing that prior to joining MFP. But, I'm certainly not going to tell someone else not to. I'm worried about my weight loss and health and I'm going to let everyone else worry about their's. I did log painting the walls in my dining room and living room, but that is something I very rarely ever do and I was sore for a couple of days afterward. To each his own - if one of my friends logs their cleaning and feels good about those calories burned, I'm going to cheer for them as if they'd run the treadmill for an hour or completed a round of P90X. JMO.
  • knittygirl52
    knittygirl52 Posts: 432 Member
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    The point is: be careful. Obviously if you NEVER clean and it's above and beyond, that could really be exercise for you. But if you clean daily, that's just part of your normal activity level. If you look like you should be losing weight and you aren't, start thinking about this: maybe you are logging exercise calories that don't really "count" for you. Maybe you aren't logging calories you eat that DO! (True confession: I take a calcium supplement in the form of one of those chocolate chewables. I never log it. Hey--it hasn't kept me from losing.) Don't check your brains at the door here, people.
  • bstamps12
    bstamps12 Posts: 1,184
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    I think "cleaning" is an everyday activity, part of my "lightly active" lifestyle so calories like that are balanced into my daily goal anyways. It is up to each person whether or not to log their cleaning or cooking...but if they aren't losing weight and they are wondering why...:ohwell:
  • mariasheehan
    mariasheehan Posts: 335
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    I know this has been addressed before, often...but just wanted to mention it one more time! If you count your house cleaning as exercise, beware the actual calories you might be burning. Today I shampooed the carpets in our house, 3 rooms, took a little less than 90 minutes and my HRM said I burned 101 calories, which I probably won't count in my daily total. When I punched it into the "cleaning, light, moderate effort" exercise data base it told me 267 calories. So, a pretty good discrepancy, IMHO.
    Let me just add this quick disclaimer too, I do run and my resting heart rate usually stays between 45-65 bpm most of the time, so getting my heart rate up does take a little effort, but I would also think pushing and pulling a Rug Doctor is a bit more than "light, moderate effort".
    Just my 2 cents, if it is worth that much to you!

    ***Sorry about the typo on "cleaning", using a small keyboard on a netbook.

    actually, do you mind if I ask you a question about that?? I usually use my HRM when I'm cleaning to see how many calories I've burned, but I read that a HRM should only be used for real cardio physical activity and now I'm very confused as to whether I should trust it or not. I have the Polar FT4, do you mind me asking which HRM you have? and do you use it for other activities other than just cardio etc?? many thanks....Maria.
  • JillyBean819
    JillyBean819 Posts: 313 Member
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    That's why I feel like an HRM with a chest strap is an awesome investment.
  • needamulligan
    needamulligan Posts: 558 Member
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    all of the exercise calories burned are on the high level. Not just cleaning!! I only count my cleaning when I do heavy cleaning because I lowered my activity level down to sedetary even though I have 5 kids and am always running around

    lots of good points here. the fitness level we choose assumes a certain number of calories burned per week. have you ever looked at bowling or gardening? those seem crazy high!
  • sylvia1970
    sylvia1970 Posts: 134
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    if i'm on the go and on my feet from the moment i get up to say about 7am then there is nothing that states how many calories i've burnt in a day.

    Its obvious that you have to approach this in a very logical way.

    What i tend to do is if i'm on the move constantly, all morning doing various activities then i would log it down as an hour or two. That would compensate for the rest of the day being actively busy.

    It also depends on how big you are as weight affects metabolism so each individual would burn off fat at different rates.

    Keep it real and it works
  • shaunshaikh
    shaunshaikh Posts: 616 Member
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    I don't think the takeaway here is that you shouldn't log cleaning. i think the takeaway is that MFP can overestimate cleaning or any other activity that you log. It can also way underestimate things, too.
  • elainegsd
    elainegsd Posts: 459 Member
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    I don't think the takeaway here is that you shouldn't log cleaning. i think the takeaway is that MFP can overestimate cleaning or any other activity that you log. It can also way underestimate things, too.
    That was definitely the point the OP was making. Several people chimed in to state that logging cleaning was cheating yourself... I agree with the OP's point, overestimating exercise calories will wreak havoc on weight loss if you eat those calories back.

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