Does cleaning count?

MrsH06

Should I count cleaning as exercise? Thanks :flowerforyou:

saldridge

Depends - did you break a sweat?

SunLovin1

Well, I've always cleaned my house and didn't lose any weight, so I don't count my normal, daily activities. Some folks do, though.

JustMichelleB

Not imo. Unless you are doing major cleaning (like top to bottom, once a year spring cleaning, where you're doing windows, things you don't normally do day to day).

SweetP88

I figure that if cleaning counted then I would never have needed MFP......I would have already been a skeleton LOL!! I don't count anything that doesn't make me break a sweat for at least 30 min.

MelissaL582

If I break a sweat (like scrubbing the floors), I'll add it. I clean everyday (3 kids) but I still got fat. So I don't add those every day things.

ajbeans

Depends. If you have your activity level set to sedentary, then you can count some of it. I think MFP gives a really high burn estimate, so I tend to only count half of my time, and I don't count the time I spent standing in the kitchen washing dishes or other stationary activities. But I do count for vacuuming, picking up all the toys off the floor (that's a lot of bending!), mopping, sweeping the garage, that kind of thing. Because it does burn calories. But like I said, I'm pretty sure MFP estimates high, so I don't count all of my time. Some people on here say they don't count it because they were doign that stuff when they gained weight, so clearly it didn't help -- but I disagree with that. A lot of people on here were fairly active and overweight. Does that mean they shouldn't count their walk around the block? No. Because now your caloric intake is different.

At the end of the day, it's really up to you. I've lost 17 lbs and I count housework. A lot of people have been successful and don't count it. Do what works for you.

bhb301

My motto is if I did it before, and it didn't help me get skinny, it won't now

LynnBirchfield

It's listed under cardio.

corrinnebrown

I count it. I don't count the days when I clean up the kitchen, pick up the toys...ect BUT I count the days when I scrub, sweep, mop, vacuum and break a sweat.

bmontgomery87

I don't count daily activities.

Lifting weights, cardio, and sports I count.
Everything else, it's kind of ridiculous to try to give myself credit for it, just so I can eat more food.

Could lead to a clean house tho." I'm really hungry, I'f I vacuum I can eat a snack"

MB_Positif

I only log it if I am going above and beyond my normal daily/weekly routines.

lilscotslass

I do, as I clean so rarely and don't move much on a day to day basis. So anything that's me moving I tend to count as exercise.

maysflower

I don't count my normal everyday activities.

stroutman81

I broke a sweat in my sleep last night as the air temperature was warmer than expected, I left my heater running, and the down comforter is still on my bed. Should I count this since I sweated A LOT!?

Chrissyvk

Depends. If you have your activity level set to sedentary, then you can count some of it. I think MFP gives a really high burn estimate, so I tend to only count half of my time, and I don't count the time I spent standing in the kitchen washing dishes or other stationary activities. But I do count for vacuuming, picking up all the toys off the floor (that's a lot of bending!), mopping, sweeping the garage, that kind of thing. Because it does burn calories. But like I said, I'm pretty sure MFP estimates high, so I don't count all of my time. Some people on here say they don't count it because they were doign that stuff when they gained weight, so clearly it didn't help -- but I disagree with that. A lot of people on here were fairly active and overweight. Does that mean they shouldn't count their walk around the block? No. Because now your caloric intake is different.

I totally agree with this reply. I count it, because I sit on my butt all day at work.

joaniegray

Great question, one I asked myself. I do not count it though as I see it as regular activity such as sleeping (apparently we do burn calories as we sleep).

PJilly

I broke a sweat in my sleep last night as the air temperature was warmer than expected, I left my heater running, and the down comforter is still on my bed. Should I count this since I sweated A LOT!?

Only if I get to count my hot flashes.

Jill_newimprovedversion

I'd like to know this myself. I do this for a living- and I don't stop moving once I get started, which varies from 4 1/2 hrs. to 6- and I break a sweat.
But when I clean around my own house, I never clean the same way.
My doctor told me I can't count my work as exercise because my body is used to that level of activity.
I'm going to see if he's right- now that I'm learning to eat CORRECTLY and not skip meals- which I've done all my life.

2dloser

I would say that vacuuming counts. My Kirby Vacuum cleaner is quite heavy and when I had surgery, they told me not to vacuum because I needed to be careful on my tummy muscles. I have worked up a sweat lugging that thing around.

ajbeans

I also disagree with the notion that you can only count it if you work up a sweat. If it's cool in your house, you won't sweat, even if you're working hard. Some people don't sweat anyway. I personally don't sweat for the first 15 minutes of a hard workout (and I mean HARD), and then I start to pour. But I'm still burning calories for those 15 minutes. If you're moving, you're burning. It might be a small burn, but it's happening.

stroutman81

My point is, anything that involves sweating shouldn't be considered exercise. Put simply, sweat rate is not a reliable metric. I love MFP for its community, but personally I think it's rather silly to try and estimate each and every single calorie expended. Let's face it... any activity expends energy. The more intense or voluminous the activity, the more calories that are burned. But if we're trying to estimate total TEA (thermic effect from activity), shouldn't we be estimating the low-energy-cost and high-energy-cost activities? Considering how horribly inaccurate most calorie expenditure estimations are, it seems too slippery of a slope if you ask me. Plus it's tedious.

I'd much sooner pick a reasonable daily calorie goal and if it doesn't cause the changes I'm shooting for, I adjust the daily calorie goal up or down as needed.

But that's me.

taiyola

I do. I don't add the normal things I do every day like washing up for 10 minutes or putting the washing machine on and unloading it or cleaning the bath before I get in it/after I get out, but if I'm going a general tidy up for an hour which includes picking up stuff off the floor, cleaning the bathroom and kitchen, hoovering and mopping the floors then I do. I choose the 'light to moderate effort' one.

Bootzey

I don't. I have been cleaning my home for years and never lost any weight. All the things that I normally do in a day (or night) I just don't count. I only count the purposeful stuff.