Let's make a pact: Cleaning house IS NOT AN EXERCISE

zeeeb

i don't add cleaning as an exercise, except when i have to scrub floors and walls at work, and that's because i'm literally on my hands and knees scrubbing and I do actually work up a sweat...

msrjmcp

I just want to know why Azuleelan, you feel entitled to criticize others on what they are choosing to call exercise? If someone wants to claim they burned 600 calories cleaning house then so be it... Does it affect you? Does it impact how many calories you have burned throughout your day? What does it matter to you? In the end, if they log it and they really didn't burn those calories, it only cheats themselves and affects their weight loss achievements... So I say to each his/her own... as long as it doesn't hurt or affect me then what does it matter what someone else logs? I suggest you stop policing others and worry about yourself.

Aylilth

I only add when it's a good clean hard type of house clean. I don't count my everyday mum cleaning/washing etc that I do.

I don't even add everywhere I walk. I mean i don't drive so if I go somewhere it's on foot. Could easly add up exercise cals that way.

PoleBoy

but I thought we all were in sync here to force us to do MORE, to do that extra effort and PUSH ourselves.

No, some of us are here to be HONEST about what we're doing and eating, to avoid the disordered "that doesn't count because ..." mindset\.

suzycreamcheese

but I thought we all were in sync here to force us to do MORE, to do that extra effort and PUSH ourselves.

No, some of us are here to be HONEST about what we're doing and eating, to avoid the disordered "that doesn't count because ..." mindset\.

exactly. We're not all here for the same reasons

Nelski

I think it's funny that so many people get so upset with what others are doing. Some cleaning can be a great calorie burner so if they want to log it, then let them. I would agree that evertyday light cleaning, dishes, laundry, etc probably isn't much of calorie burn beyond your daily activity. But, some serious scrubbing, floor cleaning and things you work on for a while definitley burn a ton of calories. I have seen this topic come up a lot lately and don't know why it's such a big deal.
To each their own.

Natalie0506

I guess if my house was 4000+ square feet, I'd add cleaning. But living where I do, cleaning is a daily thing. I don't add it. That's like adding calories for washing dishes or folding laundry. For me, it's part of my daily activity. Even when I do deep clean, I don't log it. I only log actual workouts.

Mairgheal

So people are reaching 600 calorie "workouts" in part because they "cleaned the house"... wtf??? Should I add "Run to catch the bus" or "jump to reach the mustard"?? We are tryin to lose weight here, let's be honest! Who's in?

:laugh:

I do have to agree. I admit that once of twice I added 20 mins of "light cleaning" to my exercise diary, to avoid going over my cals - but it did feel like I was cheating myself. Those 20 mins cleaning once a week (!) should be part of my normal daily activity level (well, for me anyway)

backinthenines

HAHAHAHA... excellent thread...

That old can of worms... :laugh:

On another site I saw "personal grooming" (i.e. shower, toilet stuff, cleaning your teeth, brushing your hair...) as a legitimate calorie-earning acivity to be added to your "exercise" log....

It's just fantastic!! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

I do wonder how many people have lost significant amounts of weight by brushing their teeth... perhaps if you do it often enough and for long enough, there is less time to pack in the biscuits!!??

backinthenines

agreed.

if I don't sweat, i don't count it.

do you account for the weather in this? :P

I can increase my resting heart rate and break out in a sweat when I'm shoe shopping provided I'm in the right shop!! Excellent... and extra 200 cals for me!! :bigsmile:

michelletyler38

Then do it. You are an adult and we are all responsible for our own weight loss/gain. We all don't have to agree on what is considered exercise but I know when I'm burning calories and when I'm not.

I completely agree. There are people on my friends list who log cleaning everyday & I wonder if their house is THAT dirty but who knows maybe they're a maid!! I only log cleaning maybe 1-2x a month if that & if I have it's because I have spent the majority of the day busting my *kitten* & felt I deserved to log it!! I clean everyday & don't log that. Only when I do a big deep clean.

ejohndrow

*Only we can know, personally, if the cleaning we do should truly be called exercise.
*For something to truly be considered exercise it should get the person's heartrate from the resting heartrate to their target heartrate which is the optimal heartrate at which to burn calories. So, what is considered exercise for one person may not be considered exercise for another.
*A larger person's exercise needs are different than that of a smaller person. Everyone's metabolism is different. For one person walking for 10 min. can be a major source of calorie expenditure, whereas a smaller and more fit person may see this as a daily activity.
*Overall it's a case by case basis. Personally I wouldn't count it because A.) I figure it's already figured in for my daily calorie expenditure, and B.) It doesn't seem to have made much of a difference until now so, personally, I need to do higher intensity workouts.
*I may sound redundant, but overall, it's relative to the person. It comes back only you know if you should log house cleaning as exercise or not.

It's not the same but I think it is similar and valid: at work I had my yearly physical, we got on the topic of exercise which I didn't do nearly enough of at the time. I mentioned that for 30-45 minutes at a time sometimes I would just walk from wingtip to wingtip of the aircraft I guard, while I wear about 20lbs of gear. The Dr. asked if I get my heartrate above the resting heartrate and into the target zone for me which is optimal to burn calories. I said I doubted it. He informed me that while walking around and being active is better than just sitting for 12 hours, it is not really going to help me burn a lot of excess calories.

Long story short, house cleaning is similar.

michelletyler38

I think it's funny that so many people get so upset with what others are doing. Some cleaning can be a great calorie burner so if they want to log it, then let them. I would agree that evertyday light cleaning, dishes, laundry, etc probably isn't much of calorie burn beyond your daily activity. But, some serious scrubbing, floor cleaning and things you work on for a while definitley burn a ton of calories. I have seen this topic come up a lot lately and don't know why it's such a big deal.
To each their own.

Exactly. Now if those same people come on here & ***** about how they're not losing weight let's start a thread about it.. lol. But I've lost almost 30 lbs & I log cleaning!! Clearly it's not stopping my weight loss!

michelletyler38

I clean houses for a living, 3 to 4 hours at each house 2 houses a day. I sweat, I work hard and I don't clean one room then sit on the couch and watch a 30 min program on tv. But even if I didn't clean houses as a job I would still count it if I got my heart rate up for more than 30 min at a time. More people should count this and make it a priority in life. I started out doing this to make mad money but after seeing how filthy some people lived it became a profession.

EXACTLY!!!

pyro13g

You can count it if you use sedentary for your daily needs calculation. One of those "depends" things. Vacuuming my house is 141 calories.

Lexie71

It really doesn't matter if a person counts it or not. Typing a number or activity into a computer might burn an extra calorie.... but what really matters is does your body count it? Logging information is for your mind. Movement is for body and mind. Your body will decide if cleaning counts or not.

waldospt

By definition house cleaning is a physical activity not exercise. Do I think you can put it down to help you calculate calories? Yes. Do I count it? No. It's not a strenuous enough activity. Example: I cleaned out my garage the other day. Did I sweat? Yes, it was hot out. Does it mean I burn calories? Yes, but I don't count it as a day of exercise. I still put in my time lifting weights.

Azuleelan

HAHAHAHA... excellent thread...

That old can of worms... :laugh:

On another site I saw "personal grooming" (i.e. shower, toilet stuff, cleaning your teeth, brushing your hair...) as a legitimate calorie-earning acivity to be added to your "exercise" log....

It's just fantastic!! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

I do wonder how many people have lost significant amounts of weight by brushing their teeth... perhaps if you do it often enough and for long enough, there is less time to pack in the biscuits!!??

Lol! Awesome post!! I never thought about that but I guess it's possible... and I do kind of huff when I have to reach my toes (to clean my feet)!! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

MakingAChoice

So people are reaching 600 calorie "workouts" in part because they "cleaned the house"... wtf??? Should I add "Run to catch the bus" or "jump to reach the mustard"?? We are tryin to lose weight here, let's be honest! Who's in?

Clearly you have never tried to clean MY house. :laugh: My light/moderate involves the same music I use to workout and an increase heart rate. Next time I spend hours recovering my house from my wife and kids destruction I will have to toss on my HRM.

Azuleelan

By definition house cleaning is a physical activity not exercise. Do I think you can put it down to help you calculate calories? Yes. Do I count it? No. It's not a strenuous enough activity. Example: I cleaned out my garage the other day. Did I sweat? Yes, it was hot out. Does it mean I burn calories? Yes, but I don't count it as a day of exercise. I still put in my time lifting weights.

Great post, I wish you were my voice, people tend to get offended with my comments even though they make sense... Like I'm threatening their way of life or something...
Lift away my friend!:drinker:

Azuleelan

So people are reaching 600 calorie "workouts" in part because they "cleaned the house"... wtf??? Should I add "Run to catch the bus" or "jump to reach the mustard"?? We are tryin to lose weight here, let's be honest! Who's in?

Clearly you have never tried to clean MY house. :laugh: My light/moderate involves the same music I use to workout and an increase heart rate. Next time I spend hours recovering my house from my wife and kids destruction I will have to toss on my HRM.

Hey, that's a great idea!! I'll put my HRM too, some music and jump around while I dust, then I would count it as light aerobics! That way nobody would ever know, wwuahahahaha! :bigsmile:

Becky1971

I worked a couple months one summer cleaning retirement apartments.Dusting, vacuming, sweeping, mopping, cleaning kitchen and bathroom. I was forty pounds overweight, and the fat just melted off. You better believe cleaning/housework is exercise. It's up to each individual, what exactly or how much is worth logging.

With that said, personally I have only counted it once. I was curious, so I wore my hrm while sweeping and mopping all the floors, and moving furniture to do so. I burned 399 cals in 11/2 hours. It's not something I do on a regular occasion, (chores are all split up amongst everyone every week).

SabrinaJL

I'm sorry most of you took it sooo bad, I tend to overestimate the resilience of people (though I do recommend also improving that, it's part of self-confidence)


A lovely lady made a joke of me and my mustard-jumping WHILE stating that she does log in her house cleaning. That is resilience. The rest is defensiveness... which is of course a choice. Sad one though.

So basically people who don't agree with what you have to say are defensive and have low self-confidence? :laugh: That's a bizarre leap to make. But I like it! From now on, every time someone disagrees with me, I'm going to vehemently insist it's only because they have low self-confidence (clearly people with high self-confidence would think I was brilliant and witty and agree with every word I say). Then I will log "wasting my breath" as cardio and "clinging to delusions" as strength training. Oh the lbs I will lose!

chrisyoung0422

I believe that people just starting out should record any calories burned and build from there. I personally did and it worked for me. I used to count things like walk dog, clean basement, work in graden etc but now I count only strenuous and fitness related activities.

I found that as I got more fit less calories were burned so it seemed a lot less like exercise. I did not count these "workouts" anymore because I did not feel it was fair to myself when I am trying increase my activity and cleaning etc were really at the same pace for me which was always faster.

This is just my view and how I dealt with it so please no flaming. :noway:

Azuleelan

I'm sorry most of you took it sooo bad, I tend to overestimate the resilience of people (though I do recommend also improving that, it's part of self-confidence)


A lovely lady made a joke of me and my mustard-jumping WHILE stating that she does log in her house cleaning. That is resilience. The rest is defensiveness... which is of course a choice. Sad one though.

So basically people who don't agree with what you have to say are defensive and have low self-confidence? :laugh: That's a bizarre leap to make. But I like it! From now on, every time someone disagrees with me, I'm going to vehemently insist it's only because they have low self-confidence (clearly people with high self-confidence would think I was brilliant and witty and agree with every word I say). Then I will log "wasting my breath" as cardio and "clinging to delusions" as strength training. Oh the lbs I will lose!

Did you read what I said? The lovely lady disagreed with me. It's right there :flowerforyou:

nisijam5

oh and trying to get my fat behind UP the ladder to my sons bunk bed to clear off his shelf of dirty dishes, and to make his bed that I can't reach otherwise.

Why is his butt not climbing up there for the dishes???

johnwhitent

I have to say that it is relative. Right now house cleaning is not something I would record because I am very fit and do two-a-days of running, cycling, and P90X. But for less fit people with lower activity levels house cleaning is probably exercise worth recording. I'm not just voicing a middle of the road "let's all get along" thought; this is science. Covert Bailey explains in his books that from a fitness perspective its all a matter of stressing the body causing physiological reactions. An out of shape person walking uphill may cause the same reactions within their body as an Olympic level athlete does with an all out 100 yard sprint. Bailey is a nutritionist who has a degree in biochemistry from MIT, so I think he knows what he is talking about. So it is an individual thing. For some people housecleaning is true exercise but the same activity for another (like myself) is not exercise.

jsteras

Then do it. You are an adult and we are all responsible for our own weight loss/gain. We all don't have to agree on what is considered exercise but I know when I'm burning calories and when I'm not.

I agree that we shouldn't be hyperanalyzing the actions of others here...it's not negatively affecting you for other people to do that; ultimately everyone is accountable only to themselves. I'm sure you meant well and I think that maybe this topic could have been brought up in a less offensive way. On MFP we don't coddle people, but we do try and be supportive at all times. Lots of people have very high levels of pain where activity is involved, and to them maybe it's exciting to log a small victory. It's not for us to judge what they qualify as a workout.

Very well said! I am wondering why anyone would be bothered by what someone else is logging. I don't have any clue what anyone else is logging, nor do I care (I don't mean that in a mean way). I use MFP to keep MYSELF accountable, and to get POSITIVE SUPPORT from others.

I agree I don't give a rats@#$ what anyone logs as exercise, It doesn't effect me in any way , shape, or form. It won't make me any fatter or thinner. Let's worry about ourselves and focus on that instead of picking apart what people do for exercise. You are responsible for your body not any one else's body.

stormieweather

Ok, I'll interject some facts.

BMR = what you burn doing absolutely nothing.
TDEE = BMR x an activity factor depending on activity level - Harris-Benidict formula uses 1.2 for sedentary, 1.375 for lightly active, 1.55 for moderately active, 1.725 for very active and 1.9 for extra active. These add the calories you normally burn through everyday activity to your BMR to get your maintenance. This include everything you do normally, including your job.

Everything you do burns calories....brushing your hair, sitting and watching tv, cooking dinner. BUT, these calories are included in the activity factor above. So when you set up MFP, you selected an activity level, and MFP added on the factor for that particular level to come up with your daily energy usage (go to home > goals to see yours). If you feel you are burning more than what this activity level allocates, then you may want to consider upping your activity level.

WHen I was not sure how much I was burning, I did a couple of tests and added up every single thing I did all day long using http://www.caloriesperhour.com/index_burn.php. It came close to my FitBit calories and metabolic lab test.

"Exercise" is generally considered to be an activity that is done specifically for the purpose of being or becoming physically fit.

abbyg82

I totally added some housecleaning to my calories one day! If I am just leisurely cleaning..walking around picking things up or wiping things down then no, but If I set my timer & clean vigorously for a set amount of time I will count it. Not to mention I have added a crazy fun dance routine into my daily cleaning activity, and it really gets my heart pumping! The kids love it, I love it and we all get some good exercise! Oh...and anyone who has carried a 20 month old in a baby wrap around the house while vacuuming would feel it counted as an extra calorie burn! :happy: