RE- Cleaning may be the only exercise you can do...FOR NOW.

xlacijeanx

it might be moving and no one is ever going to say that being active is not a good thing but its still not exercise in the cardio sense

Good for you making those steps though

Carry 200lbs on your back and clean your house while carrying it- wear a HRM and i GUARANTEE you've burned some major calories. IT IS EXERCISE for those who can barely move and for those who can't hop on a treadmill.

You need to do some research before saying things like this.... I was just watching The Doctors on tv yesterday and a girl burned an extra 700 calories in one day by simply washing her dishes by hand instead of the dishwasher, by walking to her co-worker's desk instead of sending an email, and taking one floor of stairs instead of the elevator. Don't tell me 700 calories burned is not exercise- it obviously is if it's burning calories like that!

schnarfo

anyone that size worn a heart rate monitor whilst cleaning for 5 mins? i would actually be interested to see how many calories it burned.

simplysara9

I absolutely agree with you. I know when I was doing Weight Watchers they had things like gardening / mowing the lawn / cleaning house etc as exercise and I always gave it the side eye but then once you start doing those things and you are running around it definitely makes the world of difference.

The only time I would not count those activities as exercise is if it's part of your daily routine. If it's only done once a week then I would definitely count those as calories burned!

jaysp87

anyone that size worn a heart rate monitor whilst cleaning for 5 mins? i would actually be interested to see how many calories it burned.

Think about it this way....my friend is smaller than me, we can do the same work out and I will burn sometimes double the amount she does. Simply because I weigh more. I didn't work harder than her but because of my weight I did. I am not overweight, I have little to lose, but still - weigh more, you burn more. Just like your bmr is higher if you weigh more, because your body works harder to just breathe.

Some people do get their heart rate up to the same rate by cleaning for 10 minutes that you do spending say, 30-60 minutes in the gym. It all depends how much weight your body has.

hpsnickers1

any activity involving movement will burn more calories than just sitting there. Even standing burns more calories than just sitting. I once tracked my calorie burn on my HRM while scrubbing a shower. I burned over 400 in an hour and a half (and I was about 125lbs at the time - 5'2"). Just staying active through the day will burn more calories than just sitting.

I don't log that activity but I do take note. You don't have to get your heart rate up to burn calories. In fact you are probably burning quite a bit of fat and carbs doing household chores. Intense cardio exercise can burns a higher percentage of carbs than fat and will also burn off muscle if you do too much of it.

I have a BodyMedia Fit. This measure calorie burn 24/7. I had a very, very lazy Sunday in front of the TV. I burned 1641. I had a Sunday where I stayed active and moving all day. Not intense housecleaning just your basic laundry, straigtening up and just trying to stay off the couch. (I did some sitting that day). I burned over 2000. That's a big difference in calories burned.

Ms_Natalie

I agree with this...I don't personally log my cleaning calories, but when I spend a good 5 hours in the garden I certainly do. The day after my body feels like I've done more than a 5 mile jog (which I do often)

I think it's good that MFP offers these exercise options to users. From my own experience, the more I became involved in my eating and exercise, the more I wanted to do. I started off just by logging gardening and it soon progressed into jogging 5 miles 3 - 4 days a week.

:flowerforyou:

schnarfo

whatever works for people if they are happy and achieving their goals it thats what matters eh?

im jealous of the big burns heavier people have with calories however.... id have to work my *kitten* off for a week in the gym just getting calorie burns that someone can get just walking

westo22

Don't let it get to you, people bring others down to bring themselves up. Well done on your goal.

HeatherShrinking

whatever works for people if they are happy and achieving their goals it thats what matters eh?

im jealous of the big burns heavier people have with calories however.... id have to work my *kitten* off for a week in the gym just getting calorie burns that someone can get just walking

Did you ever think that maybe they are working their *kitten* off just by walking?

toots99

Someone really posted that to you?! :noway: That's as rude as someone saying "Oh girl, you need to stop eating. Not trying to offend - please don't take the wrong way - but you are the size of an elephant. You have no muscle mass and your fat is sticking out everywhere."

SandyLee1961

I was debating whether or not to post in this topic. Well, as you can see I decided. I have a large home and I have 5 children. Yes, before someone asks, all the children (except the 2 year old) has chores. When I clean my house, I just don't run a feather duster over the furniture or do a light vacuum. I move furniture to vacuum under, I get out my "spider" tool to dust my ceiling (OLD HOUSE - HIGH ceilings), I take everything off the furniture, dust under it and then dust the items - I clean the fireplaces throughly - getting the idea right? In other words, when I'm cleaning my house, you better believe I'm losing some calories. So, when I do this, you bet I count it. When I do the normal, everyday tidy - nope, that I don't count - or the laundry I do on a daily basis..nope don't count that, though I AM bending and stretching and standing...etc. The point is though, EVERYONE is different. What may be easy for me (moving my couch to get under it) may be damn difficult for someone else. And everyone should be given support in their exercise goals. The only person in the end who is going to know whether counting those cleaning calories is working - well, that's the person who is looking back at you in the mirror. And for me? It's working.

eeeekie

The mods are def being kept on their toes today lol

Even if I disagree with someone I don't think we should result to name calling or picking on someone. Stick to the topic at hand.

jaysp87

Yikes. i didn't see that post, that was rude. You are working hard, and whoever posted that you should eat something is being really mean and rude.

whatever works for people if they are happy and achieving their goals it thats what matters eh?

im jealous of the big burns heavier people have with calories however.... id have to work my *kitten* off for a week in the gym just getting calorie burns that someone can get just walking

You are right, whatever works. But also - someone who burns those high calories by just walking ARE working their *kitten* off. That is why you adjust your work out as you lose more weight, because what you once did is no longer working. Your body adjusted, you lost weight/fat, so you need to work harder to burn the same amount. Once the weight starts coming off, everyone has to start working more. And eating less. That is why MFP adjusts your calorie intake when you weigh less or weigh more. You can eat more calories when you weigh more because your body needs that as fuel, less you weigh the less calories aka fuel your body needs. The bigger the size of a gas tank the more fuel you feed it.

catcrazy

Moderators do not like removing posts but if deemed to be offensive the original post is removed along with any quotes of that post. In this case I deemed the original post very offensive and aimed at one person, hence its removal along with any direct quotes.

Can I please remind you of the forum rules, number 4 in particular



Do not attack/slam/insult other users. The forums are here so that members can help support one another. Attacks or insults against each other takes away from the supportive atmosphere and will not be tolerated. You can discuss the message or topic, but not the messenger - NO EXCEPTIONS. If you are attacked by another user, and you reciprocate, YOU will also be subject to the same consequences. Defending yourself, defending a friend, etc. are NOT excuses. Violations of this rule are taken very seriously and may result in being banned without warning! If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.

Best regards,
CatCrazy
MyFitnessPal Forum Moderator

Ms_Natalie

Hi there,

We do not want users to experience personal insults on this forum. It is totally unacceptable and is against the rules of the MFP forums. The posts were removed to avoid further upset and to avoid the thread from escalating further.

Anyone abusing other members of the forum is issued with a warning.

Natalie
MyFitnessPal Forum Moderator.

Didn't realise catcrazy had posted too..
Hopefully two moderator responses will strengthen the reason for removing the post. :flowerforyou:

lcoulter23

those topics bother me as well. Three weeks ago I could barely get through a 10 minute exercise video without gasping for air and resting every couple of seconds, now I can get through a 45 minute work out gasping for air and only having to stop if I get a leg cramp.I started out just cleaning, doing laundry and stuff like that. I would literally have to stop and rest because I would be gasping from air. If you are like me and you have to catapult yourself over the edge of the washing machine just to reach the socks at the bottom then you really will get a good workout cleaning. I also have to jump to get down paper towels and the windex and laundry soap because a bunch of tall guys put up the shelving in our laundry room.

toots99

You know when someone say "Not trying to offend - please don't take the wrong way -..." they are about to say something unbelievably rude. "She called me a skeleton, but you know, she said I shouldn't be offended, so that makes it all ok." People amaze me.

Mike

I'm actually going to post the third (and final) moderator response to this post. I'm locking this topic because I think it's been discussed enough, and apparently there are some angry and hurt feelings being caused by this issue.

As a general reminder, I want to make sure a few things are clear:

- Attacks and insults are not allowed on the MyFitnessPal forums at any time, under any circumstance. Self-defense is not an excuse. If you've been attacked or insulted, use the Report Post link to let us know and a moderator will investigate - that is the only acceptable course of action. If you attack back, you will be as guilty as they are, and risk having your posting privileges suspended.

- If you disagree with someone, it's fine to disagree as long as you do so respectfully and politely. If you cross the line into a personal attack or excessive sarcasm, etc., your post may be removed and you may receive a warning or even a suspension. We encourage healthy debates, as long as everyone remains respectful to one another.

- Mods remove posts because they either violate our forum rules, or the mods feel they will help alleviate a tense situation. Please understand that we remove posts and topics, and lock topics, as infrequently as possible, but we also need to make sure that the forums remain a positive and supportive environment for everyone. If you have an issue with a moderator action, you can send a private message to one of the mods or to myself and we'll look into it. But protesting moderator actions on the forums themselves is not permitted.

Thanks in advance for everyone's cooperation. Hope you are enjoying the site.