Don't Cheat Yourself.......

heather0416

I agree with you!

heather0416

I’ve seen some light cleaning entries blow away my weight training and cardio workout. Seriously???

I think your frustration with this lies with people who clean every week as a normal function something they have done since day one and they are calling it exercise even though their body is used to the pattern and considers it normal function. However the comment above .....

high burns ... one day i cleaned my house from top to bottom and burned about 2k cals in less than 2 hours but then i mopped scubbed moved furniture and ran around my house until i felt like i was gonna pass out. i have an HRM which separates me from those who use the presorted defaults in the database. but i logged it as cleaning. so sometimes the workouts are blanket statements and the burns are more important.

besides you're not doin it right? so to each their own.

heather0416

I’ve seen some light cleaning entries blow away my weight training and cardio workout. Seriously???

I think your frustration with this lies with people who clean every week as a normal function something they have done since day one and they are calling it exercise even though their body is used to the pattern and considers it normal function. However the comment above .....

high burns ... one day i cleaned my house from top to bottom and burned about 2k cals in less than 2 hours but then i mopped scubbed moved furniture and ran around my house until i felt like i was gonna pass out. i have an HRM which separates me from those who use the presorted defaults in the database. but i logged it as cleaning. so sometimes the workouts are blanket statements and the burns are more important.

besides you're not doin it right? so to each their own.

stinabear13

haha yeah, my 2 kids are very destructive, so any cleaning is vigorus and takes a while and im pouring sweat. im very thurough when i shampoo the carpets so one small room takes about 2+ hours. i do log my mowing the lawn and cleaning, its rare i eat back calories, and if i do i dont eat all of them back. logging things does help motivate me to do more. as a single mother it is rough finding time to really work out much less have some alone time not getting interupted. i dont bother counting laundry or wiping counters or dishes mopping, well the mopping if im having to clean and scrub with a brush because they dumped a bulk size thing of syyrup on the floor. yeah my kids are that messy and they got my clumsyness.

heather0416

I’ve seen some light cleaning entries blow away my weight training and cardio workout. Seriously???

I think your frustration with this lies with people who clean every week as a normal function something they have done since day one and they are calling it exercise even though their body is used to the pattern and considers it normal function. However the comment above .....

high burns ... one day i cleaned my house from top to bottom and burned about 2k cals in less than 2 hours but then i mopped scubbed moved furniture and ran around my house until i felt like i was gonna pass out. i have an HRM which separates me from those who use the presorted defaults in the database. but i logged it as cleaning. so sometimes the workouts are blanket statements and the burns are more important.

besides you're not doin it right? so to each their own.

Sorry. Stupid phone. He's saying if your doing more house work than normal to count it. I totally understand where he's coming from. Don't count doing the dishes because that's an every day thing... scrubbing the floors.. which is going to cause you to break a sweat and is not an every day routine, log that in as exercise. He didn't say not to count cleaning at all..

Gemini_at_36

I have to agree, I cleaned house all day the other day in addition to lawn mowing and walking 45 minutes...I just can't make myself put house cleaning as a cardiovascular activity.:flowerforyou:

ChChCharlie

I agree! Although I did count gardening today as never do any and spent 4 solid hours digging up a couple of tree stumps and lugging a bin back and forward.. Way more strenuous than any workout I've done recently! If it was part of my normal routine I wouldn't log it. I see people logging 'working' 'cleaning' 'sex', surely these are a normal part of our routine?

ladybg81

I mainly count things as exercise that I did not do when I was fat. Like walking/ running 6 days per week in 100 degree weather. I didn't do that before so I count it. I do not count grocery shopping, light cleaning or things like that because I did those when I was fat. However, when I mop, I log because between vacuuming the floors, crawling around cleaning baseboard, swiffering and then mopping (my hardwood floor space is pretty freakin huge) I am sweating like a pig. But I have to say that is pretty much all I would log is if there is significant effort and sweat. My 2 cents as well.

georgiajuly

I see people logging 'working' 'cleaning' 'sex', surely these are a normal part of our routine?

I dunno - sometimes I'm just too lazy for any of these!
Possibly some of these are just for amusement? Once I considered logging a couple of gnats I consumed on a bike ride, but they were too small to have assigned calories.

Mveler

Once I considered logging a couple of gnats I consumed on a bike ride, but they were too small to have assigned calories.

LOVE IT@

ChChCharlie

I see people logging 'working' 'cleaning' 'sex', surely these are a normal part of our routine?

I dunno - sometimes I'm just too lazy for any of these!
Possibly some of these are just for amusement? Once I considered logging a couple of gnats I consumed on a bike ride, but they were too small to have assigned calories.

Ha ha you got it spot on

sunyg

I've started logging carrying my son when we go for walks. He's a 25 pound chunky monkey. I have to get some benefit from it.
I'd log in sex if I was having it, just for the fun of it.

Jenscan

Accuracy is important in logging. But all of the numbers we use are estimates. And sometimes we just have to go with the best number we can get. However, I think one of the important things to remember is that UNDER logging your exercise is just as bad as overlogging it. You should attempt to be just as accurate in your calorie burns as you are with your calorie intake. Not logging something may be "cheating" just as much logging it, depending on the individual circumstances.


^^^From ladyhawk's post - too lazy to quote and delete

This.

I log heavy cleaning and yard work like trimming my hedges. It's very strenuous. I'm going to wear my HRM when I do these next, but I guarantee you it's a significant burn. For day-to-day stuff, no.

I have to log every calorie that goes IN, I'm sure as hell going to log the calories that go OUT if they are over and above my usual activity level..

mrmchap

I always log my hard core cleaning, in other words scrubbing the bathroom from top to bottom while sweating the whole time, and vacuuming the whole house, as "light cleaning" I would rather take TOO little calories for those Non-Normal things than to cheat myself.

Roadie2000

I try not to cheat myself, but I also try to make sure I'm calculating everything correctly.

Some days i do absolutely nothing (well, not so much anymore, but maybe during football season). Other days I work out, cut the grass, take the dog for a walk, cook dinner, do dishes, do laundry, etc. I assume my lifestyle is sedentary because I sit in front of a computer all day, but I don't count the little things. As a general rule, I don't count anything that doesn't make me break a sweat or get my heart rate up. I'll count walking the dog and cutting the grass, but not cooking and cleaning.

shopgirl192

I completely agree with you! Unless it's vigorous gardening/mowing a large lawn, I couldn't ever justify that as exercise. Although, I suppose if they are wearing a HRM to accurately count calories burned. I just finished my school year and I spent 2 weeks packing everything up - of course I burned LOADS of calories, but I didn't log anything. I only log when I'm done with cardio at the gym or swimming!

tacticalhippie

I usually put light cleaning so that I don't cheat myself.
I only count it when it's above what I do at work.... Which is me being on my feet and walking/reaching/etc for 7 hours a day. WHich is 5 days a week so I have MFP set at lightly active. Now when I am off and I clean, I don't log it... nor the weeding I do in my square foot garden.
I also figure my time cleaning down.

I sometimes log walking/shopping with my kiddos when I wear my 36 pound daughter on my back in the ergo carrier. But if we're out for a couple of hours, I usually only log half.

nicole716

BUMP! i agree completely

jessradtke

I don't count everyday cleaning like doing the dishes and laundry, but I figure if I break a sweat or know I'm going to feel it the next day, it counts! lol WHAT I'm doing isn't as important as just getting up and MOVING.

writtenINthestars

Bump...I agree.

Anything I would do regardless i.e. cleaning my house...I don't count it as I've been doing it every week since I was a kid....

Gardening I do not do regularly so when I do set out to do it, it's something I p ut time aside for and it is a workout for me...it's exhausting!

I work a second job where I stand all the time (but my profile is set to sedentary because my FT job is at a desk) and I certainly don't count that as any type of exercise (running around like a crazy person working retail) UNLESS I'm stuck putting a shipment away....cuz that is a heck of a lot of lifting and up and down the ladder!