Do you consider this exercise?

bnovak226

this post is stupid. some people have health problems and taking the trash out might be a big deal to them. if dont like id dont log it. its an OPTION. TO EACH THERE OWN. no one should judge another persons "progress"

jayliospecky

If you have yourself set to truly sedentary, that means you sit on your butt ALL DAY. Walking around burns twice the number of calories as it does sitting down. Maybe they are 600lbs and even walking to the bathroom or tying their shoes is a daily struggle. Maybe they suffer from obsessive compulsive disorder and can not function without logging every last moment of movement. It's not a perfect formula. 1200 calories is not a magic number. If they want to eat that extra 5 calories MFP gives them for taking out the trash, that is not going to be the ultimate cause of their success in weight loss and a healthy lifestyle.

I've logged my cleaning before, does that make me a worthy of your scorn and ridicule? Am I a failure?

Hear, hear! Or is it here, here!? Suddenly I'm not sure.

But, either way, I concur! (Not that you're a failure, or that you are worthy of my scorn and ridicule...I concur with the first paragraph.) :laugh:

:drinker:

cjpg

Let me tell ya, any decent nutritionist or trainor will tell you that "household chores" that involve up and down stairs, squatting/bending over, sweeping or vacumming, dusting (where your squatting/bending over/etc) will definately count as exercise. It raises your heartrate and elevates your core body temp (sweating) thus help you burn more calories than just at rest/watching tv, reading etc. Your losing weight is a combination of caloric intake/expenditure and nutrition, and if you dont keep tabs on all three, you'll be missing a chunk of info in your weight loss goal. Of course maybe your just looking to drop 1 or 2 lbs then its overkill, but if you have a significant goal (more muscle, less fat, or keep the muscle and just shave off the fat etc) than things like those activitites are best left (if possible) to be done on your rest days where it can be considered an active rest day..which bumps up your metabolism as well as your caloric expenditure for that day and gives you twice the benefit because your getting your blood to circulate more than normal thus aiding in getting oxygenated blood to the muscles (sore) that are recouperating.

Dont listen to opinions, get the facts and stay the course.

Thank GOD! Someone in this thread with a true understanding of what their talking about!!

What I think people tend to forget is there are different levels of exercise - extremely mild to extremely intense. It incorporates a wide variety of activities in the day, including the mundane ones. People are constantly burning calories so any form of exercise brings that calorie burn higher, as mild or as intense as the activity is.

While I personally don't log anything other than long walks, jogs or weight training I still count these activities as boosts throughout the day. By not logging it, I'm actually doing myself a favour because my deficit would be higher.

Yes, these are facts. Educate yourself people!

cmpettey

I don't count cleaning either unless I'm breaking a sweat or doing it for a really long period of time. If someone else wants to log it, then I think it's OK. It's their weight loss journey. If logging every activity is working for them, then great.

PoleBoy

The point is to correct what MFP thinks you're burning in a day with your AMR.

I use a body media device to identify when I was burning, and I log as appropriate to square things up. If I lose weight I'm not adding enough exercise, if I gain weight I'm adding to much.

If you don't like the way I use MFP, you can ki$$ my *kitten*.

SuzieZimm

I use the little things like taking out the trash, walking to the mailbox, etc, to help account for any mis-logging of calories, like if i go a little over a serving size when pouring myself cereal, etc. I dont keep track of every little active thing; i don't think the exact numbers are that crucial (and, anyway, I don't know how accurate the calorie value are on here for the activities..doesn't seem to take into account an individual's body type, etc.)

rrcaudill

I have deep cleaned my house pretty much every day for the past 7 years, so I don't log it. Even now that I clean my house and my parents' house (because my mom is sick and can't do it anymore), I still don't log it. Since I've always cleaned, I don't see it as exercise.

dmouse0225

I don't count the regular daily stuff (cooking, light cleaning, etc)... but when I have a day of deep cleaning, organizing or furniture moving, I count that because it is out of the norm. That doesn't make me lazy or a cheat. I exercise almost everyday, and sometimes those days of cleaning wipe me out even more. If people want to count some of the more active daily things, who are we to tell them not to.

annacataldo

if your settings are sedentary, it looks at your alloted calories like you never got out of bed. so, in theory, you should track all your movements. however, i think trips to the bathroom or walking to the kitchen, shouldnt be tracked, unless you have a body bug or something that you wear all day long and can acuratly log the exact number of extra calories you burnt past your allotted.

If i spend time cleaning, besides just wiping down the counter really quick, or some basic task, i log it, because im sedentary. if i had my settings at lightly active, i would never log cleaning. If i spend, say, 20 minutes (or longer) cleaning, then i log it, but any less, and i generally dont log it unless it was really strenuous and i was dripping sweat quickly or something. and i only log cooking if im making a big meal, i dont log making a sandwich.

you could also be cheating yourself by not logging little things, because if your allowed 1200 calories, the bare minimum and you burn 200 and dont log it, its like youve only eaten 1000 calories, putting yourself in jeopardy of starvation mode, your muscles eating each other to find the nutrition it needs, and so forth.

and just cuz u see friends log cleaning, doesnt mean they are actually cleaning. today i logged an activity as cleaning, even though i was walking all over the farm feeding the animals, and bringing in firewood, and those sorts of things. and after that i logged that i was moving boxes even though i was stacking firewood and moving branches and limbs that had got knocked down in the snow storm and pushing a wheelbarrel around the farm... never moved a single box.

ebaywidow

I don't count cooking or taking out the trash, but when I'm on a house cleaning binge, you better believe I count it. I can go at it for hours, and believe me, I'm not being LAZY. I sweat my butt off. I still do my cardio & strength training. I think it's up to you what you want to count. Just don't cheat yourself. Good topic

latinahada

If it is outside of my regular daily activities, I do log cleaning. I use my HRM and for instance the other day I cleaned for 3hrs and burned over 1000 cals. If it is just picking up around the house for 10 mins., no I don't log. I don't clean every day, therefore when I do it is time consuming and generally a vigorous effort. Also, I try not to worry about what others are doing and focus on myself. If something is working for someone, great for them!!

jfks35

I guess it really depends upon what your definition of "exercise" is and what your personal goal is. I don't consider house work, cooking, etc exercising - personally I think vacuuming SUCKS!

Not judging - I think it's a very slippery slope into fooling yourself that you "exercised" today when you are not holding yourself accountable for doing more strenuous disciplined workout like weight lifting, running, swimming, biking, martial arts, etc if you are able. Typical exercise would involve prolonged increase in heart rate - not usually just moving around the house. I could easily justified myself that I did some walking throughout the day so I shouldn't need to go hit the gym this afternoon. I only log if I go to the gym, dojang, ski or surf in decent waves for at least an hour. As a master instructor in Tae Kwon Do, I have to teach new students occasionally. Many have a variety of different excuses about why they haven't trained, can't train, shouldn't train, can't try this technique, etc. They are only cheating themselves and holding themselves back from attaining their goals. If they can change their attitude towards training and their individual goals, the difference is dramatic. Some do, some don't...so like I started off with - depends what your definition of "exercise" is and what your personal goal is.

sexforjaffacakes

if your settings are sedentary, it looks at your alloted calories like you never got out of bed. so, in theory, you should track all your movements.

Nuh uh. Your BMR is what you'd burn if you were literally in bed all day - my bmr is 1600, my maintenance calories are 2000, because MFP accounts for things like bathroom trips, food preparation, light housework etc

JamesonsMommy

ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS THIS
vig·or·ous/ˈvig(ə)rəs/
Adjective:
1.(of a person) Strong, healthy, and full of energy.
2.Characterized by or involving physical strength, effort, or energy: "vigorous aerobic exercise".

(THINK BEFORE YOU LOG IT PEOPLE... WAS IT REALLY VIGOROUS?)

hiemerapril

Well let me chime in here. I just deep cleaned my house today. Mopped, vacuumed (including under beds) cleaned all the bathrooms and kitchen. This wasn't the normal, daily picking up that I do but a whole house clean. I wore my HRM while I did this for 4 hours and burned 799 calories. My activity level on here is set to sedentary and I sure as heck was NOT sedentary for those 4 hours. So I back out my existence calories for that time period and it's an extra 605 calories I burned today. You better believe I'm counting THAT.

Now, I do not count cooking dinner, picking up the house, taking out the trash, doing laundry, but over and above like today? You bet it's exercise.

I agree with this!! This is also how I do it!

SammyPacks

If I had a longer than normal walk in a day I'd count it even if I didn't really break a sweat, but normally I don't feel like I'm doing something unless I'm sweating :P

hiemerapril

If it is outside of my regular daily activities, I do log cleaning. I use my HRM and for instance the other day I cleaned for 3hrs and burned over 1000 cals. If it is just picking up around the house for 10 mins., no I don't log. I don't clean every day, therefore when I do it is time consuming and generally a vigorous effort. Also, I try not to worry about what others are doing and focus on myself. If something is working for someone, great for them!!

Very good point, I feel the same!

Savyna

I dont clean often and cook probably every other day. I do count it when I do do it. I don't do it to cheat as some have snidely mentioned but just to make sure I put it down for my own reference. I still do my exercising on top of that. I think it depends on the person and what they want to do/add to their diary.

Blessedmommy_2x

Unless its something I don't do often Like hours of moving boxes etc or MAJOR spring cleaning... I wouldn't log it. Because the cooking, cleaning, mopping, laundry etc. is stuff I normally do everyday and it clearly never helped me lose any additional weight before. I only count "exercising" - intentionally.

NewTeena

I don't log anything I would normally do as exercise because in the past my normal activity hasn't lost me any weight.