What is your take on counting calories burned while cleaning

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  • Chagama
    Chagama Posts: 543 Member
    I think a "risk" of counting it is that if it takes 5 hours, you haven't burned an extra 500 calories. If your target is 1800 calories for the day, for example, that comes out to 75 calories per hour. So in five hours, you would have burned 375 calories. You only burned an additional 125 calories with the cleaning. So if you eat an extra 500 calories, you are going over.

    So, in my opinion, when activities take such a long time, that's the problem with counting daily activities like that. Sounds like trying to justify additional eating. But, the bottom line is whether it works for that person. If they count it, and are losing weight, then it's not a problem. If they aren't losing weight, ghat may be the reason.
  • nerdieprofessor
    nerdieprofessor Posts: 512 Member
    THIS!
    Bottom line: What does it matter? Consider yourself lucky that you aren't in a position to consider housecleaning a form of exercise. It doesn't harm you in the least bit if these other people log their cleaning time. However, you could very well be harming someone else's progress by calling them out in a post like this. Maybe one of those people ends up seeing this and says "Forget it. It doesn't count. It doesn't matter. Why don't I just continue to sit on my *kitten*?" Because I assure you that there are plenty of people on here for whom an hour of housecleaning is a big freaking deal, and minimizing their efforts is humiliating and unnecessary.
  • Nana_Booboo
    Nana_Booboo Posts: 501 Member
    I only count the extra exercise I do. I've always cleaned so that's not extra.
  • sblueyez
    sblueyez Posts: 156 Member
    I have mine set to sedentary and I assume that the 1.2 x BMR accounts for cooking and cleaning etc. I DO count out of the ordinary non routine things. For example, I went for a walk, then I spent three hours cleaning and waxing my car. I never wash or wax my car so I did track that activity with my HRM. I ended up "eating" those calories in the form of vodka last night. I realize that my heart rate did not get in to the cardio zone during the car wash and I could have actually gone over my calories but then again, that's something I'll have to deal with if I don't see a loss on the scale. It isn't really a big deal to me. My arms and back feel worked so maybe I did benefit :)
  • ashley67203
    ashley67203 Posts: 95
    I log my weekend cleaning because I only do it once a week. I also severely undercut the actual time I clean. Today I cleaned for almost four hours, but only logged one hour of light cleaning.

    That's exactly what I do. I log cleaning if I feel like I got a workout. I do cardio every morning before work and never feel exhausted from it but I sure do after cleaning. When I do my once a week full clean of the house I'm on my feet for 6-8 hours, running up and down the stairs repeatedly, on my knees or reaching over my head while scrubbing vigorously, lifting heavy furniture and working up a sweat the entire time. At the end of the day I'm beat and my legs, arms and feet are sore. If I wasn't doing something out of the ordinary I wouldn't be sore. Still, I only log half the time as light cleaning because, as hard as I worked and as tired as I feel, I just don't believe I burned as many calories as MFP said I did.
  • sarahgilmore
    sarahgilmore Posts: 572 Member
    i clean once a house week for 4hours non-stop...

    Is there only me who is now wondering if I 'clean' enough?! :embarassed:

    (hoovering my whole house takes about 15 min max, cleaning bathroom - 30 min p/w, everything else - dishes, worktops, laundry - as and when needed?) x
    No, you are not alone. Feeling like a pig right about now.

    pffft, better things to do in life than clean I say!
  • delilah47
    delilah47 Posts: 1,658
    i clean once a house week for 4hours non-stop...

    Is there only me who is now wondering if I 'clean' enough?! :embarassed:

    (hoovering my whole house takes about 15 min max, cleaning bathroom - 30 min p/w, everything else - dishes, worktops, laundry - as and when needed?) x
    No, you are not alone. Feeling like a pig right about now.

    pffft, better things to do in life than clean I say!

    just like the topic... it's really nobody's business but your own :wink:
  • LA723
    LA723 Posts: 92 Member
    i clean once a house week for 4hours non-stop...

    Is there only me who is now wondering if I 'clean' enough?! :embarassed:

    (hoovering my whole house takes about 15 min max, cleaning bathroom - 30 min p/w, everything else - dishes, worktops, laundry - as and when needed?) x
    No, you are not alone. Feeling like a pig right about now.

    pffft, better things to do in life than clean I say!

    LOL Four hours of cleaning once a week doesn't take over one's life. Four hours every day? Maybe so.
  • sarahgilmore
    sarahgilmore Posts: 572 Member
    i clean once a house week for 4hours non-stop...

    Is there only me who is now wondering if I 'clean' enough?! :embarassed:

    (hoovering my whole house takes about 15 min max, cleaning bathroom - 30 min p/w, everything else - dishes, worktops, laundry - as and when needed?) x
    No, you are not alone. Feeling like a pig right about now.

    pffft, better things to do in life than clean I say!

    LOL Four hours of cleaning once a week doesn't take over one's life. Four hours every day? Maybe so.

    hehehe can't go letting that mop and broom think they're more important than they are, they might go getting ideas above their station and then the revolution would begin!
  • AngelsDream4Peace
    AngelsDream4Peace Posts: 116 Member
    i clean once a house week for 4hours non-stop...

    Is there only me who is now wondering if I 'clean' enough?! :embarassed:

    (hoovering my whole house takes about 15 min max, cleaning bathroom - 30 min p/w, everything else - dishes, worktops, laundry - as and when needed?) x
    No, you are not alone. Feeling like a pig right about now.

    pffft, better things to do in life than clean I say!

    LOL Four hours of cleaning once a week doesn't take over one's life. Four hours every day? Maybe so.

    If you are a clean freak, raising hand, this is a dream come true!
  • Thelala
    Thelala Posts: 47 Member
    exactly:heart:
  • Thelala
    Thelala Posts: 47 Member
    THIS!
    Bottom line: What does it matter? Consider yourself lucky that you aren't in a position to consider housecleaning a form of exercise. It doesn't harm you in the least bit if these other people log their cleaning time. However, you could very well be harming someone else's progress by calling them out in a post like this. Maybe one of those people ends up seeing this and says "Forget it. It doesn't count. It doesn't matter. Why don't I just continue to sit on my *kitten*?" Because I assure you that there are plenty of people on here for whom an hour of housecleaning is a big freaking deal, and minimizing their efforts is humiliating and unnecessary.
  • cowgirlslikeus86
    cowgirlslikeus86 Posts: 597 Member
    i clean once a house week for 4hours non-stop...

    Is there only me who is now wondering if I 'clean' enough?! :embarassed:

    (hoovering my whole house takes about 15 min max, cleaning bathroom - 30 min p/w, everything else - dishes, worktops, laundry - as and when needed?) x
    No, you are not alone. Feeling like a pig right about now.


    I laught so hard at this...... I don't spend more then an hour or two a week on my house. I need to clean more.....

    Edited to say: I clean my kitchen daily, takes about 30 min but I don't break a sweat there.
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