am i cheating by counting cooking and cleaning as cardio?

pudadough

If it is something I've always done as part of my daily routine, I don't add it as "cardio." I've done cooking and cleaning my whole adult life. Never made a dent in my calories burned then, why would it now? Lifting weights and high intensity cardio are the only things I add.

thorn777

I always add cardio when i work overtime during the day as well. i don't think it should hurt any as we are moving and doing something all the time, i just put in half the calories it says though

delilah47

After seeing so many threads on this very subject, I just don't understand how some people can actually get pissed off if SOMEONE ELSE is counting housework calories. It's not you! It's not you!! It's not you!! Why do you care??? Why??? I just don't get it.

MFP is one place that accountability is built in. If you don't do it right, guess who is the ONLY one that will suffer?? If a person exaggerates burned calories who won't lose weight?? If a person doesn't log their food, eats too much, and ends up not losing weight, who will feel disappointed?? If a person logs 1000 calories for cooking dinner, who's going to be disappointed when they don't lose weight?? NOT YOU!! So, what difference does it make?? Leave them alone.

FitLink

On what do you base that they've added for that. MFP certainly doesn't say that. It says "spends most of the day sitting." Do people who pay other people to clean their houses and care for their kids, etc have to deduct those calories, since they didn't burn them? Do they have negative cardio? If MFP adds calories for cleaning etc., they don't indicate it anywhere.

I am set for sedentary. I wear a FitBit that records my calorie burn and automatically adds cardio to account for my regular daily activity. My weight loss is exactly what would be expected if those numbers were accurate.

BMR = basal metabolic rate, the number of calories they would feed you if you were in a coma.

When it asks you if you what your lifestyle is, it is multiplying BMR by a certain factor to determine what your caloric needs are for regular daily life. This is adding in calories for getting up and walking around and eating and going places and doing everything that you do in a day.

These numbers are estimates based on your age, height, weight. Of course if you are wearing a heart rate monitor or fitbit, you have a better idea of what your numbers actually are. All of the calculators, and even the MFP exercise database are estimates.

Yes. But the point is, regardless of if my FitBit adds them for me or I manually add them, I do burn calories when I clean. That was the OPs question, and the answer is yes. Yes, you can count cleaning as exercise because it burns more calories than if tyou were what MFP as set sedentary to account for--you getting out of bed and sitting all day.

FitLink

3) Aren't we all smart enough to know not to eat our exercise calories? And on that topic, does it irritate anyone that our daily diary automatically adds those into our available calories. Then you have to subtract them to see what's really left, if you journal after every meal and exercise routine.

No, it doesn't bother me since that's what I want it to do. I've got a deficit already built in so I'll lose at a sustainable speed, even if i never exercise--or clean. When I exercise, I eat those calories, because the deficit is already there, you following? So I lose that pound a week no matter what.

FitLink

Calories burned are calories burned no matter HOW they are burned. YES, they DO count as calories burned. What scientific reason could there be that they didn't count?

Yes, all calories burned count. The question is though is what counts as "regular daily activity", are these calories already accounted for in your settings, and does "sedentary" really mean doing nothing as some posters in this thread seem to imply.

I can only go by what MFP SAYS it means. And they say it means "spend most of the day sitting." It only makes sense to base this on what the people who designed the site say they based it on. And it's not "doing nothing." I t's "spending most of the day sitting."

WaterBunnie

Can I claim back calories for the time I sit working out how many calories I can log? ;-)

katysmelly

I am a Stay-at-home-mom. I set my activity level to "sedentary." I figure I spend a lot of day sitting down, just like someone with an office job does. And, someone with an office job does do some housework when they get home. So, I set "sedentary" as my base.

I don't count a lot of my housework - I don't count preparing meals, doing general tidying in the evenings, etc. However, I do a session of intensive cleaning and I count that. I'll try to explain what I do as briefly as possible -

I make up a big to-do list of things to clean. I emphasize things that require a lot of movement (hoovering, cleaning baseboards, making beds) and leave off stuff where you stand mostly still, like washing dishes or folding laundry - those get done at other times, anyway. I make the list deliberately inefficient/strenuous. For example, there are three beds upstairs. I'll put each bed on the list as a separate thing. The point is - I have to go back to the list to cross off one before going back up to make another bed. That's three trips up the stairs instead of one. I make the list so that I'm doing lots of separate trips up the stairs, breaking things up so that I have to go back to the list on the kitchen counter. When I do this session, I make a point of really hustling. I run up the steps two-at-a-time. I move furniture and clean things that probably don't even need to be cleaned. Does my sofa need to be moved for hoovering every day? No. But, I do it, anyway. And, here's the final thing I do so that I can call it exercise: Before I cross anything off the list, I have to do a set of exercises like push-ups, crunches, squats, etc. I keep myself moving as quickly as safely/sanely possible and I'm frequently puffing a bit!

I set a stopwatch app on my phone and I go and run through the list as fast as I can. If I'm interrupted by the phone or doorbell or something, I'll pause the stopwatch until I can resume my routine.

I generally take about 90 minutes to two hours to get through the list.

When I'm all done, I go to a website that lists calories burned for various activities by weight and time. I calculate that. Then, I subtract the calories that I would have burned if I'd been sitting at my computer posting nonsense to MFP, and I subtract that. The difference I enter as calories burned.

I think this makes as much sense as putting on a low-impact aerobics DVD and exercising. It get my house really, really clean and it's not boring like dancing around my living room would be.

Escarda

your suppose to not count things you do on a day-to -day basis.
That is why they have activity levels..

But like i never, ever tidy. You cannot see my floor. And there is moldy food in the room.
The last time i tidyed was several months ago..
Which is why if i tidy, i log it!
However if i was a cleaner, or if i cleaned on a daily basis, then i would be less inclined too..

jpuderbaugh

I count it. As a Pampered Chef consultant, I often am cooking for 8 hours straight if not longer, preparing food for the party, then cooking at the party, then I unload the car at home and clean up, usually cooking supper afterwards. And I speed walk when grocery shopping because I hate Wal-Mart and want out of there ASAP.

then you should adjust your settings to lightly active....

I don't cook for 8 hours a day on a normal regular basis. Sometimes not even once a week. I'm keeping my settings what they are. It's my life, it's my body. If I want to log the way I do, then I'm gonna. You won't hear me complaining that I'm not losing the way I want to if it doesn't work out the way I want it to, so don't worry about it. Like I said, it's my life, not yours to worry about. Worry about your own life.

jpuderbaugh

After seeing so many threads on this very subject, I just don't understand how some people can actually get pissed off if SOMEONE ELSE is counting housework calories. It's not you! It's not you!! It's not you!! Why do you care??? Why??? I just don't get it.

MFP is one place that accountability is built in. If you don't do it right, guess who is the ONLY one that will suffer?? If a person exaggerates burned calories who won't lose weight?? If a person doesn't log their food, eats too much, and ends up not losing weight, who will feel disappointed?? If a person logs 1000 calories for cooking dinner, who's going to be disappointed when they don't lose weight?? NOT YOU!! So, what difference does it make?? Leave them alone.

Exactly.

kurenaikumo

Hardcore cleaning is definitely a work-out in and of itself!

thebigcb

3) Aren't we all smart enough to know not to eat our exercise calories? And on that topic, does it irritate anyone that our daily diary automatically adds those into our available calories. Then you have to subtract them to see what's really left, if you journal after every meal and exercise routine.

No, it doesn't bother me since that's what I want it to do. I've got a deficit already built in so I'll lose at a sustainable speed, even if i never exercise--or clean. When I exercise, I eat those calories, because the deficit is already there, you following? So I lose that pound a week no matter what.

I always eat my calories burned(maybe not all them, but defo some. Only way

tanyaleighcummings

If I work hard enough to sweat I log it...be it cleaning, cooking or even sex.

I create exercise as part of my daily routine though, so I am always 'working out' to a greater or lesser extent. Have stairs at home, work, public transit station? Sprint up as fast as you can to the top and then head back down to your floor. 1 min. After I eat I do sprints on the grass unless it is raining...only takes up 1 min of my time. Walk and try to beat your time. Log it.

If you are really concerned, get a heart rate monitor and just log your actual calories after you do something. If you want to log it that is.

thebigcb

I actually think the idea is to use the exercise calories burned to help you saty within your food calorie target for the day. It would mean that people would say "ah, I'd lvoe a mars bar, but I'm going to have to hit the threadmill for 30minutes if I want one", promotes exercise.

I think you have it worng not eating them to be honest. And if you want your target calories for the day to remain net(of exercise), simply don;t log your exercise no?

Selma10001984

I think that a calorie burned is a calorie burned. If you are honest with your numbers then if it keeps you motivated then by all means continue !! )

Shushie5

I like your response. I think we can count too it if we feel like it is a workout (1+ hours of cleaning/housework), but keep the numbers very modest/ow. You are acknowledging you did the work which is good but you don't want to sabatage your weight loss either.

My challenge is to go below my range 100-200 calories: I think that gives a better buffer to loose weight. It is hard...Consistency...consistency... :-)

Ballybabe1

Sorry didnt read all the posts so if I'm repeating I apologise.

I dont always count it but if I am having a bad patch and i know that going over my cals will just send me into an eating frenzy then I look whatever I can to make my day look better, it has the end result of motivating me to do better the next day and get back on track and thats what its all about. AND of course you are burning cals when cleaning etc especially on those days where I go thru the house like a woman possessed, thats definitely a good cal burn. Mind u (totally different discussion) the place is wrecked again within hours, well at least I feel like I burned cals even if the house was only respectable looking for a few hours ! Best of luck.

SuzanneKBar

yes and no...yes because in your profile you answered how active you are on a normal day, therefore you should only count what is above and beyond "normal" everyday activity.....but on the other hand if you are looking for motivation, and if you are like me sometimes adding up all that little stuff actually motivates me to do more to see how many calories I can burn.

summertime_girl

You're cheating yourself, yes.