Thoughts about burning calories by cleaning?

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Replies

  • bobie1978
    bobie1978 Posts: 204 Member
    I don't mean to bash the stay-at-home moms who have a hard time establishing an official workout time, but sometimes when I see how many calories some people burn by putting "cleaning, moderate effort" into their diary it makes me feel like all the sweat pouring off of me when I jog at night is for nothing.
    I have also heard from numerous people that myfitnesspal tends to overestimate calories burned on many exercises.
    So, how do you feel about having "cleaning" as an exercise? Do you think it really burns that many calories?

    I have a hrm and when I clean I put it on and it burns about 200 per hour... that is about average for me. I was just curious as to how much I actually burned while cleaning.
  • Cyngen
    Cyngen Posts: 557 Member
    I count it, right now I'm a work from home Dad ... empty nesters here! When I'm counting it I'm washing down counters and cupboards, the stove, micro, fridge, cleaning floors and vacuuming the entire 1500 sq ft of carpet in the house. I'm moving at a faster pace.

    I think the caloric burn is overestimated on here, but then I don't eat back any exercise calories.
  • jennifer52484
    jennifer52484 Posts: 888 Member
    You burn the calories cleaning yes, but I wouldn't go as far as to log it. Just consider it bonus calories burned
  • Justacoffeenut
    Justacoffeenut Posts: 3,749 Member
    I do use cleaning but I only put in a fraction for the time I am doing and only of the time I was doing major cleaning. I also only count the lowest amount (light,moderate).

    So if I spend 5 hours major cleaning then I may count 30 min light to moderate. And with my family it is not unheard of for me to spend that much several times a week. Also sometimes I combine exercise with my cleaning. Then I log a fraction of both.
  • autumnk921
    autumnk921 Posts: 1,374 Member
    Any exercise - lifting, cardio, walking, yard work, housework - I use my HRM...I only put it in my exercise log if it is cleaning that I don't do on a normal basis or when I clean my mom's house for her which is massive & takes about 2hrs to clean b/c this is not my normal day to day routine....Also, if I do something for more than 30 minutes & I break out in a sweat I am burning calories more than normal....Just my opinion...And it depends on what you set your daily activities as as well...
  • ChristineMarie89
    ChristineMarie89 Posts: 1,079 Member
    I don't mean to bash the stay-at-home moms who have a hard time establishing an official workout time, but sometimes when I see how many calories some people burn by putting "cleaning, moderate effort" into their diary it makes me feel like all the sweat pouring off of me when I jog at night is for nothing.
    I have also heard from numerous people that myfitnesspal tends to overestimate calories burned on many exercises.
    So, how do you feel about having "cleaning" as an exercise? Do you think it really burns that many calories?
    before i set my activity level to lightly active i USED to log cleaning & MFP UNDERestimated according to my HRM
  • jbella99
    jbella99 Posts: 596 Member
    My rule for logging ANY exercise: IF it makes you breathe heavy and sweat, then log it!

    Then again, I have a desk job, if I were doing this for a living I wouldn't have my profile set on sedentary.

    definitely this!!
  • vegamy
    vegamy Posts: 204 Member
    So, how do you feel about having "cleaning" as an exercise? Do you think it really burns that many calories?

    I'm all for it! Burn calories AND have a clean house at the same time? What's not to love?!

    That being said, I do definitely do official workouts daily, but cleaning can add in a little extra cal burn. I have a Bodymedia Fit (hrm that you wear all the time), so I can see my calorie burn for just about everything, and I find that cleaning actually does burn a significant amount of calories.

    So, hey, if the only workout you can squeeze in is to clean your house, go for it! It might not be quite the cardio workout of a run, but it's better than nothing!
  • hpsnickers1
    hpsnickers1 Posts: 2,783 Member
    Cleaning house might not be burning a lot of calories but it's the type of exercise that will burn through some fat. The more "moderate" the intensity of an activity the more fat that is uses (as opposed to "carbs" that the body will burn through during high-intensity exercise).

    I have found that my daily calorie burn has more to do with the moderate activity I do through the day. Not structured exercise, not 10000 steps...

    I have a desk job but if I am moving around at my desk a lot my daily burn can jump by 200 or more calories before I leave work. I might only put in maybe 5000 steps but as my "moderate" activity goes up my calorie burn goes up. My calorie burn has more to do with how often I move rather than how high the intensity of that movement is. And the higher the intensity the less fat and the more "carbs" the body burns.

    I have a Body Media Fit Armband and have been tracking all of this for over a year.

    I think people should be able to log whatever they feel like logging - if it helps them.
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
    Sometimes I will spend several hours in a morning cleaning the house, but I never add that as exercise as it's just part of my every day life whether I'm trying to lose weight or not. I only log "exercise" as things that I'm doing SPECIFICALLY to exercise rather than things I'd be doing anyway.. if that makes sense.

    I set my lifestyle as "sedentary" specifically so I could track exercise that's part of my normal life. I find that it keeps me more accountable for doing a vigorous job of it if I treat it as a workout, and I get more chores done. Plus, exercise calories taste the best. :)

    But that's my way of thinking about it, and whatever works for you, works for you.
  • WhitneyAnnabelle
    WhitneyAnnabelle Posts: 724 Member
    I'm waiting for my favorite "cleaning-IS-NOT-EXERCISE" person to weigh in. Hahaha. You know who you are.
  • LovingLisa2012
    LovingLisa2012 Posts: 775 Member
    we clean whether or not we are trying to lose weight

    cleaning = lifestyle and that is part of your over all calories you set when you chose sedentary, light activity etc .. if you are a SAHM and clean daily and mostly on your feet, then you probably should have chose at-least moderate ( not talking to OP, just mean in general)

    now when i got outside and cut my dang grass with the weed eater (till we get another mower) i do count it (active time only)
    once we have a mower again , then i won't count it, but carrying a weed-eater and bent over trying to cut grass, yes)

    but cleaning up is what i will do regardless and its included in my base calories :smile:

    ETA: i once had a friend log 7.5 hrs of watching tv (over kill)
  • juliee274
    juliee274 Posts: 124 Member
    I only use the cleaning calories burned when I am doing spring cleaning or heavy duty on your knees scrubbing and stuff. General day to day cleaning I don't count. I use these also because I have my activity level set to sedentry and don't want to dip too far below net calories of 1200. Gardening and raking I also use. I do go to the gym 5 days a week and get a good burn there as well.

    I agree with this reply. I have my activity level set at "sedentary" too, so, like this poster, while I don't count day-to-day cleaning, I do count heavy-duty cleaning like yesterday when I vacuumed and mopped the entire house and scrubbed the bath floors on hands and knees! That said, I usually take the calories MFP gives burned and only credit half or slightly more than half since, yes, I feel that they "overcount" calories burned across the board.
  • lep_623
    lep_623 Posts: 193 Member
    I live with my brothers... whom are pigs... so i gave up cleaning after them... so the only time I do is when I have had enough and can't stand how aweful it is which is like only once every few weeks... adn then it is so bad it takes hours and lots of scrubbing and elbow grease, so thats when I use it on mfp... also I am in the process of moving/packing so I count that as cleaning lately too, but as far as typical everyday just doing a few dishes or laundry i don't count it
  • Pocket_Pixi
    Pocket_Pixi Posts: 1,167 Member
    I do if I wear my HRM. :)

    yup me too, it is surprising how much you realld do burn
  • court122383
    court122383 Posts: 47
    I'll only log it if I already did my workout for the day- AND I wear my heart rate monitor...
    I don't do like "light" cleaning either- I mop, wash floors... clean windows, etc.. PLUS my house is 3 stories, so I'm constantly running up stairs, etc..
  • jbella99
    jbella99 Posts: 596 Member
    i agree with ATLMel

    it is better to underestimate the amount of calories you are burning. overestimation will just cause you to lose confidence in your routine (when you don't lose as much weight as MFP is suggesting you'll lose).

    I agree, but there's a reasonable limit to that, of course. If I've spent all day in the garden and yard working hard, my 1,450 calories ain't gonna get me through the day, and I'll be sick the next day if I don't eat SOME of that exercise back. I just try to only log when I've put a lot of effort into something.

    If I sweat for more than 10 minutes, I'll log at least 2/3 the time I spent sweating as something. If my muscles are sore, something gets logged.

    But I do agree, the calories MFP comes up with are sometimes fanciful, and overlogging calorie burn can lead to disappointing setbacks.

    If you have your lifestyle set to sedentry and then burn 800 calories raking and gardening on a sunday afternoon or spring cleaning on your hands and knees you will not only be sick but this is also counterproductive you will dip below 1200 net calories eaten for the day. Do this too many times and your body will fight back. I spent two years on a plateau and tried to exercise more and eat less it wasn't until I was consistently above a 1400 net calories eaten that I started losing again.
  • paulsmisses
    paulsmisses Posts: 178
    If it's routine cleaning, then I don't log it. But if I'm getting down and dirty with major cleaning, the I will put it in. If I'm sweating from cleaning, then it's worth logging lol

    thats exactly what i do! normally on a weekend day when changing all the beds etc
  • ScientistStudy
    ScientistStudy Posts: 249 Member
    I spent about an hour on the weekend cleaning (dishes, bleaching bathroom & kitchen, hoovering, polishing, emptying the bin and cleaning out my pet rats), I think I would log it but maybe put it down as only 30 minutes due to the overestimation of MFP.
    I'd rather log less calories burned than too many and over indulge because of it.
  • delilah47
    delilah47 Posts: 1,658
    Beware post starting with "I don't mean to bash...... "

    If you are jogging and logging, what difference does it make what anyone else puts in their diary? Is this a competition? If so, I need to change my strategy, because I ain't gonna win this way.

    And those people who are, right now, putting in justifications for what you enter as exercise... QUIT DOING THAT!! You don't have to explain or justify to anyone. By attempting to explain, you just encourage those who "don't mean to bash".. okay?
  • 10acity
    10acity Posts: 798 Member
    I never understand why anyone cares how other people burn calories. But that's just me.
  • FitMama2013
    FitMama2013 Posts: 913 Member
    activity from cleaning should factor into TDEE...for instance, I use a body media fit each day to track calories burned and I aim to leave 500 calories at the end of the day. technically, when I am cleaning, that ups my activity level so I am "eating" those calories. before getting my BMF, I never logged cleaning as exercise, and I still don't, but it factors into my TDEE.

    with that said, MFP does way overestimate...
  • debpul
    debpul Posts: 6
    My work day is 100% sedentary (opposite the computer screen, driving) - so anything I do that works up a sweat or is not done sitting around gets listed. That includes sweeping and mopping floors, and sometimes cooking (if I'm on my feet cooking for several hours-not just a few minutes), biking or walking to the local shops, etc.
  • AmberLee2012
    AmberLee2012 Posts: 540
    I do not list cleaning as exercise, however, I don’t get upset/offended if other people do. We are all responsible for our own journeys and I try not to focus on what other people do.
  • PLUMSGRL
    PLUMSGRL Posts: 1,134 Member
    only once did I log "cleaning" exercise...when I moved by my self...packing loading, unloading, lots of stairs, cleaning...but only took credit for 4 hours~
    Daily cleaning, cleaning the rugs, moving furniture around is just normal daily activity.
  • mommyred35
    mommyred35 Posts: 275 Member
    I only to it if I'm scrubbing floor or yard work. If the calories seem high I adjust the time to lower the calories amount. I like to underestimate calories burned and overestimate calories eaten.
  • Hernandeak11
    Hernandeak11 Posts: 351 Member
    I never, ever log any cleaning done at home.

    HOWEVER..I do have a part-time job cleaning dog kennels that gets quite exhausting, so I'd be half-dead if I didn't eat back those calories on the days that I work.

    I do understand your sentiment though.
  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
    HEAVY sustained cleaning - like for over 20 minutes I'll log. All else I consider part of my normal daily activities.
  • Faye_Anderson
    Faye_Anderson Posts: 1,495 Member
    What has it got to do with you what I log? In what way does it affect your weight loss? None?? Thought so, I can log sitting on my butt all day if I want to, technically I'm still burning calories. You go on your journey, I'll go on mine. My profile is set to sedentary, meaning I do nothing all day every day, I could be logging every substantial movement I make.
    You keep worrying about what everyone else is doing, I'll carry on blissfully not caring and steadily losing weight :flowerforyou:
  • Shamrock_me
    Shamrock_me Posts: 161
    i swept and mopped all my floors, gave my dog a bath and cleaned the shower the other day. i put that in! not normal day to day stuff though. of course i don't normally clean day to day ;)

    I'm with you.. who cleans everyday? Thats like torture!!! Usually 2 days a week for keeping up with the clutter and the crazy stuff on a weekend day when I have time for that. I halftime these activities and even then sometimes I think its too high a calorie burn on MFP I did furniture moving for 3 hours but I wasn't moving furniture the whole time. A lot of standing around & trying to figure how to get through the doorway, etc etc.. so I only logged 1.5 But.. I am wayyyyy sore today so maybe not.

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