Thoughts about burning calories by cleaning?

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  • LadyNeshoba
    LadyNeshoba Posts: 159 Member
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    I don't log my cleaning when I clean my apartment. But I do log it when I go and clean two office buildings. It's usually hot in there when I'm cleaning and I'm having to do a TON of cleaning as I go in twice a month. I don't ever log the full 3 1/2 hours i'm there...I only log around an hour.

    So that way it will probably be closer to what I'm actually burning.

    But like I said I only log my cleaning twice a month. :)
  • ampa916
    ampa916 Posts: 189 Member
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    While I think that MFP over estimates the calories burned, when I clean my house the heaviest (which is Monday because I do not clean during the weekends lol) I am on my feet, sweeping, wiping, scrubbing, mopping, picking up moving boxes trash and vacuuming... No offense to the people who do go out for a jog etc but I just don't have that since my husband is gone sometimes weeks at a time. I go for walks etc, but moving constantly throughout my house is def a workout, (I.E it raises my heart rate and I sweat) I just really don't think that it burns as much as MFP says. so I tend to lower my time to what seems normal and if that is the only exercise I do that day I only eat back half the cals.
  • CottonCandyKisses
    CottonCandyKisses Posts: 246 Member
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    I'm set at sedentary, because during the work-week I sit at a desk ALL DAY. So on the weekend (or after work) when I'm hustling around the house trying to get stuff done, I log it. I don't think I really "burned” all the calories it says I did. But I am up and moving around more than usual.
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
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    I would only do it if I did spring cleaning!!...other wise I don't!! :)
  • RachelsReboot
    RachelsReboot Posts: 569 Member
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    I list cleaning as part of my calorie burn often but when I do it's not my own house. I took on cleaning my church a couple of years ago to serve my church and as a way to sort of force myself to be active, then it turned into a job after I was layed off. I may only list 3 hours and a fraction of the calories, but that's usually because I feel guilty using my job as my calorie burn for the day but when I am doing 6-12 hours a day of commercial cleaning, it burns a lot, trust me. Now I don't count my own household cleaning, unless it's spring cleaning or Holiday prep, cause those are just insane cleaning days!
  • mywght4lfe
    mywght4lfe Posts: 13
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    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?
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
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    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.
  • mywght4lfe
    mywght4lfe Posts: 13
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    It works it really does I have two sets of stairs in my house and from running things from the dining room to the bedrooms and doing dishes, to laundry,taking the stuff upstairs and taking what belongs downstairs from upstairs is alot of work, and taking out the trash and the recycling bins and trash to the curb is a chore and making lunch, and dinner is a job done everyday.:happy:
  • hazev74
    hazev74 Posts: 252 Member
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    Hi! As well as having 2 small boys i work fulltime so when i clean - i tear into it!
    it takes way more time than i log and i also log it as moderate as feel the cals are too high on mfp! i know i work up a sweat anyway but mabeye thats just me??:happy:
  • GemmaRowlands
    GemmaRowlands Posts: 360 Member
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    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.
  • bobie1978
    bobie1978 Posts: 204 Member
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    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
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    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
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    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: 3,808 Member
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    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: 1,376 Member
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    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: 1,142 Member
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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.

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