Thoughts about burning calories by cleaning?

RachelsReboot

why does it make you feel like you've done nothing? If others want to log "cleaning" as exercise- they are only cheating themselves.

I know I haven't cheated myself out of anything but that down there V V V 178lbs V V V

xHelloQuincyx

its not overestimated for me because i wear a hrm. i count it because its not something i do every day. (in college full time and work 30 hrs a week) so when i do have time to clean, my place is wrecked up man. plus my bf is a slob i also do laundry on the same day and thats in my apartment building. im on the 3rd floor so i have to carry huge baskets up stairs like 8 times, fold laundry, scrub toilets, do dishes, vaccume, dust etc. its a whole ordeal.

mjf0461

#1 - I try not to let what other people claim they do and burn bother me. Either way it's not going to work my fat off. So I don't care.
#2 - MFP calories burn are higher. So I compare my exercise with Lance Armstrongs site, where it actually ask your weight and then gives you the calories burned. And then I will input my numbers in that way. I've seen differences of 100-150 calories in 30 minutes of exercise..
Good luck ladies losing....

Jessika421

I don't log day to day cleaning like dishes or picking up laundry and throwing it in the washer/dryer. But if I'm doing heavy duty cleaning marathons, I'm logging it, but I always round my time down instead of up to make it more realistic.

treetop57

#2 - MFP calories burn are higher. So I compare my exercise with Lance Armstrongs site, where it actually ask your weight and then gives you the calories burned. And then I will input my numbers in that way. I've seen differences of 100-150 calories in 30 minutes of exercise..

I don't know the accuracy of one versus the other, but MFP uses your weight. It doesn't ask, because it already knows!

cawmacomber

Cleaning is not exercise - hmmp - tell that to my body and waistline after basically sterilizing a room from top to bottom when the husband left an open box of crackers out and overnight a wonderful trail of ants appeared.

Laundry is not exercise - again, hmmp - touch your toes while you collect and sort laundry, waist bends as you load/empty the washer and dryer, upper body stretches as you fold and put away, stair master as you take all loads (individually) to each room. Gee - that's part of a aerobic workout! One week of laundry for a family of four can be 10+ loads.

Some people just don't do exercise - I don't care the reason. Myself - I HATE exercise - I absolutely can not tolerate what I consider "wasting" part of my day to stair step, aerobicize, weight lift, treadmill, etc. just to hopefully see 2 months or so down the road a change in my physical appearance. My exercise has to be incorporated into what I am doing. For example, I don't consider bicycling exercise - it is a family event or relaxation technique - only stationary biking is exercise - and what fun is that?! Gardening is fun and yes - exercise when you are digging, hauling, planting, etc - what's great is you get to immediately see what you accomplished. How about going to the zoo - gee - 5 hours plus of walking - how many calories get burned there? Calories are burned non-stop every day and night including while you are sleeping, and sometimes we need to see in print what has been burned - it's our way of saying "good job" to ourselves, when others don't.

I do agree with everyone that MFP does seem to really be off on their exercise calculator - but you can change the number of calories burned to what you know or feel it was. Also, everyone has a different metabolic system therefore, a different caloric burn. You can bet I burn more calories doing the cleaning or laundry than my husband would (I'm short, he's tall - not as much stretching for him.)

k0nfyo0zed

I count it as exercise, or used to when I had MFP set to sedentary. I moved it to moderately active and don't log my exercise except on heavy gym days to see if I am netting below BMR numbers.

Then again, I always put on upbeat music and dance around while I'm cleaning house or doing laundry. It can be a pretty decent workout if that's when you can get it in!

mariamarchita

I do log them but only because I am very overweight and even walking around the house is hard for me. I do make sure to only log the minutes I'm actually moving around. If I spend 3 minutes vacuuming, I log it lol. That's just me though, given my current condition.

BeautyAndTheGeeks

I haven't read the whole thread so I'm not sure if we're still on this topic on page 6 but as far as I'm concerned with cleaning calories, you should be cleaning often enough that it's part of your lifestyle, not a once in a while workout. I wouldn't consider spring cleaning a workout either, yeah, my arms hurt from scrubbing when I do a big clean, but I don't consider it as part of my exercise routine, that just seems like an excuse to get out of an actual workout.

Mommy2Avaj

I do log them in, but I usually only log about half the time I actually spent doing it. I've read so many people saying the MFP over estimates the number of calories burned. I also don't count the time I am standing like dusting or wiping counters.

Drawberry

I don't log cleaning myself, but that's because I don't do anything that's considered strenuous. However, I disagree with the sentiment that because something is 'part of life' that it isn't worth note. I often go walking, and these walks often last well over 3 hours. I am talking about NON STOP constant pace walking all over town. Sure walking is part of life, but does that mean my 8pm-12pm walk isn't worth notice?

To me personally it all depends on the level of strenuous activity involved and the length of the activities. Here's a quote from livestrong.com:

Some activities are more vigorous than others. A 150-lb. person washing dishes for 30 minutes would burn approximately 77 calories, according to Health Status. The same person doing 30 minutes of mopping would burn approximately 153 calories.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/314390-how-many-calories-does-housecleaning-burn/#ixzz1uJF8TTz4

Folks are logging less calories burned from traditional outdoor 'sport' activities then what is burned from half an hour of mopping.

Would I say that dusting my lampshade is exercise? Absolutely not. Is making my bed exercise? Of course it isn't. I live in a small house where it takes a very short amount of time to really get things cleaned properly. But for the person who lives in a 2 story farmhouse and 'chores' consist of mopping 4 rooms, being on your hands and knee's scrubbing for an hour for each bathroom, and moving multiple rooms worth of furniture around? Yeah I'd log that.

So at the core of it, what the activity is and how long it's going on for makes all the deference in the world. 'Cleaning' may not mean much to me, but to someone else it could easily be 4 hours of lugging around bales of hay and scoping cow poop or lifting 4 rooms worth of heavy furniture and making sure all three bathrooms are sparkling clean.

annabelsmommy

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 use cleaning as an exercise, but on MFP you have the option to change the number of calories burned, so I cut the number they give me in half - same thing for swimming. The amount of calories they estimate you burn is ridiculous in both categories. I also have a Polar heart moniter that tracks how many cals I burn so I trust that to be pretty accurate.

annabelsmommy

I do log them but only because I am very overweight and even walking around the house is hard for me. I do make sure to only log the minutes I'm actually moving around. If I spend 3 minutes vacuuming, I log it lol. That's just me though, given my current condition.

That's good! I would log it too. We're almost in the same boat, except I have Rheumatoid Arthritis instead of an arm/shoulder injury like you. I would log anything that makes you feel like you're working up a sweat. And I know when I sweep and vacuum my house I get there. I just try to stay moving and doing things and staying active. I used to be very sedentary until I started here on MFP. The first month I didn't exercise at all and just stuck to eating healthy and staying within my calories and I lost 10lbs. So if you're having a hard time doing exercises you may just want to try sticking really close to the goals you have here on MFP food wise and that could help you take off a little which in turn makes it easier to move around and get closer to your exercise goals. I'm also going to try resistance bands. I hear it's a good at home exercise and not too difficult for larger ladies like us.

annabelsmommy

#2 - MFP calories burn are higher. So I compare my exercise with Lance Armstrongs site, where it actually ask your weight and then gives you the calories burned. And then I will input my numbers in that way. I've seen differences of 100-150 calories in 30 minutes of exercise..

I don't know the accuracy of one versus the other, but MFP uses your weight. It doesn't ask, because it already knows!

Yeah, I'm heavier than my sister and when we record the same activity I burn more than her because MFP knows my weight and how a heavier person will have to exert more energy for the same task. But it tells me that I would burn 900 calories with 45 minutes of leisurly swimming and I think that's bogus so I trust my heart monitor more than MFP's calculations. They did get the calories burned for circuit training pretty dang close though.

jules0516

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?

Just curious, and I really don't mean this in a mean way, but why do you care what other people list on their diary? You show you have lost 28 lbs. I say congrats to you and don't worry abou t those other people.

Thank You!! Take into consideration if a person is on the heavier side-they get winded walking up stairs and their Dr. suggested lifting cans of corn while sitting on the couch. Is that less of an excersize? Should we put that person down? If a person is cleaning-the heart rate elevates-I'm no expert-but isn't that expending energy where calories might burn? We are here for support,so why question and make people feel bad or doubt themselves?

Elizabeth_C34

Depends. On the days when I get on my hands and knees and scrub my tile (all 2300 square feet of it), yes, that is a workout. I burn almost 1,100 calories when I do that according to my HRM.

If it's just cleaning a bathroom or something, no.

Also, some people who are extremely heavy have trouble even standing up and moving, so 60 minutes of housework may be a good workout for them and productive. It may burn more than you do in an hour of running.

It's good to put things into perspective and realize that not everyone is on the same fitness level.

Jules2Be

I logged it under Stairs, but putting laundry away 1 piece at a time and going up and down the stairs 62 times in 46 minutes burned 702 calories according to my HRM, and I was sweaty.

its just a word... but i did log it under something else so i wouldnt hear it from anyone,:flowerforyou:

jules0516

I'm also curious why you directed this at SAMs?? Is there a chance that people who work outside the home do this too? SAMs take so much slack for being in the home-I've actually had people make comments that I'm lucky to just sit around and watch tv all day. We don't- and as I said above in my post..if you are cleaning-you are moving around expelling energy,right? I may do it everyday-but I do clean a 4 bedroom house, home school, field trips, etc. We do move,not just sit in a chair all day..and on top of cleaning everyday I do a workout. So for people to elude that this is normal everyday stuff..once you are in a routine of going to the gym-isn't that an every day normal activity? Should you just stop logging your everyday workout routine..because it has become an every day occurence?

ZombieSlayer

So for people to elude that this is normal everyday stuff..once you are in a routine of going to the gym-isn't that an every day normal activity? Should you just stop logging your everyday workout routine..because it has become an every day occurence?

this SO much!!

angieleighbyrd

I only log actual exorcise. I don't count cleaning.

Tropical_Turtle

I dont vacuum and scrub floors, toilets and bathtubs every day, I do that on the weekends - so with that being said I do log it. And like this last weekend I spent 2 1/2 hours mowing (gas push mower) and weedeating my 1/4 acre back yard - you betcha I counted that as exercise. I was all hot and sweaty when I was done.

If I am wiping down counters - oh no that I do not consider exercise

Serenstar75

While cleaning is exercise...it wears me out when I go on a cleaning spree (I'd rather exercise in any other way :P) I do see people who clean and move heavy furniture every day. I'm wondering if they are rearranging their house daily? These people can burn over 1400 calories in 3-4 hours by mfp. These are also the people who if you're lucky....eat 800 calories on a good day. Reminds me, I need to get into a deep spring cleaning this weekend if I can since I start school again this week.

myfitnessnmhoy

The tools are there to help you track burned calories accurately. If someone wants to set their lifestyle to "sedentary" and log walking to and from the car at work, then that's the way they choose to use the tool. If they are losing weight, then the tool is working for them, even if they are using it differently.

MFP's numbers are way off, but people tend to figure that out pretty quickly.

Spanaval

There is a lot to this that is definitional/situational.

Does a setting of 'sedentary' mean that it expects you to not move at all? Or does it account for someone who is sitting around about 8 hours a day, sleeping about 8 hours a day, but moving the other 8 hours of the day doing normal, everyday things (driving, grocery shopping, walking from a parked car to stores, taking a shower, etc.)?

For me, I have never in my entire life cleaned anything that left me half as drained as any of my workouts do (and I say this as someone that cleans a 4000 sq. ft. house with an "assist" from the 2 year old). I might be moving, but I'm nowhere near pushing myself to exhaustion. To me, the things I do to just live my normal life, should be accounted for in my 'lifestyle' setting and not as exercise. Anything I do above and beyond that, to improve overall fitness, that's what exercise is.

So for people to elude that this is normal everyday stuff..once you are in a routine of going to the gym-isn't that an every day normal activity? Should you just stop logging your everyday workout routine..because it has become an every day occurence?

To the person that asked this. My workouts are never 'normal activity', although they are on my schedule. I generally don't do the exact same thing twice. If I'm not pushing myself, doing more, better, faster than I was doing the previous time, I'm not doing it right. I don't take nearly the same attitude towards stuff I do on a routine basis.

LuckyAng

If I'm sweeping, scrubbing the tub, and vacuuming for an hour you can bet I'm logging it. Lugging that vacuum up 4 flights etc. So...depends on the person but I always log yard work and house cleaning. You can bet I'm breaking a sweat.

Oh and yes, I do workout at the gym too.

Exactly.

Kimmerso1

I put in housekeeping because my job is housekeeping at a local university. Believe me 8 hours of that job I have definitely burned some calories. I do believe that the calorie calculator does over estimate how much I have burned so I lower the amount. Its not a "heavy" workout, but it is a workout(when its your job) .

troystweets

I cleaned houses for 3 hours a day, 5 days a week. I lost 30 pounds doing it. I did NO other exercises at that time so I know that it was because of the workout I was getting while cleaning houses.
That being said, I do put down cleaning as my workout when I do non-stop cleaning of my own home (usually Saturdays).
and as for MFP and the calories being burned totals, I find it actually a little more accurate than those listed on the treadmill and are slightly less than other calorie counters on the 'net.

melbatoast917

I USED to log everything! EV-ER-Y THING-UH! (cleaning, shopping, painting, etc.) But then when the weight started coming off I decided not to log anything that wasn't a conscious decision to elevate my heart rate. Now I use a heart rate monitor for an accurate burn count and only wear it at the gym.

tvanhooser

If I sweat it counts so no on general everyday cleaning...but heavy duty cleaning for hours on end, yep you bet. But I generally take my pulse every so often and stick in the heart rate based calorie burn calculator at shapesense.com since I don't have an HRM. That tells me whether I am actually putting in enough effort to make it worthwhile to enter it.

kellie1055

If I log housework its because Im washing walls, moving furniture, cleaning floors by hand.....its work. Hard work! Washing dishes and doing laundry doesnt count for me.