Cleaning!?

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  • LindaCWy
    LindaCWy Posts: 463 Member
    I count it. I sit all day at a computer at work. I do exercise when I get home, which I count as exercise. When i clean house (try to once a week), it's a big job - hauling a vacuum cleaner up and down three flights of stairs, same with laundry. It takes hours and I work up a sweat. It is definitely a workout for me. If I did it every day (who has time?), then I would have a more physically active profile and probably not count it.

    This... the end.
  • xandreahmx
    xandreahmx Posts: 3
    When I really scrub and have heavy cleaning then Ill add it... but only if Im out of breath from it. regular cleaning I dont add..
  • bpetlock
    bpetlock Posts: 109
    Once I saw showering...... come on.


    Maybe it was something that they didn't do often. :noway:
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
    I just want to say that if you think about it many years ago we didn't have the things that keep us distracted like television. People didn't really need to work out to be fit they just were because they were moving all of the time. I don't think many people in even the early 20th century jogged or did work outs often. I think people were just generally more active and spent less time doing things like sitting around the tv eating (which I do a lot or used to). So now that I think about it maybe cleaning should be considered exercise in a way. Just something to think about I guess.

    I started wearing activity monitors and using NEAT theories in 2009. I think looking at it all as 'activity', not 'exercise,' is a much better way. That's one thing I hate about the MFP plan... 'add back exercise'. It kind of ignores NEAT, which is a bigger contributor to TDEE than 'exercise'.

    Studies find that people who do a gym workout will often sit more throughout the rest of the day, either consciously or not. They often negate the workout (calorie-wise) by overcompensating in the sitting dept.

    So here you have people with no net calorie gain from the workout, then they 'add back' an overestimate of their burn and underestimate their intake (we all do) and they're aiming for this tiny window because they've been told they can't eat below their BMR or NOT add back... I think it's no wonder people get frustrated and confused.
  • jordanreddick
    jordanreddick Posts: 197 Member
    I definately log when I clean, I have my activity level set at sedentary because my job is behind a desk, but I am VERY active on the weekends so I log everything. I don't clean every day due to working 10 hours and going to the gym after, so when I get the chance to clean I do it well, sweeping, vacuuming, etc. I don't log when I clean up my daughter's toys or anything small like that, but if I am cleaning for more than 10 or so minutes and can feel my heart rate rise and be sweating a little when I finish, hell yeah I'm gonna log it. More than likely I only burned under 100 cals, last night I cleaned for 20 minutes and burned like 54 cals, but I did it and it was exercise, so it went on my log. I also make my cleaning a workout, doing it quickly or with more elbow grease to make sure I don't cheat myself. Not to mention I don't eat back my workout cals so it's not hurting anything to count my cleaning anyway. Go ahead, if it isn't in the acitvity you already afford yourself, log away!
  • emnk5308
    emnk5308 Posts: 736
    Depends on your activity level. I'm set at sedentary, so if I clean my house I can track it as calories burned. If you pick and active lifestyle, don't track it.
  • SkinnieFinnie
    SkinnieFinnie Posts: 145 Member
    I log cleaning if it makes me sweat my *kitten* off!! I don't log normal picking up, straightening, dishes & things like that but if I'm on my hands & knees scrubbing baseboards & actually doing true vigorous cleaning.. I log it as light cleaning because I think the "vigorous cleaning" one on here is overestimating. Anyway, hell yes I log cleaning!
  • barbaracoffing
    barbaracoffing Posts: 117 Member
    Anytime you work up a sweat, log it!
  • monyango
    monyango Posts: 166
    I log cleaning but not dishes, dusting or general tidying. I count laundry (I have to go up 3 flights of stairs multiple times), sweeping, mopping and vacuuming and wall washing because I usually do it a pretty good clip and usually break a sweat. I rarely eat those calories back in full (maybe just a tiny portion).

    FYI: I also log it at as light cleaning because I don't want to over estimate the calories I'm burning.
  • dfborders
    dfborders Posts: 474 Member
    I think it depends on what is normal for you? For me I sit at my desk 9-6 and I have an hour drive each way to work. Needless to say I don't get much cleaning in. On the weekends I straighten and do dishes and I don't count that - but if I do an hour or two of extra cleaning (not that I am much of a housekeeper:tongue:) and work up a sweat then I do log it - only for the fact that it is more moving and shaking than I normally do. I also keep in mind that it may be an overstimate so don't necessarily eat all those calories back but at least if I am really hungry it will allow me to eat an extra portion of lean meat, veggies, fruit, etc.
  • bpetlock
    bpetlock Posts: 109
    I wouldn't log doing a load of washing - but I did log cleaning about a week ago, when I was moving house. Spent about 8 hours lifting, running around, scrubbing, vacuuming - I only logged 3 hours though, cos I know I wasn't massively active the whole time.

    That sounds reasonable. BTW...the first time that I glanced at your picture I thought you had Zooey Deschenal posted as your pic. You look a little like her. Off subject I know.
  • SamanthaD23
    SamanthaD23 Posts: 53 Member
    I always work up a sweat when I'm cleaning (because I don't particularly enjoy it I rush to get it done) - makes the sitting down afterwards that much more special!. However I don't log it here as exercise, I think that's a bit of a cop-out to making time for real structured exercise.
  • jenguhl
    jenguhl Posts: 79
    I only log heavy duty cleaning such as washing walls or cleaning the basement or moving tons of furniture. Otherwise it's just part of my daily routine. I've also seen calories burned for cooking and food preparation but I wouldn't count that unless I was doing some serious party cooking or on my feet for multiple hours.
  • Lkoblara
    Lkoblara Posts: 137 Member
    I also log stuff other than cleaning that might not be considered exercise.... gardening for example (turning soil with just a rake in 80 degrees really gets your heart pumping!)
  • marieautumn
    marieautumn Posts: 928 Member
    Once I saw showering...... come on.

    i shower purely for the calories burned...that is all. :laugh:
  • rmrpender
    rmrpender Posts: 16
    I don't count cleaning calories as calories burned - although if I am scrubbing the kitchen floor for an hour I might consider it...
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
    If I sit and work 8 hours a day I burn about 2200 calories. If I clean and take care of my kids all day I burn 2900 calories. Clearly 700 calories IS a big deal
  • TeachTheGirl
    TeachTheGirl Posts: 2,091 Member
    Daily cleaning, I don't log. But if I were to be moving furniture or mopping the floors or going up and downstairs to do countless loads of laundry in one day, rather than a load every other day, then I'd probably log it. It depends on what is 'normal' for you.
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