Let the bloodbath begin....

sewerchick93

I agree! I do my chores now differently then when I was unfit. Before, when I would mow the grass or do heavy spring cleaning (ie: moving furniture and such) I would constantly rest plus I didn't try to work hard at doing it. Now once I start, I don't stop until the job is done and I power through it, I make it a workout!

lisasch67

You know, to each their own. If you want to log your trips to the bathroom, go right ahead. If you're logging all activity throughout the day and eating properly and losing weight, then get down with your bad *kitten*. But if you're logging small activities like that and eating properly and not losing weight then change something up. Everyone's bodies are different and people lose weight differently so find a lifestyle and logging system that works for you... just make sure to eat well and move more.

AbbyCar

I'll tell you one thing. My floors are a lot cleaner if I log when I scrub them. Personally I don't think it's anyone's business what exercise I log UNLESS I ask them to critique my diary. Do that and be prepared to hear people tell you what you are doing wrong.

dakitten2

I had this discussion with my dietician after my first month of doing mfp. I was seeing people log 10 minutes of cooking, 15 minutes or ironing, 30 minutes of light housekeeping. Her point of view: IF it was something you were doing before you started your life changes, then dont count it. But if it is something new or above and beyond what was considered your normal daily routine, you can count it. So I've used this philosophy for me and so far it has worked for ME.

Bottom line for me: I am accountable solely to me for the things I count, don't count, eat, don't eat, and so on. I havent been logging exercise for a long time for a couple of reasons. I've had double knee replacements and so many exercises are limited by my doctor and I have short exercise routines with minimal burns. While others are counting 1000-2000 calorie burns each day, I'm lucky if mine adds up to 200 calories except for doing water acquatics. So I'm not looking for extra calorie burns to allow myself to eat extra, so I dont even bother to log them. This is just me and why I dont log the exercise and stick to my calorie allowance.

If I was logging calorie burns, I would not be logging anything I did before I started my journey, ie, cooking, laundry, regular housecleaning, etc.

Jxnsmma

I log my cleaning and chores IF they go above what I consider my normal routine and I am DEEPLY cleaning. Otherwise I just dont count it.
But hey if some do count it and as long as they are losing who cares :-). To each their own

THIS!!

AnnMarie518

I think the judgemental ppl should log the amount of energy/calories it takes to complain about other peoples logging habbits.....

AbbyCar

I log stuff like going to the grocery store, and nobody has mentioned anything about it to me, but taking 3 kids to the grocery store (7, 4 & 15 months) is a workout, anyway you slice it. I am contantly running after someone, ,lifting, bending, etc.

When I am doing chores, I am also half the time holding my clinging 16 month old. And I don't do chores on a regular basis.... I work full time with 3 kids & one of my days off we do nothing but fun stuff. The other day is my power morning of every chore you can imagine. I don't sit down on my days off until the kiddos are asleep. I am constantly moving!

Bless you! My kids are 6, 4 and 20 months. Sometimes I feel like I need to go back to work on Monday, just to get a chance to sit down:)

Leslie85

Also, the past few times I have neeed to lose weight (i.e. after having kids) I haven't been able to exercise vigorously.... I don't have the time. And just cutting calories and my regular activity has always been enough for a steady 2-4 lb weight loss a week, which is fine for me.

That is fine if that is your goals- personally, I log nothing but actual exercise (no walking- even though I work on a large University campus, no cooking, no cleaning). Everyone has different goals, and if I only cut calories, I would lose weight, but have no definition in my muscles at all- which is what I'm going for. I guess my thing is if that's the ONLY thing you log as exercise, then don't complain and start posting threads about "why am I not gaining any muscle???" and "why is my stomach still flabby???"

I've seen it happen before...and that's what annoys me. But again, like someone else said...if you're logging it just so you can eat more, then you probably should log it.

Wonderob

I don't know why either - people seem to take it as a personal affront if someone else logs something that does't involve lycra or Jillian Michaels or a gym membership.

hahah... I love it.

What I understand less than any other aspect of this "debate" is how so many people have the energy and time to care so much about what everyone else is doing. I have MFPs to encourage them and be encouraged. I don't see it as my place to tell them how they should be doing this unless and until they ask. (And believe me, I've no shortage of opinions!)

And whether or not someone logs it and provides another the opportunity to whine about it, they've burned the same number of calories. Just sayin'.

We care what other people are doing because this healthy eating/fitness thing is a constant education, a constant stream of advice and conflicting advice

If I didn't care what other people are doing then I would be dieting and exercising on my own without ever joining MFP

The whole of MPF is about sharing fitness advice, listening to ideas and offering ideas. I have listened to loads of great advice on here and followed some of it to good effect; so if I find something out that could be of benefit, I'll share it - such as "In my experience, logging every day to day task as an exercise, then eating back those calories, is unlikly to provide the calorie deficit you require'

Very different mind you to "You're an idiot if you log your day to day tasks"

jadedbutterfly71

I don't get why it matters to anyone what I log. Be it calories, exercise, whatever. People are so critical, as they SIT behind their little computer, telling everyone else how it's supposed to be done. I'm here for myself, first and foremost. If I find a few like-minded "friends" to support/ get support from...great! If not...great! If I have a problem with the way people log, and it bothers me, I unfriend them...pretty simple concept. No need to make a person feel bad about themself. I don't "call people out". If they are "lying" on their log, or logging something you wouldn't, how does that affect you? Answer...it doesn't.

SaraHaxton1

I have a workout program on my Xbox360. It has a Heart Rate monitor on it and it counts my calorie burn also. But I have no idea how to log it so I guess at it. It has a lot of squats, and running in place, and jumping, with some step aerobics, and a ton of other workout things in it too. I mean I am dripping in sweat after only 30 minutes. I can burn almost 150-200cal in a workout easily. It is called Active 2. How about a log in place of the Xbox workouts?

mellabyte

It's all very simple. If you think about where you are currently in your journey - be it beginning, middle or end - and then think about where you are going, log accordingly. You'll know, especially as this becomes a routine and eventually you'll form good habits and if you decide, challenge yourself more.

For example.

Myself - beginning of journey: SEDENTARY to a tee. That's why I weighed 164lbs (on a small 5'1" frame). Very little activity. So _everything_ was outside of my "normal routine" and I logged it, from taking the stairs instead of the elevator, to spending an extra half hour walking around the mall before actually starting my shopping. I logged it because it was more than I did before. This is how I began my exercise, this helped me see how totally inactive I was.

Myself - middle of journey: I was now moderately active. Working with a personal trainer, working out at a legitimate gym 2-3 times a week, playing racquetball with friends, long walks at the local park. Rarely take the elevator. At this point, I personally felt that logging the activities I logged as sedentary was no longer necessary. I now only logged work outs, but still logged vigorous cleaning, cooking, shopping. Those types of things - but not every little thing.

Myself (Now) - coming towards the end (and eventually to maintenance!) - I'm working on my last 13lbs. Working out 4-5 days a week. I'm not a member of gym anymore, or am with a personal trainer - but do it on my own. Lifestyle change initiated. I no longer log things that don't challenge me, or that I do not feel are significant burns - which happens to include chores. Nothing personal.

It's different for everyone. Opinions, unless obviously so, shouldn't be taken as personal affronts. I think some of us just want to make sure no one is making excuses. As another poster mentioned, on topic with this post, don't log every little thing so you can eat more. ^_^ Everyone wants everyone to reach their goals, right?

josiereside

I don't get why it matters to anyone what I log. Be it calories, exercise, whatever. People are so critical, as they SIT behind their little computer, telling everyone else how it's supposed to be done. I'm here for myself, first and foremost. If I find a few like-minded "friends" to support/ get support from...great! If not...great! If I have a problem with the way people log, and it bothers me, I unfriend them...pretty simple concept. No need to make a person feel bad about themself. I don't "call people out". If they are "lying" on their log, or logging something you wouldn't, how does that affect you? Answer...it doesn't.

well said!

kgprice11

Ok.....bloodbath where r u.......oh wait its not Twilight

beauty2323

I don't log in cleaning but I sweat like crazy doing it. Bathroom, kitchen, rooms... vacuuming.. windows... & the list goes on. Most of the time I'm dancing while cleaning & that is another workout!!!!
I know I'm burning calories but I rather log in when I'm actually doing cardio or strength training!

& it shouldn't bother anyone if they choose to log it in!!

tryinghard71

My Grandmother lived to be almost 90 years old. She never entered a gym a day in her life, did not own exercise DVD's, she did not own work out equipment. She did clean, cook and did all the yard work and gardening. She ate what she grew, she raised her own chickens for their eggs. (this today is called organic free range eggs lol!) My point is that staying active is staying active. Raking the leaves, mowing the grass, weeding, planting, etc... Is all activity. She was healthy and she was thin.

Me on the other hand. For my job I sit in front of a computer 8 hours a day. My Grandmother never sat still until after dinner to watch the news.

plbrown81

I think the point of "exercise to eat" is a valid one. Are all those hours logged so that you can eat more? Or are they logged so you feel better about how you worked? I guess I find it sort of self defeating if you have to log those hours to feel like you burned more calories. To me, it also suggests that you've never worked out intensely enough to know what the difference is between "calories that count" and "calories that don't count".

A few years back - when I originally got into working out, and lost significant amounts of weight - I worked a VERY busy job. I put a pedometer on one day and logged 13,000 steps in a single day just from the walking portion of it. I trained horses and taught people how to ride. And if you're uneducated and don't believe that riding burns any calories, that's fine. I still walked 13,000 steps per day (and I worked 6 days a week) while not riding. At the time I weighed about 155 lbs and was stalled with weight gain/loss. I tried decreasing calories taken in, and besides being ravenously hungry still could not lose weight.

I started working at a gym, started working with a PT and changed eating habits (different macro levels, started eating more meals but keeping the number of calories around 1500 or so per day). I had to work out intensely ON TOP of the daily work I already did because my body had acclimated to it. Those 13,000 steps and the X number of horses I rode in a day were not included in any logging I did at the time because they weren't what was making the difference. The 30 minutes of cardio or 45 minutes - 1 hour of weight lifting were what was affecting me.

Would I have lost weight if I'd just stuck to diet? Possibly. I lost about 17 lbs in 12 weeks and looked better than I had before that and in the last few years since then with the working out though. I just know from my experience that acclimation is a huge part of what interferes with weight loss. And if I counted every time I took a dog for a walk, or did my laundry or walked up and down the stairs in my house as "exercise" I'd be fooling myself into thinking I was doing a lot more than I actually am.

akoivisto

The way I see it; MFP already tracks your typical day; based on activity level (the little option that sets your calorie goal). If every day I walk around in a warehouse, would I count that, no, I would set my activity level as active, same with gardening, or other chore like things; now...

if your doing some HEAVY duty cleaning? I'm talking about hauling out 10 bags of trash after having gone through an area like something off of horders, scrubbing a floor with a firm brush for 30 minutes, or even lawn work involving pulling weeds, or chopping wood thus and breaking a "serious" sweat?

I'd call it kosher...

if your taking the swiffer around the dinning room table and calling it exercise for 70 calories? Ummm... your only kidding yourself.

TyFit08

I don't see the big deal about logging chores, even if they are daily occurrences. We log exercise and many of us do that everyday. If you apply the logic that you shouldn't log things we normally do daily than I guess I shouldn't log my Jillian Michaels workouts either. For some people chores can be quite labor intensive and they should not be made to feel like they are cheating the system or themselves because they choose to log it. There are a lot of really supportive people on MFP, but there are a lot of others who are very quick to pass judgement and attack others who don't share their fitness philosophy

kaotik26

When I set up my goals I chose my activity level based on what I do around the house on a daily basis. If I spend 4 hours doing major cleanup, or my once a week mowing the lawn and raking chores then I do log that because it's not in my daily routine. It makes more sense to log that than to log a 30 minute walk, especially since my lawn is hilly and I have a push mower.

Wonderob

I don't get why it matters to anyone what I log. Be it calories, exercise, whatever. People are so critical, as they SIT behind their little computer, telling everyone else how it's supposed to be done. I'm here for myself, first and foremost. If I find a few like-minded "friends" to support/ get support from...great! If not...great! If I have a problem with the way people log, and it bothers me, I unfriend them...pretty simple concept. No need to make a person feel bad about themself. I don't "call people out". If they are "lying" on their log, or logging something you wouldn't, how does that affect you? Answer...it doesn't.

well said!

Not well said - it DOES affect me!

If you chose to share what you are doing and how it works/doesn't work for you then it affects me. It affects me because I don't know as much as I would like to about nutrician/exercise/metabolism, so i come on here for support and to learn

If you say "I eat cream cakes all day but drink 2 litres of rose water to offset the cream cake calories, and I've lost 30 lbs" I will question it - it DOES affect me

aprilgrl27

I won't step foot into the cleaning debate, but why, oh why, did I see someone log driving as exercise the other day?

jcstanton

Because chores are a part of your daily routine. You don't account for them because it's a normal part of your day. You might as well log your trips to the bathroom as Walking, 2 mph, slow pace (2 minutes). It's basically the same thing. I think anything you have to go out of the way to do that requires strenuous effort can be logged. Everything else is null.

Technically, my workouts are more a part of my daily routine (something that's done EVERY DAY) than house chores and mowing my lawn because I only do those things once per week. And when I log chores, I don't log every time I do the dishes or vaccuum. I only log when I am doing HOURS of deep housecleaning (i.e. vacuuming INCLUDING under furniture and along baseboards, scrubbing tile floors, scrubbing the tub/shower, washing windows, climbing step ladder to dust ceiling fans, scrubbing the front of my cupboards, etc...) These are chores that, again, I don't do every day. When you do this kind of cleaning, you can bet you're burning more than one or two hundred calories, which is DEFINITELY more than I burn during the course of my average daily routine.

All that aside, it's really none of my business what anyone else logs as exercise UNLESS they specifically ask for advice. Therefore, it's not anyone else's business what I log, nor does it affect them in any way, so do me a favor and keep your snarky criticisms to yourself (Please note: this paragraph is not directed at the poster I quoted in this comment).

Edited to add: Also, it should be noted that, personally, I don't eat back all my exercise calories anyway because i don't have a HR monitor to get an accurate calorie burn. I DO NOT log my chores as exercise so that I have an excuse to eat more. I don't even log my workouts for that reason. I log any significant activity simply as a way to track what I have done to keep myself moving every week. That way, if I have a week where I gain weight or plateau, I can look back and have a better idea of what I might need to do differently. Do I need to be more active? Am I eating too many calories? And so on.

TyFit08

I don't get why it matters to anyone what I log. Be it calories, exercise, whatever. People are so critical, as they SIT behind their little computer, telling everyone else how it's supposed to be done. I'm here for myself, first and foremost. If I find a few like-minded "friends" to support/ get support from...great! If not...great! If I have a problem with the way people log, and it bothers me, I unfriend them...pretty simple concept. No need to make a person feel bad about themself. I don't "call people out". If they are "lying" on their log, or logging something you wouldn't, how does that affect you? Answer...it doesn't.

well said!

Not well said - it DOES affect me!

If you chose to share what you are doing and how it works/doesn't work for you then it affects me. It affects me because I don't know as much as I would like to about nutrician/exercise/metabolism, so i come on here for support and to learn

If you say "I eat cream cakes all day but drink 2 litres of rose water to offset the cream cake calories, and I've lost 30 lbs" I will question it - it DOES affect me

I really don't get how that affects your or hinder your journey. There are people here who swear they eat only fast food, others who eat clean, some who just walk, others who do crossfit, some with thyroid and PCOS. Everyone has their own journey and what works for one doesn't work for everyone. So if someone is logging their chores and that works for them, I don't see how that could stop you from losing weight. This site is for education and support. You take the information you need to help with your goals.

darrensurrey

I'd log it if it wasn't something I do daily. My fitness profile is "Sedentary: Spend most of the day sitting (e.g. bank teller, desk job)" which doesn't include gardening, vacuum cleaning the house, cycling for 20 minutes on an exercise bicycle, playing with the kids (if you're a parent with toddlers) or anything else that a bank teller won't do!

Connie48

Because chores are a part of your daily routine. You don't account for them because it's a normal part of your day. You might as well log your trips to the bathroom as Walking, 2 mph, slow pace (2 minutes). It's basically the same thing. I think anything you have to go out of the way to do that requires strenuous effort can be logged. Everything else is null.

I think it depends...my husband is 64 yrs old and I can guarentee you many could not be able to keep up with him and his "daily routine chores". He's a farmer, does manual labor every day, no way in hell he isn't burning lots of calories every dam day. Hauling hay, digging fence posts by hand, carrying 20+ 5 gallon buckets of feed a day...cutting wood for our outdoor wood burning furnace...

I on the other hand have a desk job, so I have to get creative in finding ways just to MOVE more throughout the day and I refuse to believe just moving more doesn't count (park farther away, walk to the restroom that is fartherest from my office, do 1 mile (12 mn) walks using Leslie Sansone throughout the day, cardio or wts during lunch hr)...am I''m burning lots of calories, hell no but I am MOVING. I think people get too focused on numbers and make a healthy lifestyle harder/more complicated than it has to be, but thats JMO

Prilla04

When I clean the table I don't count that is exercise. If I get my heart rate above 130 doing anything - from jumping jacks to hauling old crap to my basement - it's exercise. And if I keep my heart rate up in my zone for 30 minutes or more then I'm gonna log it. Period. End of discussion for me.

Sabresgal63

It's not part of my daily routine. I know a lot of other people who don't strenuously scrub their floors on their hands and knees daily but they will log it if they do it. My levels are set to sedentary because I SIT almost all day long - so if I do clean, it's outside of my daily routine of sitting. Once again....our ancestors used chores as exercise, so why shouldn't people on MFP?????

I agree!:bigsmile:

Cindym82

I log my cleaning that I do once a week, that being said I'm on the floor scrubbing it and the walls etc and sweating my *kitten* off and usually takes me a few hours. But I will only log about 60mins of it. Light cleaning that I do daily I don't log

april522

The stuff I log isn't part of my daily routine. I don't vacuum and mop and scrub every day when I clean. So if I'm going to clean for more than 30 minutes straight, I use my HRM and log it. I don't have my activity level set to include that. My boyfriend used to object and say that "gardening" is not exercise. It is if you have to go up and down the 2 sets of stairs on our outside balcony a lot, for various things. I always wear my HRM so I know the exact calories burned and log those. I don't care what anyone else thinks. If it works for me, it works for me.