Cleaning counting towards your calorie burn?

MissKalhan

I saw a thread a few days ago about how most of you don't count cleaning as calories burned, before I move here I didn't but now I do. My roommates are slobs and I live with 4 of them..... This is just the kitchen counter, the floor is disgusting and I'm not even going to start on the living room and shag carpet that NEEDS to be vacuumed something fierce. Can I pretty please count this towards my calories burned?
Really I just needed to rant....
<a href="http://tinypic.com?ref=2r5tgg0&quot; target="_blank"><img src="http://i46.tinypic.com/2r5tgg0.jpg&quot; border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a>

MissKalhan

In other news I fail at posting pictures apparently....

phoneman16

I always count calories burned while mowing the yard, so why not.

Fluffykristi

Sounds like you need new roommates

When it comes to cleaning or anything that is not pure intentional exercise, this is my theory: if it not something you would normally do on a daily basis, log it. General housecleaning I do not log as I assume its in my normal routine. Cleaning out a 10x10 storage unit? I'm wearing my heart rate monitor and logging that. I also log mowing the lawn since that is a weekly activity and not part of my daily routine.

That's my opinion.

bkesecker

I look at it this way - what would you be doing if you are not cleaning? Sitting on the couch watching football? What burns more calories, pushing the vacuum and scrubbing tubs or watching football? I say, count the cleaning. I have already been to the gym this morning and am getting ready to do my weekly all out, top to bottom, whole house cleaning. It will take me about 3 hours. I will be counting it!

Tdk4685

If you want to count it count it. Some times I do sometimes I dont, it just depends on how much is involved.

djsupreme6

I would count cleaning as a burn...since..well...you are burning cals while doing it...some don't..some do count it...its all a preference....probably burn more cals with an hr of cleaning then an hr of weight training...I know I do

ScatteredThoughts

Yikes!

Rosa1213

Oh my God, you need new roommates ASAP!!!
I'm not the cleanest person alive, but I'm pretty neat and I like my apartment to look pretty and girly. Fortunately, I only have one roommate, so there isn't much she can do that I can't clean up in an hour or so.

About the logging, I don't log stuff like that, just because my thought is: Did I do this when I was fat? If no, (like taking a long afternoon walk, for example) that's when it counts as exercise to me

DamnImASexyBitch

I count everything. Cleaning, walking, sex even. It's all exercise! I also tend to shave off like 15 minutes from each activity because I think that mfp gives too much credit.

OspreyVista

It depends on how long Im cleaning and how much. If I'm just doing a load of dishes and some laundry for the day I don't bother. But If I spend 2-3 hours cleaning, Ill log half the amount that I do so that I don't overestimate on calories burned.

Rhia55

I would kill them. I don't know how you stand that. If you have to clean THAT up, I'd call that a burn.

emmalene1984

I did a massive entire house clean this morning, and logged it. Like others have said, if it's proper housework, if you get hot doing it, your heart rate increases, it tires you out, log it. if it's just a case of loading the dishwasher/ putting a load of laundry in the machine/ hanging it out to dry, then I don't bother. I guess anything that takes on avg 30mins or more i generally log as it usually means im working up a bit of a sweat. that being said, I don't really eat back my exercise calories as i am so sedentary the rest of the day. (unemployed at the moment and spend my days job hunting on my laptop mostly)

Anyway, like others have said, do what you want to do, and you know if the calorie burn for the time period is roughly accurate or not, compare it to the same calorie burn doing other exercise, like running or aerobics etc.

Good luck :-)

Scottish_charlene_84

No i dont count my day to day things as exercise coz they r included in my activity level in my profile

ladymiseryali

I count cleaning if I do it for more than a couple of minutes. My fiance and I live with his obese mother and morbidly obese brother. They NEVER clean up after themselves, and being the neat freak that I am, I end up doing it. I don't count wiping a counter here and there, but I would count it if I mopped the floors or was vigorously scrubbing the bathroom from top to bottom.