Do you count cleaning as exercise?

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  • Brianna716
    Brianna716 Posts: 303 Member
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    Non-daily cleaning I do log, especially cleaning and washing my car. I only log 1/2 the time I've actually cleaned though.
  • JustJennie1
    JustJennie1 Posts: 3,843 Member
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    When I do a full house clean it takes me 5 - 6 hours and this includes dusting, vacuuming and mopping all the floors. I typically break a sweat and since it's completely out of the norm cleaning-wise I do log the calories burned.
  • spfldpam
    spfldpam Posts: 738 Member
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    I was counting it when I did heavy duty cleaning but now that I have a fitbit I don't. I only manually put in what my fitbit won't register like stationary bike and elliptical at the gym. For weight machines I don't count it either but I do log it under strength training in MFP but no calories are given to me and that is ok by me.
    I guess it depends on how active a person is. If not a very active person at all and it gets you moving and your heart beat going I guess I would count it.
    I don't usually eat back any of my exercise calories anyways but I like to track how many I have burned daily is why I have the fit bit and it motivates me to move more daily!
  • redladywitch
    redladywitch Posts: 799 Member
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    Yes, I count cleaning as exercise. Remember that this site is for you. Do what is best for you and don't allow others to change your course.
  • krissy_krossy
    krissy_krossy Posts: 307 Member
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    I don't. Unless it's out of the ordinary super-cleaning (like you described, but I'd probably log for half the time) then it seems silly. It seems to me that if it's so out of the ordinary to do day-to-day cleaning that someone feels the need to log it, then it's probably quite a workout because the house is probably pretty dirty.
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
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    nope
  • JessicaRobin67
    JessicaRobin67 Posts: 275 Member
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    No, I don't.
  • Gwen_B
    Gwen_B Posts: 1,018 Member
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    NEVER, I count exercise as exercise!! Only!!!
  • WendyBlendy
    WendyBlendy Posts: 124 Member
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    I always count it.
  • minivegrunner
    minivegrunner Posts: 45
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    I don't count my every day cleaning, but if i take on a huge project that I wouldn't normally do on a day to day basis... I've counted it before :)
  • JacquiKerzman
    JacquiKerzman Posts: 25
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    I dont personally count it. My burn time is my burn time, it is my daily goal to move, whatever I am dong which a lot of time is cleaning and mowing and moving :-) That is just part of what we are supposed to be.
  • FATJAKE5
    FATJAKE5 Posts: 162
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    Invite him to what we used to call a GI party. Make him wash and wax all the floors, vacuum all the carpets, dust all the furniture, spit-shine all the toilets, tubs showers and sinks in your house and then see what he has to say about it. LOL! While he is doing all of that remind him that the washer and dryer have to be running @ the same time and you expect 3 gourmet meals per day on the table @ the appropriate times. LOL! If he lives through that, let him know that your car needs to be washed, vacuumed and waxed. My wife runs the air conditioner in the winter time when she is doing house work. Which reminds me, this is Saturday morning. When she gets up, me and the dogs all disappear.
  • FATJAKE5
    FATJAKE5 Posts: 162
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    All of that said. I do not log much at all. What I care about is losing this 80 pond belly pack I carry around 24/7. Unless you are eating back every possible calorie, it doesn't make any difference. I only eat 1200 calories per day on the average because I need to lose about 30% of my starting weight as soon as possible. Just keep your eye on the prize,............nuthin' else matters.
  • jennfranklin
    jennfranklin Posts: 434 Member
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    I do not log cleaning, but for a clean like that I might, because it is not typical everyday cleaning!
  • Elicur
    Elicur Posts: 78 Member
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    I don't count cleaning as exercise, nor carrying a child. It's daily activity that I was doing when I was super fat too. LOL
  • krhn
    krhn Posts: 781 Member
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    I do as I log most things in anyway... If you don't and do a fairly physical clean up, you could in theory not take enough nutrients throughout the day.
    Also if I'm in a caloric deficit already, accidentally jumping 100kcal isn't going to detrimental to the weight loss programme as long as its at or below your maintenance calories!
  • Rockstar_JILL
    Rockstar_JILL Posts: 514 Member
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    I only count cleaning if it is a true workout, so to speak...scrubbing floors, washing walls, and moving things over and above the normal daily stuff would raise your heart rate enough to sweat, therefore I would only count it then. And then I would underestimate the time. If it doesn't raise your heart rate, then I don't think it should be counted as exercise.
  • wswilliams67
    wswilliams67 Posts: 938 Member
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    Problem with 'cleaning' is it's not really a steady HR raiser. Does it really get your HR up to 75% of max? Maybe for a coupe of minutes, but not 20-30.

    While you could definitely count the calories into the TDEE I don't know if you could consider it 'exercise'.

    Personally I don't count them, but I have a monitor that records ALL caloric burn no matter what I'm doing so I don't worry about burning calories anymore. I do track my workouts though just to see what my progress is.
  • girlfromOklahoma
    girlfromOklahoma Posts: 129 Member
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    I don't count it b/c I used to clean like crazy before I started this new lifestyle and I was still overweight. However, if I spent 4 hours doing a massive project like you've described I might count it, just since it did take a lot of sweat and energy that you might have otherwise put into a workout.
  • dakitten2
    dakitten2 Posts: 888 Member
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    For ME, I only count stuff I didn't do before changing my lifestyle. I did routine cleaning every day and major cleaning one day per week. That was my schedule before I started and still my schedule now. So I don't count it. But that doesn't mean what I do, works for everyone. It's my journey and I'm doing it my way.

    We always get a variance of answers when this question pops up. I say do what feels right for you.

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