Question about Logging exercise...

stahnzim
stahnzim Posts: 4
in Fitness and Exercise
I spent the whole day unpacking clothes, dishes and laundering many laundry loads. I am not sure how to log it. I didnt see a generic entry for "Housework" so I selected Cleaning Light/Moderate. I put in 180 minutes and it indicated that I burnt off over 600 calories.... is that really a possibility? It seems High. I guess I am hoping to get some reassurance. LOL.

Replies

  • sweetdianachka
    sweetdianachka Posts: 318 Member
    What is your normal activity level set to? If it is sedentary then you may want to log the activity, but if you're set on anything higher, than the cals you burned might just be a part of your normal day. I usually don't log exercise unless I throw on the workout clothes and do something specifically that is a workout. You can always wear a heart rate monitor if you're really interested in how many calories YOU burn.
  • saraann4
    saraann4 Posts: 1,296 Member
    I wouldn't log it.
  • omgiacobbi
    omgiacobbi Posts: 88 Member
    It's based off of what you weigh and your current activity level, though many MFPers think it rounds high anyway. That's how I would have logged it though.
  • cookn_mama
    cookn_mama Posts: 228 Member
    Any activity burns calories. I log it.
  • bkesecker
    bkesecker Posts: 163 Member
    That's a good question. I wonder that myself. I spent 2 1/2 hours at the mall today school shopping for my daughter. I did log that in as walking at 2.0. I feel it is a legit calorie burn. Packing, unpacking, laundry all have you moving more than usual. I would log it.
  • Xanne
    Xanne Posts: 27 Member
    I think I would have logged it pretty much the same way - maybe subtracting a little bit from the total. It depends on how vigorously you go about your chores, I think. Also your current weight; the heavier you are, the more you burn. ; )

    I use a FitBit for measuring my activity - every step, every flight of stairs/hill, sleep,etc. I love it, because it is all so automatic - nothing to set, it just records and logs. It also syncs with MFP, so I record food on MFP because the database is larger.
  • impyimpyaj
    impyimpyaj Posts: 1,073 Member
    I would log it, but I tend to log cleaning for about half the time I spent working. Because doing dishes and folding laundry takes less energy than, say, scrubbing the floor, so I figure I was working at a moderate pace about half the total time I was working. If that makes sense.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Any activity burns calories. I log it.

    Breathing burns calories, is breathing under cardio or strength?.......:laugh: :laugh:

    Seriously though, to the OP - is this outside your normal activity level? One of the traps I suspect many MFP members fall into is logging ordinary day-to-day activities, eating their "exercise" calories and then subsequently getting frustrated because they're not losing weight.
  • SPNLuver83
    SPNLuver83 Posts: 2,050 Member
    meh, I wouldn't even log it
  • stahnzim
    stahnzim Posts: 4
    Thank you all for your replies so far. Okay, now I am getting a better picture of how this works.

    I am (sadly) a rather sedentry person (thats what I originally reported when I signed up). I sit in front of a computer for work all day and then most of my nights are on the home computer. My home or office do not require me to climb any stairs.

    Today I am visiting relatives and the house has a flight of stairs and I have been going up and down with laundry baskets, books, plates and glassware, ironing, folding, etc. etc. (about 8 hours total). But I figured it would be better to reduce the total hours in reporting it.

    I have heard of fit bit before and will definitely look into it.

    Thanks again for the input/support.
  • cookn_mama
    cookn_mama Posts: 228 Member
    FitBit? What is it and where can I get one!!??
  • ScottFree_66
    ScottFree_66 Posts: 200
    FitBit? What is it and where can I get one!!??

    Link:
    http://www.fitbit.com/product/features
  • LyssaJ1
    LyssaJ1 Posts: 240 Member
    ... My home or office do not require me to climb any stairs.

    Today I am visiting relatives and the house has a flight of stairs and I have been going up and down with laundry baskets, books, plates and glassware, ironing, folding, etc. etc. (about 8 hours total). But I figured it would be better to reduce the total hours in reporting it. ...

    Considering you normally do not have to climb stairs and also taking into account that you reduced the total hours, I would *definitely* log it as exercise. With all that you've done, you've more than earned it, as you've undoubtedly raised your heart rate quite a bit. Of course, that's just my opinion...and considering I've done similar when I lived with my grandma-in-law and had to do three flights of stairs...yes, it all adds up, exercise-wise.
  • Big_Daddy6
    Big_Daddy6 Posts: 188
    What is your normal activity level set to? If it is sedentary then you may want to log the activity, but if you're set on anything higher, than the cals you burned might just be a part of your normal day. I usually don't log exercise unless I throw on the workout clothes and do something specifically that is a workout. You can always wear a heart rate monitor if you're really interested in how many calories YOU burn.


    Exactly.................. let's be brutally honest with ourselves. If your activity is set to say lightly active then it would be like logging it twice. We have to draw the line somewhere on what is and what isn't exercise. We have to be honest with our calorie and exercise logs if we are going to be successful.
    However, if it was an activity above and beyond what I normally would do I might consider logging it.
    Good luck on your goals everyone.
  • NickiRae04
    NickiRae04 Posts: 37 Member
    I log my cleaning calories - I have a HRM (Heart Rate Monitor) and for 3 hours this past Saturday I burn 960 calories! I recommend logging.. As long as your breaking a sweat! If not don't worry about it! LOL
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    I think it depends on a lot of other factors. If it is a lot more work than normal, and you broke a sweat and tuckered yourself out, then you might want to log it, but maybe just half of it. I try to be conservative so that I don't set myself up for disappointment.
  • ggcat
    ggcat Posts: 313 Member
    meh, I wouldn't even log it


    ...meh agreed.
  • funkyspunky872
    funkyspunky872 Posts: 866 Member
    Oh definitely log it since you're normally a very sedentary person! I wouldn't eat back 600 calories though as MFP often overestimates the little things (and underestimates some of the intenser workouts!). Maybe try changing your activity level to active for the day? Just change it back to sedentary when you go back to your normal routine.
  • RhonndaJ
    RhonndaJ Posts: 1,615 Member
    If you list yourself as sedentary and this is well outside your normal amount of housework, I'd say log it. though I don't necessarily trust the calorie burn shown here.
  • musicalsoul207
    musicalsoul207 Posts: 15 Member
    I don't usually log my cleaning hours, just like I don't log the exercise I get at work. Of course I have mine set to active because I work in a very large retail store so I'm always moving around breaking a sweat. That's why when I first started using MFP I lost a bunch of weight because I put in the wrong "lifestyle" type, I never realized how active I was at work.

    I'd say if it's more active cleaning then log it, but maybe scale it down a bit.
  • joecollins9385
    joecollins9385 Posts: 355 Member
    meh, I wouldn't even log it


    ...meh agreed.

    meh ill third this ^^^
  • Mom_To_5
    Mom_To_5 Posts: 646 Member
    i personally don't log housework or yard work, the only thing i log as exercise is actual exercise, like wheni run on my treadmill or outside. I too sit at a desk for 8 hours a day and then also a bit more at night at home on my computer doing paperwork for our business. We were at an amusement park all day Saturday and did lots of walking, didn't log any of it, but then again i didn't log anything all weekend as i ate so badly and couldn't really log the food i was eating anyways since i didn't prepare it myself.
  • beattie1
    beattie1 Posts: 1,012 Member
    I registered as sedentary and I log cleaning, housework, gardening and so on if it's more than about half an hour at a time, but I only eat about half of the extra exercise calories "earned" that way.
  • 2BhappyBhealthy
    2BhappyBhealthy Posts: 181 Member
    Yeah every "body" is different... BUT I typically don't log daily activies like that unless I am really tearin' it up! I figure if I burn a little extra calories - it's just a "bonus". Better to error in the direction of losing weight than gaining right..?? Because you KNOW there was that one time when that chocolate covered almond just fell from the sky and randomly landed in your mouth and your phone was no where near you so you couldn't log it.... Juuuusayin' - it's happened to me a time or two. ;)
  • musicalsoul207
    musicalsoul207 Posts: 15 Member
    but then again i didn't log anything all weekend as i ate so badly and couldn't really log the food i was eating anyways since i didn't prepare it myself.

    I log stuff from restaurants all the time. All you have to do is search for it.

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