Cleaning. Do you or don't you log it and why?

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Replies

  • navywife5810
    navywife5810 Posts: 63 Member
    i do because being injured prevents me from doing much else. i get physical therapy twice a week & that's about it.
    since i started logging cleaning & cooking & other things ppl may find silly, i haven't gained. my weight loss definitely slowed, but i'm still losing.
    i guess part of it also has to do with me wearing ankle weights so 10 extra lbs on each leg while i wobble my way around my house takes a lot of effort.
  • Steve_Runs
    Steve_Runs Posts: 443 Member
    Hell no! Personally, I think it's silly. I walk at least 3 miles every day in my job and burn a number of calories. I don't log them. I don't comment on posts that show a 'cleaning' burn either. Same goes for yard work.
  • msbunnie68
    msbunnie68 Posts: 1,894 Member
    I set MPF to active to account for my daily housework (We are a family of 5 so all I seem to do on my days off is clean/iron/cook/clean some more) and cover the days I work (in kindergarten chasing little kids all day). So generally I don't log house cleaning even though one of my days off per week is spent scrubbing the house top to bottom and that takes between 4 and 5 hours of full on cleaning. I do log it if I do something extra like cleaning all the windows inside and out because that is a workout. I see it as I earned a banana to snack on during it.

    I also don't log my gardening/yard work as a general rule although I did log it the other day as I prepared the ground and laid 20 square metres (about 215 square feet) of roll on turf in the yard for my beagles to play on.

    Oh and I DO log my dog walks - we have 2 lively beagles that I walk both at the same time on a split lead set up and let me tell you, that is one serious workout!
  • hhayes06
    hhayes06 Posts: 189 Member
    I haven't read the whole thread so if I am inturrupting a debate I am sorry.

    I only log cleaning when I actually clean the whole house, which to be honest isn't all that often. Between 2 small children, shift work and rarely seeing my husband, cleaning is way down on my priority list. The dishes are done daily along with picking up all the toys and clutter but true cleaning is maybe once a month. The bathroom gets a quick rubdown weekly but other than that, it can wait. I do spend a good 4 hours cleaning my house but I generally only log an hour or two. Many breaks are taken so I can deal with whatever arguement has come up between my 4yo and 2yo boys. :laugh:
  • sakimiko
    sakimiko Posts: 2
    Never... I see it as trying to make an excuse to eat more. If I need extra calories that bad I can go for a walk/run/swim first.
  • Nina2503
    Nina2503 Posts: 172 Member
    Weekends only when I do a two hour burst of vacuming and mopping floors etc. Otherwise no I count it as just part of normal daily activity and dont log it.

    I wouldnt want to fall in to the trap of logging every movement when my profile already accounts for a cetain calorie burn for general daily living.
  • gjulie
    gjulie Posts: 391
    generally I wouldnt one day just for the hell of it I put on my heart rate monitor I was cleaning out rooms changing bed scrubbing bathrooms ect I was suprisede to see Id burnt 500 cals in 2 hours but usually I wouldnt bother!
  • NocturnalGirl
    NocturnalGirl Posts: 1,762
    No I don't log it because it isn't exercise. My question is: do you do it just to burn calories or to simply clean your place? The purpose of the task seems to be detracted away from what it's really supposed to do. I find it silly to log it, just my opinion.

    Also, the daily activity is already included in the calories provided.
  • Coming4U
    Coming4U Posts: 93 Member
    I don't. I cleaned my house before and I got fat, why would I log it in as my workout? It didn't do any good before! :wink:

    ^^^^^^^ THIS!!

    Very good point.
  • Coming4U
    Coming4U Posts: 93 Member
    Yeah, I think logging things like cleaning and walking dogs or whatever just sets you up for failure. MFP overestimates calories burned anyway so if you log every little physical activity you do, plus eat those 'exercise calories' back, you're not going to lose, and you may even gain.

    I personally only log what I set out to do as exercise. If I clean, I just count it as a little bonus like someone else said. :)

    I don't consider myself a failure at all. I lost 70 pounds before I was bowled over with heath issues. I am recovering from cancer and radiation, and cleaning is a challenge for me. Don't judge others by your standards unless you've walked in their shoes. I'm proud to say I lost 70 pounds and I'm a cancer survivor.

    I dont think the person was calling you a failure at all...they said it sets you up to fail...very different. There was no judging either, just giving their opinion on the matter like the creator of the thread asked for. If they were telling you this then that would be different.
  • JBott84
    JBott84 Posts: 268 Member
    I don't. I cleaned my house before and I got fat, why would I log it in as my workout? It didn't do any good before! :wink:

    ^^^^^^^ THIS!!

    Very good point.

    Exactly!
  • DenyseMarieL
    DenyseMarieL Posts: 673 Member
    The only time I log exercise is when I really exercise. Took a walk, went for run, lifted some weights, etc. I think we all burn those little bits of calories all day that we don't account for, and that can give us a bit of a bonus at the end of the day, for those 100 calories we went over.... ; )
  • Coffeeholic8
    Coffeeholic8 Posts: 272 Member
    No, I cleaned when I was fat, I still clean now. I only log the exercise I didn't do when I was fat, the other stuff is just what needs doing to live a normal life.
  • CherryOnionKiss
    CherryOnionKiss Posts: 376 Member
    I don't log cleaning because I do it every week.
  • BamsieEkhaya
    BamsieEkhaya Posts: 657 Member
    not the everyday cleaning, actually just no, not even the 3day monthly cleans =), its good enough knowing that I've done ALL of that
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    I don't log it. That's part of my daily activity.
  • jgsparks89
    jgsparks89 Posts: 85 Member
    Nope not usually....I consider it to be built in to my normal activity level...the only exception being if we are doing major deep cleaning that involves moving furniture or large items and takes more than 4-5 hours.
  • mercymarque
    mercymarque Posts: 450
    Personally I don't log it... if your a janitor for a living it's work. I'm sure you burn calories cleaning and cooking but it can't be that significant. And if your not doing anything else and eating back calories and not losing your probably setting urself up for failure. Just my opinion.
  • kenazfehu
    kenazfehu Posts: 1,188 Member
    I've decided to quit logging it and only log deliberate workouts. Any other activity will be a bonus.
  • a_mandolin_
    a_mandolin_ Posts: 336 Member
    I just saw a Ziplock commercial that said cleaning is healthy as it burns calories. The bf looked at me and said, see, there is another reason to clean!

    HA! I don't think so. I date you because you are clean. If I were to clean, there would be no reason for us. :p
  • AmberJo1984
    AmberJo1984 Posts: 1,067 Member
    I don't log it, unless it's something BIG, like hanging wallpaper or redecorating -- which really isn't cleaning, but I log it that way.
  • kingscrown
    kingscrown Posts: 615 Member
    When I was out of town helping my ailing parents I logged house cleaning as it was nearly the only exercise I got. Generally, though I don't since I workout a lot. I think of it as my secret burned calories.
  • Countryslove
    Countryslove Posts: 50
    I don't log cleaning as exercise. I also consider it an added bonus.
    I also don't log going shopping with my husband who is about a foot taller than I am and sometimes to keep up with him I am practically running lol
  • beccannes
    beccannes Posts: 88
    Anything that is part of your normally daily job or routine you shouldn't log. Including cleaning. :) The system automatically accounts for that.
  • algebravoodoo
    algebravoodoo Posts: 776 Member
    Not enough time spent cleaning in any given day to even bother :wink:
    With all but one child grown, moved out and no longer creating dirty laundry and dishes in this household, it takes maybe all of 30 minutes a day to maintain an acceptable level of clean here. My husband and our 17yo sone share the chores so it really takes nothing.
  • Illona88
    Illona88 Posts: 903 Member
    I only log it if I have spent a lot of time cleaning, otherwise it's just not worth the bother really.
  • zclark13
    zclark13 Posts: 135 Member
    If it isn't something I do EVERY DAY, then it is extra activity. Maybe extra activity isn't "excercise" exactly, but it is something more than your daily activity level so I feel it should be counted as something and "excercise" is the only option. I don't log cooking, laundry, sweeping the floor or doing the dishes, but I don't scrub toilets, showers or floors every day (sorry if that grosses you out but I don't think daily scrubbing is necessary and I don't have time to do it every day). When I DO clean the bathrooms and seriously clean the floors then it takes me a couple of hours and I get sweaty doing it.

    I have my daily activity level set at sedentary, because I work 3 part-time jobs 2 of which are desk jobs. If I'm working in an office then I don't have much actual activity in the day, but when I'm teaching (I'm a substitute teacher) I don't increase my activity level just for that day, that is my bonus.
  • Alex_is_Hawks
    Alex_is_Hawks Posts: 3,499 Member
    I don't log it...i only log what I call purposeful exercise...

    that means i only log what i consider my "exercise" routine...anything and everything else i consider part of my day to day burn....

    that being said...over the past year...my mobility and movement quotient has drastically changed so I could probably move myself from sedentary to lightly active...the only reason why i haven't is because i DO work an 8 hour a day desk job...

    however I do make a point of moving around a lot in that job too...so...i dunno...
  • Jongfaith
    Jongfaith Posts: 195
    I don't count my cleaning unless I break a sweat... which is rare! I do however use that as my go to when I do something strenuous and have no idea what to count it for. For example two weeks ago I started a huge project of removing my whirlpool tub, taking out the carpet and refinishing the hardwood floors. Very hard work for three days straight... definately broke a sweat and stuck to it for eight to ten hours a day! I just logged it as light cleaning because who the heck knows what it really was. *shrug. But I lost some weight even though I didn't go to the gym and my house looks beautiful now:happy:
  • LadyBeryl
    LadyBeryl Posts: 344 Member
    Since I have a cleaning lady, I rarely count any cleaning. Regular upkeep (making beds, dishes, wipe-downs, vacuuming, laundry, taking out the garbage) doesn't gets counted. If I take extra steps cleaning, Fitbit will catch them and make an "adjustment".

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