Unless I sweat I don't log my activity.......right or wrong?
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We burn calories with everything we do from sleeping sitting and cleaning. I myself clean for a living and most every day during the week I am on my feet moving around and it burns a lot of energy and that is what we are doing when burning calories. We are burning calories, it is energy. Even at that, doing housework burns calories whether it be something small or big; and yes some people do actually sweat and can get a good workout cleaning. To each's own. Do what you want and what you think is right, but to those of you who want to say that cleaning and certain daily activities shouldn't be counted you are sounding very negative and unsupporting of your fellow MFP members, and friends.0
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I usually log yard work, general carpentry and housework because I generally work my a** off doing it. My home has 2 flights of stairs and those trips are accounted for on my fitbit and my yard work days usually put me over 10k steps for the day (big yard). Even though I log these activities I don't usually eat more because of them, I still try to stay within my daily allotment of 1800 calories.0
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Just want to reiterate that sweating isn't necessarily a gauge of physical exhertion for everyone. A friend of mine sweats very easily so she could go for a short walk and be sweaty. While for someone like me, it can take longer for the sweat to start coming and if the temps are low like they are now, I may hardly sweat at all.
If your heart rate is elevated and/our your breathing harder, then you're probably burning some calories over and above your normal daily activity level. I don't usually log cleaning either unless it's something major like moving furniture or cleaning windows. But I will usually log shopping days if I'm on my feet for hours walking around slowly. That is no where near my normal daily activity...I hate shopping!0 -
Clearly everyone is different, but I do log my cleaning from time to time. Mostly because when I decide I'm going to use that as my activity for the day, I go hard at it. It's not a leisurely cleaning. I set a time limit (ex. 30 minutes) and keep myself moving at a swift pace for that whole time. I think logging activities, like calories, is a matter of being honest with yourself. Only you know the level of your effort and how it differs from the norm.0
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As I understand MFP, if you register your activities as sedentary then pretty much anything like washing the car, mowing the lawn, shopping should be logged (bearing in mind you're probably overestimating calorie burns, and no, I don't trust HRMs). However if you register your activity level as very active, then I wouldn't include anything even exercise unless it's a marathon or a 3 peaks challenge.
I think MFP's lifestyle settings describes each level well enough to understand what the developer was thinking at the time:
Sedentary: Spend most of the day sitting (e.g. bank teller, desk job)
Lightly Active: Spend a good part of the day on your feet (e.g. teacher, salesman)
Active: Spend a good part of the day doing some physical activity (e.g. waitress, mailman)
Very Active: Spend most of the day doing heavy physical activity (e.g. bike messenger, carpenter)
So if you're on your *kitten* all day and set your lifestyle to "Active" then you're only cheating yourself if you start logging exercise.0 -
I only log planned activity, but my lifestyle factor is set to very active so it includes all the housework, running around after my kids etc. Most people aren't actually sedentary. So if you chose sedentary, feel free to log everything. If you're still losing weight that way, cool!0
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Dishes seem like a daily thing for me, so it's weird when people log it. However, sweat isn't important. If I go for a three mile walk, then that's logged, even if I didn't sweat during it.0
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If I were to log "cleaning" (which I haven't) you can believe it was some serious stinking cleaning! And with adult children moving out and leaving their filthy junk for me to pack up and clean up, I'd say I get some credit for that. And, chasing a 6 year old boy around and cleaning up after him should count for something too!!
But, I only log my activity when it is dedicated as exercise for the day. I may go on a 4 mile hike with the hubby and not break a sweat, but I'll claim the 300 or so calories.0 -
It depends. If you are set at sedentary and you do something out of the ordinary like clean out the garage or whole house spring cleaning, then I would think you should log it. Even though you may or may not sweat, you would definitely be burning more calories than an average sedentary day.
Heck, I could walk several miles without sweating if the weather was cool and I'd sure log that.0 -
i log anything that's not TMI (hubba hubba) & not my regular daily exercise.
so while i lift lots of boxes at work and run up and down stairs, i don't log that because that's a typical day.
forcing my *kitten* out of bed at 7am to walk my dog for 1/2 an hour, i count that.
basically i don't agree to only count something that makes you sweat. sometimes when i weight lift i don't sweat, but i feel the exertion and know i'm working my muscles.0 -
Only actual workouts and other strenuous activity out of my normal routine gets logged.
For example:
Yesterday's lifting session at the gym? Logged.
Yesterday's building of my wife's sewing table? Logged.
Yesterday's three loads of laundry and one load of dishes? Not logged.0 -
I don't care what others log. I stay in my own lane and do what works for me.
I agree. Staying focused on yourself is better then thinking about what other people count as exercise. Different things work for different people. Besides if they cant do much maybe it makes they feel like they are doing their best to burn some calories even if its not much.0 -
I log if I steam clean my carpets. That takes a couple of hours and is really hard work. I don't log doing dishes or just running the vacuum cleaner. I also log when I do heavy yard work like cutting the grass, raking the leaves, or digging up a large area to prep it for planting. I don't however log when I clean up the dog stuff or sweep the side walks. I don't log doing dishes or cleaning the bathrooms. Not much effort or as much effort in doing those things and they are done pretty regular so I consider that part of my daily routine. Things I don't normally do on a daily or at least once a week basis I will log.0
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i log anything that's not TMI (hubba hubba) & not my regular daily exercise.
so while i lift lots of boxes at work and run up and down stairs, i don't log that because that's a typical day.
forcing my *kitten* out of bed at 7am to walk my dog for 1/2 an hour, i count that.
basically i don't agree to only count something that makes you sweat. sometimes when i weight lift i don't sweat, but i feel the exertion and know i'm working my muscles.
There are people who do NOT sweat like me. I can work out all day and barely sweat at all. Maybe a little on my forehead but thats about it. Unless I'm super hot and its a hot muggy day then yes I'll sweat a bit but in general I don't sweat. So if you were to only log what makes you sweat then I would never have any activity logged at all.0 -
I only log actual, scheduled exercise, not daily, regular activities even though sometimes they make me sweat. But, that's just me. I chase a 4 and 2 year old around after working all day, but I'm not going to log "parenting"...and I also clean all the time.
I think if it's strenuous enough, I can see why people would log it...I just don't. 0 -
I don't log 'normal' cleaning and the like, but I would add if I was doing a full on carpet clean or moving furniture - it feels like a workout when my arms fall off and I can hardly walk afterwards ;-) I don't log walking around the shops or general school runs (but I do wear my pedometer all day), but I do log my dog walks - I run on alternate days and on my 'rest' days I will walk briskly wearing my garmin and HRM and class it as a workout. It all depends what is 'normal' for you - if I went for a walk with the dogs with the kids then it wouldn't be logged because it would be a gentle amble. Everyone is different and for some people logging the cleaning will give them the incentive to move up the exercises a bit - there's no shame in that!0
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Not necessarily sweat...I can get my heart rate up in the fat burn and fitness zone on my HRM for 30-45 minutes and not break a real sweat unless it's hot out. For me that's in the 130-140 BPM range on my HRM. Otherwise, I would agree...logging cleaning the house and what not is really just milking the system and I would imagine that the results are not what people are hoping for when they do this.
HR above 130 for 30 minutes or more and I log it; otherwise, no...and I don't log lifting weights either...only cardio that has resulted in my HR being above 130 for 30 consecutive minutes or more.0 -
I don't bother to include it, because I reason that day to day housework that I would normally do is already included. I think there's also a big danger of overestimating. If you spend two hours cleaning the house, you will burn quite a few calories, but you'd also burn a fair amount of calories in 2 hours of watching TV. When the calorie counts seem high, I sometimes wonder if people are logging the total they've burned in those two hours instead of just the extra they've burned.
However .... I don't think it's always necessary to sweat to log the calories. If you went for a walk in addition to your normal activities for the day, then I think that's worth logging whether you sweat or not. Or if you did a lot of cleaning, more than you would normally do. I think you get a sense of what's part of your everyday activity and what's "extra".0 -
I agree with bcattoes.0
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Nope, for those of us who have weight to lose (myself included), the day-to-day activities have clearly been insufficient to counter the food consumption so far, so why would I start logging it now?
It's already incoroporated within the minimum calorie requirements afaiac.0 -
I feel like some people really reach for the extra calories burned, but I count them the same way as you! You certainly aren't going to lapse into "starvation mode" because you deep cleaned your house and burned some extra calories one week.0
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I typically don't log cleaning, but a couple weeks ago, I logged doing the laundry because I had to do it the old fashioned way with a scrub board. Lol. I was exhausted. Our machines at my apartment complex weren't working and I had to get it done. Other than that though, I typically only log planned exercise.0
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If I know I am going to spend a straight hour or two of hard core cleaning like moving all the furniture to vaccuum and cleaning windows or walls, then I will put on my HRM and calculate those calories if there is no rest in between the cleaning. But, I also have myself listed as sedentary, so I feel this would be above my normal daily activity just like my workouts would be. I think if you have your activity increased on MFP, then logging these calories burned probably wouldn't be necessary.0
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I don't log my cleaning rituals unless they result in me breaking a sweat. Doing the dishes, the laundry and taking out the tash DON"T COUNT.
But moving furniture to vacume, packing up or unpacking holiday decorations, washing floors by hand etc. These are things that are not done on a daily basis. Perhaps a weekly, biweekly or monthly basis.
So in my opinion, yes they count0 -
I agree. I don't even log (or get a stripe) if I don't feel like I've worked hard enough in taekwondo. I think it's all individual preference.0
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I only log intentional exercise. ADLs (activities of daily life) are figured in when you put your activity level in set up.0
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I generally log housework if its above and beyond my daily routine. So with laundry, it has to be a consistent folding, putting away etc. Not just a load or two a day -- I consider that my daily routine. I never even thought to log dishes because I have to do them each day. I do log my "get into crevaces" and "deep cleaning" because I don't do it. Picking up after my husband and two kids is an every day activity, but I don't scrub down my bathroom from top to bottom every day. Or recently, I spent an entire afternoon working in my kitchen taking everything out of my cabinets, washing them down and reorganizing them -- I logged that.0
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I log any extra walking I do that is with the intent of trying to do extra....I do log cleaning sometimes but NOT daily cleaning...I only log cleaning when I go on a "let's move the fridge and stove and hand scrub the floor" type cleaning....bc maybe once every 2 or 3 weeks I go on a major cleaning overload...I pick aup and do normal stuff daily but every once and a while I go way overboard shampooing carpets with one of those big rental carpet cleaners and if u have ever used one of these u know it IS work lol...or as I said I hand scrub floors...tubs...and so on...heavy cleaning is a way to deal with stress for me but isn't something I do everyvday.
So I guess if I feel its outside of my daily...and my body feels worked more than normal then yes I log it. Then again I dont really exercise...I just chase a 2 year old lol0 -
I typically don't log cleaning, but a couple weeks ago, I logged doing the laundry because I had to do it the old fashioned way with a scrub board. Lol. I was exhausted. Our machines at my apartment complex weren't working and I had to get it done. Other than that though, I typically only log planned exercise.
YIKES....YES THAT IS WORK!!!!!0 -
I generally log housework if its above and beyond my daily routine. So with laundry, it has to be a consistent folding, putting away etc. Not just a load or two a day -- I consider that my daily routine. I never even thought to log dishes because I have to do them each day. I do log my "get into crevaces" and "deep cleaning" because I don't do it. Picking up after my husband and two kids is an every day activity, but I don't scrub down my bathroom from top to bottom every day. Or recently, I spent an entire afternoon working in my kitchen taking everything out of my cabinets, washing them down and reorganizing them -- I logged that.
I agree....if its above ur daily norm its ok to log bc u are burning more...and honestly I dont always eat back the extra caories anyway...so I think deep cleaning is ok to log too
What I think is if you are loosing weight then obviously whatever system ur using is working. Now if I wasn't loosing weight I may re evaluate.0
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