House Cleaning count as Exercise?

RllyGudTweetr · May 2013

I don't count it because I was still doing it while I was stuffing my face and getting chubby.

So, people (like me) who walked two or more hours a day and ate at a surplus to get heavier shouldn't log the walking they do once they start eating at a deficit?

Unknown · May 2013

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kellijauch · May 2013

I break a sweat cleaning half the time, so I think you could consider it exercise, but I wouldn't track it on here or replace my work out with it. That would be like saying the walk from your car into your building at work is exercise. It's not. It's just something you do.

nrod1988 · May 2013

i agree. I only use it when im doing deep cleaning

MyOwnSunshine · May 2013

[/quote]

my new exercise program is going to be - clean your way and wash dishes to fat loss in 60 days or your money back ...
[/quote]

Would you like to hold classes at my house?

bearkisses · May 2013

so if you walk outside in the summer and sweat do you log that?

I powerwalk outside in the summer. i sweat. I log it. Are you saying that I shouldn't log 600 calories worked off?

how many hours straight are you walking to burn those 600 cals!

ndj1979 · May 2013

my new exercise program is going to be - clean your way and wash dishes to fat loss in 60 days or your money back ...
[/quote]

Would you like to hold classes at my house?
[/quote]

sure, I do it in the nude, but that costs extra...

Annerk1 · May 2013

so if you walk outside in the summer and sweat do you log that?

I powerwalk outside in the summer. i sweat. I log it. Are you saying that I shouldn't log 600 calories worked off?

how many hours straight are you walking to burn those 600 cals!

Five miles every day. (Currently side lined with an injury for a few more days

) Takes me an average of about an hour. I walk faster than some of the joggers in my neighborhood. :bigsmile:

ndj1979 · May 2013

so if you walk outside in the summer and sweat do you log that?

I powerwalk outside in the summer. i sweat. I log it. Are you saying that I shouldn't log 600 calories worked off?

well my comment was not directed at you

It was a wise as* reply to someone who said "anything that I do that breaks a sweat I log" so I was saying if you just step outside and start to sweat do you log that?

I would count power walking as exercise so go ahead and log it...

Momma2PrinceNPrincess · May 2013

Hell yea I log it! But it's only on the days I actually spend 20 min or more on heavier cleaning...vacuuming my entire house, mopping the floors, scrubbing the kitchen, every bathroom, etc. Picking up toys, putting way laundry, doing dishes....no, those activities I don't log.

PinkEarthMama · May 2013

If its part of what you do every day - don't count it.

If its out of the ordinary, count it. A friend of mine is over 400 and picking up the toys is HARD for her. If it makes her feel more productive, I am all for counting.

I count mine only if I'm doing the whole house top to bottom. I counted cleaning out the garage as housework, too.

bearkisses · May 2013

so if you walk outside in the summer and sweat do you log that?

I powerwalk outside in the summer. i sweat. I log it. Are you saying that I shouldn't log 600 calories worked off?

how many hours straight are you walking to burn those 600 cals!

Five miles every day. (Currently side lined with an injury for a few more days ) Takes me an average of about an hour. I walk faster than some of the joggers in my neighborhood. :bigsmile:

you are not burning 600 calories in an hour of walking

astrampe · May 2013

so if you walk outside in the summer and sweat do you log that?

I powerwalk outside in the summer. i sweat. I log it. Are you saying that I shouldn't log 600 calories worked off?

how many hours straight are you walking to burn those 600 cals!

Five miles every day. (Currently side lined with an injury for a few more days ) Takes me an average of about an hour. I walk faster than some of the joggers in my neighborhood. :bigsmile:

you are not burning 600 calories in an hour of walking

That's a little presumtious!! Do you know the posters weight, age, size fitness lever and lever of exercion to make such a comment.... It is quite possible to burn 600 cals an hour speedwalking.....

Mokey41 · May 2013

What is this deep cleaning everyone does? I cleaned out my dad's crawl space last night. Is that deep cleaning since it was under the basement?

I love the endless search for more to eat and the sweat equals calories burned theory.

movu101779 · May 2013

I only count it on the day I do deep cleaning for HOURS. Usually 4 - 5 hours. 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, livingroom, dining room and kitchen.. So yes I count it. However, I still do my normaly daily workout. Get your heart rate up for a long period of time is the way to go..

Annerk1 · May 2013

so if you walk outside in the summer and sweat do you log that?

I powerwalk outside in the summer. i sweat. I log it. Are you saying that I shouldn't log 600 calories worked off?

how many hours straight are you walking to burn those 600 cals!

Five miles every day. (Currently side lined with an injury for a few more days ) Takes me an average of about an hour. I walk faster than some of the joggers in my neighborhood. :bigsmile:

you are not burning 600 calories in an hour of walking

Wrong. Like I said, it's power walking. I walk faster than some joggers. It's highly cardio intensive and involves legs, arms, and core, It's not a stroll around the block. The numbers jive with both Map My walk and MFP.

italian_bella_xo · May 2013

You are moving around and not being a couch potato! Anything you do moving is considered exercise in my opinon. I learned the other day that you burn calories when you click a mouse! haha crazy.

Mokey41 · May 2013

You are moving around and not being a couch potato! Anything you do moving is considered exercise in my opinon. I learned the other day that you burn calories when you click a mouse! haha crazy.

You burn calories sleeping and breathing and just existing, doesn't make it exercise.

newdaydawning79 · May 2013

Oh goodness.

These threads always become a snarkfest.

That being said...if you're logging it, eating those cals back and it works? Good for you. If it doesn't? Re-evaluate. What one person considers exercise another may not. That's the lovely thing about being different people taking this journey. :flowerforyou:

CarmenSRT · May 2013

so if you walk outside in the summer and sweat do you log that?

I powerwalk outside in the summer. i sweat. I log it. Are you saying that I shouldn't log 600 calories worked off?

how many hours straight are you walking to burn those 600 cals!

Five miles every day. (Currently side lined with an injury for a few more days ) Takes me an average of about an hour. I walk faster than some of the joggers in my neighborhood. :bigsmile:

you are not burning 600 calories in an hour of walking

Wrong. Like I said, it's power walking. I walk faster than some joggers. It's highly cardio intensive and involves legs, arms, and core, It's not a stroll around the block. The numbers jive with both Map My walk and MFP.

I don't power walk. At age 46 however I can tell you that at my present weight of 164 lbs I burn ~100 calories per mile walked (Body Media Fit Link stats). 600 cals for 5 miles power walking passes the smell test.

HotMummyMission · May 2013

I don't count day to day cleaning but I sure as hell count my spring cleaning

ducky715 · May 2013

I always work up a sweat while cleaning. So, as an experiment, I decided to wear my HRM while cleaning one day. Turns out I actually burned more calories than MFP estimates. So, to me, it is a form of exercise. I may not always log it, but I consider it to be a calorie burning activity.

Thank you for putting this up. :flowerforyou:

Kxgz · May 2013

I think it's a joke logging cleaning. Pretty sure we didn't just start cleaning when we.decided to eat right and exercise. And then I see people log "cleaning calories" and then turn around and eat those "earned" calories. They are not doing themselves any favors by doing this.

mjcat002 · May 2013

Yes, housework burns calories. All activities burn calories.
Here is a good link w/examples;

http://www.livestrong.com/article/356409-how-many-calories-does-housework-burn/

krisjohnson121 · May 2013

I typically do not log cleaning - however last Saturday I did not get to go to the gym but I cleaned all day I mean ALL day. We recently moved so I was unpacking boxes, going up and down the stairs - so I logged it! I think it just depends...

crazybookworm · May 2013

I'm a very active person. When I have my weekly cleaning day that includes vacuuming, mopping, dusting, Laundry(doing, folding and putting away) Cleaning the bathroom, scrubbing the kitchen...I can work up quite a sweat! So yes, I would definitely count it as a very mild form of Cardio. HOWEVER, I do not log my cleaning. Just like I don't log my Yoga or Dog Walks. It is all part of my daily routine. I did these things when I was overweight and it never contributed to my weight loss then

But there are those days when you do vigorous house work that you can definitely feel the next day!

newdaydawning79 · May 2013

I'd call it cleaning. If you break a sweat then you are burning calories. That's good. Exercises are specific actions you take toward a desired goal. Cleaning is not specific at all. As many have said, just how vigorous is the cleaning? If you clean and can guess the calories burned you can then add it to your chart for the day.

Sweat is not a determination of burning calories, just for the record. I barely break a sweat in a half hour of going hard on the elliptical, just because I don't sweat much. My BodyMedia shows quite the cal burn for that amount of time, regardless of what's coming out of my pores.

neandermagnon · May 2013

I think that it depends on what one's activity level is set at. Sedentary? Yes. Active? No.

^^^^ this, in terms of logging calories

in terms of health benefits and feeling good about new lifestyle changes, for someone who has been very sedentary in the past and wants to change that, or has health issues that make many kinds of exercise difficult, I think they deserve props and kudos for anything that gets them moving more, including cleaning. And yes there'll be a health benefit from it, compared to being sedentary.

neandermagnon · May 2013

I'd call it cleaning. If you break a sweat then you are burning calories. That's good. Exercises are specific actions you take toward a desired goal. Cleaning is not specific at all. As many have said, just how vigorous is the cleaning? If you clean and can guess the calories burned you can then add it to your chart for the day.

Sweat is not a determination of burning calories, just for the record. I barely break a sweat in a half hour of going hard on the elliptical, just because I don't sweat much. My BodyMedia shows quite the cal burn for that amount of time, regardless of what's coming out of my pores.

^^^^ this!

otherwise I could just sit on my sofa all day without the air conditioning on and call it exercise! (I live in a hot humid climate)

cgirlygirl · May 2013

I NEVER count cleaning as exercise. I do have my calories set as sedentary since I work a desk job. I just consider it "extra burn" and mentally add it to my 3,500 I need to meet each week.

House Cleaning count as Exercise?

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