light/moderate cleaning-what do you include?

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Kate_UK
Kate_UK Posts: 1,299 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I've just finished cleaning from top to bottom, vaccuming, dusting, mopping, polishing, tidying etc. I've counted all this as light/moderate cleaning, but what do you count as light cleaning as opposed to heavy vigorous cleaning?

Kx

Replies

  • SaraTN
    SaraTN Posts: 536 Member
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    I don't include everyday life activities as exercise. My theory is that things like that balance out over time. I also think that MFP accounts for such activities based on your lifestyle. I only count exercise (gym) and activities like a walk with a friend, playing volleyball, etc. I think accounting for the everyday activities could give you a mental license to overeat/cheat.
  • navstar
    navstar Posts: 113 Member
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    I class the following as heavy - moving furniture/kitchen appliances to clean behind them
    Light to me would be making beds, tidying up, putting dishes away (but I don't count that as exercise)
    Everything else is moderate.
    But I still don't count it if it took less then 30mins to do and anything over 30mins I only enter half the time. (so if it took 40 mins I would enter it as 20)
    Some people don't enter housework at all, it depends what setting you have your profile set to, If its sedentary or lightly active I would include housework as exercise calories anything over then I wouldn't. But it is your call!.

    (I'm a SAHM and full time carer for my Disabled mother in law and have set my activity as lightly active)
  • sharonuk10
    sharonuk10 Posts: 277
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    I DO count my housework IF I am doing quite a bit of it like dusting sweeping and mopping. I wear my HRM when I do these things. And since my activity level is sedentary I do not see a problem with counting these. I do not however count my usual daily clean/tidying up.

    Edited to add:

    I have created my own excercise call household chores wearing HRM. But I would count that stuff as light. Heavy would be moving furniture etc.
  • LainMac
    LainMac Posts: 412 Member
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    I only include the stuff that isn't usual. I have a small kitchen and a large family and do 95 percent of the cooking at home. So on a typical day, I clean my kitchen 3 to 4 times. I don't count that because that is daily.

    However, if I am stripping everone's linens, remaking everyone's bed, and schlepping it all down a flight of stairs, I would count that.

    But I would agree with the poster who said that she doesn't count all the time she was doing something. The calories burned seem pretty high. So "using" half of these is my usual MO.
  • kerrera
    kerrera Posts: 43
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    I don't include everyday life activities as exercise. My theory is that things like that balance out over time. I also think that MFP accounts for such activities based on your lifestyle. I only count exercise (gym) and activities like a walk with a friend, playing volleyball, etc. I think accounting for the everyday activities could give you a mental license to overeat/cheat.

    I agree with sara only specific exercise is recorded, no everyday walks to the shops or walks to school.
  • leix
    leix Posts: 176
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    Id count all that is light!

    Heavy moving stuff around like beds.

    I dont burn near cals says on here for light cleaning on hrm though.
  • Katy213
    Katy213 Posts: 45
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    I agree with the other posters who have said that it really depends what you have your settings at. Mine is set to sedentary as I have a desk job. Therefore if I spend a couple of hours a weekend cleaning i see no problem in adding that as it is over and above the sedentary setting that I have input. If you have taken into account your household chores when you have set your lifestyle setting, eg if you have set it at moderately active because you are a stay at home mum who spends a lot of the day tidying the house, then you can't really count it because you have already made allowance for it. Hope that makes sense! :smile:
  • dlrcpa
    dlrcpa Posts: 114 Member
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    I think your body will tell you what is light vs heavy work. I cleaned lightly for about 2 hours yesterday without too much effort, then after lunch I vacuumed. I just looked it up and my vacuum weighs 20 lbs+ (a Bissell Pet Hair Eraser vac). Pushing that thing around for an hour and carrying it up and down stairs made me TIRED. I had to rest afterwards.
  • Kate_UK
    Kate_UK Posts: 1,299 Member
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    I have my profile set up as sedentary because I only work part time and on days I'm home with my daughter and we don't go out (usually I try to get to the park or go for a long walk with the buggy which I do log as exercise) our day is fairly quiet. So when I do a big splurge of cleaning on a Sunday I do record it as exercise. Thanks for all your views, it good to hear what everyone thinks!

    Kx
  • MzBug
    MzBug Posts: 2,173 Member
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    Did you work up a good sustained sweat doing it? That would be the heavy effort. Working up a "dew" of sweat would be the moderate, and no sweat would be the light.

    Washing walls, scrubbing shower, scrubbing floor etc = heavy
    Sweeping, vacuuming = light/moderate
  • LotusF1ower
    LotusF1ower Posts: 1,259 Member
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    I don't include anything apart from designated exercise sessions or when I have gone for long walks as my exercise for that day.

    Everything else, I ignore and just accept it is more calories burned and so in turn, more weight loss at the end of the week.

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