House cleaning and food prep as exercise

griffith5150
griffith5150 Posts: 123
in Fitness and Exercise
I see this in our database and I have some reservations using them. I will admit I used the house cleaning light a couple of times, usually because we went all out cleaning the house than a normal situation. However I still felt bad tracking the entire amount of calories that the database recommends, so I just track 30 mins of housecleaning light effort when in fact we did 3-4 hours of moving furniture full spring cleaning.

Today we did a thorough cleaning this morning (we have several cats and two dogs... meaning lots of fur lol). Also I "prepped food" so that my fiance and I have food for the week instead of going out for fopd, the database has food prep.

I use the sedentary lifestyle for MFP since normally I am a desk jockey at my job 5 days week 8.5 hours each day. So house cleaning during the work week usually consists of making the bed and ensuring the cat's litter is clean. lol I guess my question is...should I use them or not. I feel a bit weird using them to be honest... in my head its not really exercise... that's the gym.
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Replies

  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    Exercise is exercise, like walking, running, strength training, etc. , cooking is cooking I never heard of it as a exercise the same for cleaning. JMHO. :happy:
  • griffith5150
    griffith5150 Posts: 123
    Exercise is exercise, like walking, running, strength training, etc. , cooking is cooking I never heard of it as a exercise the same for cleaning. JMHO. :happy:

    Exactly thats why i feel weird using it lol
  • imjusdayy
    imjusdayy Posts: 1 Member
    i use house cleaning as an exercise if I'm doing like full blown cleaning. if i just loading the dishwasher or making the bed or cleaning off a table i don't count it but if I'm vacuuming, sweeping, mopping and scrubbing the walls and floors and toilets then i log it because im usually working up a decent sweat and i don't want my calories to be off if i dont count it
  • _EndGame_
    _EndGame_ Posts: 770 Member
    If you're moving and sweating, you're burning calories.
  • FlaxMilk
    FlaxMilk Posts: 3,452 Member
    I think 30 minutes of light effort is good when you do a few hours of real spring cleaning. I would only use food prep if you are doing some hardcore prepping-I can't even imagine what that would entail, but maybe a professional chef or cook would.
  • tequila09
    tequila09 Posts: 764 Member
    I think it's silly to count that as exercise
  • Railr0aderTony
    Railr0aderTony Posts: 6,803 Member
    if it is outside of your normal activity I would say go for it. When you are doing 3 to 4 hours of moving furniture, that is exercise. But it is up to you. If you want to add it then add it, if not dont. Only you know if you did extra. Best way around all this is to figure out your TDEE and eat TDEE - 20% then you never have to worry about exercise because it is built into your eatting plan.

    Here is some good basic information

    IPORM:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/975025-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet
  • tm82001
    tm82001 Posts: 133 Member
    Exercise is anything that gets you moving above your normal routine. If that amount of food prep and/or cleaning is above your norm, then I say count it. I am a teacher and I just set up my classroom for the new school year and I definitely counted it as exercise. I also have three cats and when the house needs cleaning...IT NEEDS CLEANING! I definitely count the BIG cleaning sessions. I never go to the gym...it's just not my thing. I walk, hike, aqua zumba, clean, lift weights...but no gym! Everything counts...log it!
  • eylia
    eylia Posts: 200 Member
    I think cleaning CAN be worthy of being exercise when it's vigorous; cleaning a bathroom top to toe, scrubbing at tile grout, that sort of thing. If it gets your heart rate up and such, yes. Cooking I'm familiar with doesn't do that.
  • BIRD0
    BIRD0 Posts: 74 Member
    I think I'd only count cleaning as exercise if I were cleaning out a hoarder's house.
  • jamiek917
    jamiek917 Posts: 610 Member
    things that are part of ones daily routine shouldnt be exercise unless its vigorous, in my opinion. Even a sedentary option doesnt mean a person is comatose-- it means most of their day is at a desk job or off their feet- but daily activities will still exist.

    I think if you are using light cleaning, walking 10 min to your car, prepping food- and u are using those as exercise cals to eat them back, you are doing yourself a disservice.
  • JDMarlowe
    JDMarlowe Posts: 327 Member
    I count cleaning sometimes. I have major OCD so my cleaning is very vigorous. I know my heart rate is up and I'm usually sweating bullets, but the other stuff I don't count.
  • 0somuchbetter0
    0somuchbetter0 Posts: 1,335 Member
    I hate cleaning so I turn it into exercise on purpose so I get some benefit from it. My house is three stories so I make sure to run up and down the stairs with big loads of laundry, the vacuum cleaner, etc. If I'm alone in the house I put on loud music and dance while I clean. I definitely work up a sweat. I just realized something -- I could wear my HRM and see exactly what's going on.
  • FindingAmy77
    FindingAmy77 Posts: 1,268 Member
    if you get sweaty while cleaning then I say yes, use them. Your body is still burning calories regardless. There are lots of ways to exercise besides hitting a gym
  • crazorbaq
    crazorbaq Posts: 74 Member
    I clean houses on the side of my regular sit down job. On those days, I am busting my hump for 2-3 hours at a time, scrubbing bathrooms, etc. BUT, I also do regular exercise on a consistent basis, even most days that I clean. I usually underestimate my time on the cleaning, but I do use it. Now, for cleaning at my own home I do not. Unfortunately, I can't seem to muster the same giddyup for my own dust ! LOL
  • deannakittygirl
    deannakittygirl Posts: 228 Member
    I can understand using cleaning on occasion for big jobs...not regular day to day kind of stuff. Heck I count mowing lawn, raking leaves and shoveling snow too. The way i look at it is i got obese and maintained my obesity all while still doing housework. I dont count running errands like shopping either. I don't quite fully comprehend how someone can get a good workout from cooking though at all. On a side note the act of sweating or amount of sweat does not necessarily equal great workout either. It just means your body needs to cool down.
  • ohmyjiggle
    ohmyjiggle Posts: 71 Member
    OKAY, I don't know how to feel about this either. I clean and pick up almost all day long, its sickening. I have a 1 year old and and an 8 year old. And was recently laid of a couple of months ago. Its like non stop cleaning, and it feels so exhausting! However, I was also a housekeeper for a hotel, and cleaned 16 rooms a day. I even did this while nine months pregnant. HONESTLY, the past two years of my life has been spent CLEANING!!! Today is day two of my 30 Day shred dvd, and I am sore! Like Exhausted. If I was really "exercising while cleaning" I don't think I would me this bent out of shape!! LOL
  • EnjoyYourJourney
    EnjoyYourJourney Posts: 22 Member
    I use a Fitbit so it records all my steps and stairs, so I feel it is a more realistic record of cals burnt. I need to set the timer on it like I do when I do an exercise DVD. It will be interesting to compare the results.
  • marsellient
    marsellient Posts: 591 Member
    There are lots of opinions about this, but ask yourself if what you are logging is helping you to meet your goals. If it is, then carry on, if it isn't, then do something different!
  • guidothecat
    guidothecat Posts: 141 Member
    regular house cleaning, I don't log it, regular food prep, I also don't log it.

    Now if I am having a party and steam and wax all the hardwood floors, move all the furniture, wash all the drapes and curtains (3 flights of stairs to the basement) lug the 7+ loads all back up and hang them all back up, de-fur the entire apartment, including all the ceiling fans, clean all the windows, lug the extra tables and crap up from the basement, lug all the boxes full of dinnerware and extra glasses from the basement and wash them all (no, I don't have a dishwasher), cook for like 7 hours, lugging pots of water, standing all day, making bread, rolls, etc., mopping up all the spills (a gazillion times), then YES I count them. But I only figure an average between the fitbit and what MFP says I burned.

    If it is not in my 'normal' routine, I count them because I need to eat those back. But everyday stuff, I don't count them.
  • diesel_dame
    diesel_dame Posts: 10
    I work a part time job cleaning a factory in the evenings after my 8 hours of sedentary work at my full time job. This job is fast paced and requires lifting and lots of stair climbing. So rather than to change my settings on the type of work I do, I log the cleaning as exercise. However, it is not my only source of exercise, as I also try to incorporate lifting weights and additional cardio into my routine.
  • phjorg1
    phjorg1 Posts: 642 Member
    just cause you're doing activity, does NOT mean you are doing exercise.

    the calorie burn of cleaning above your tdee is so insignificant that it's not worth logging. it's really just denial when you get down to it.
  • rm830
    rm830 Posts: 531 Member
    Regular cleaning and cooking...I don't count.

    Marathon cleaning....deep cleaning, moving furniture, running up and down stairs...I count that activity.

    Cooking...only if I'm running back and forth, usually only Thanksgiving dinner since it takes about 8 hours to make the feast I make and am EXHAUSTED beyond belief after.
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    Sweat is just sweat, does not mean your burning more calories. I live in Florida, just sitting outside I sweat, does not mean I'm burning major calories just sitting and sweating. LOL, JS.
  • jonnyman41
    jonnyman41 Posts: 1,032 Member
    never would use food prep, even if doing loads you don't need to move around that much but would use housework if doing something out of the ordinary, eg carpet shampooing the house, doing all the floors, moving furniture but then i very rarely do large amounts in one go
  • jonnyman41
    jonnyman41 Posts: 1,032 Member
    regular house cleaning, I don't log it, regular food prep, I also don't log it.

    Now if I am having a party and steam and wax all the hardwood floors, move all the furniture, wash all the drapes and curtains (3 flights of stairs to the basement) lug the 7+ loads all back up and hang them all back up, de-fur the entire apartment, including all the ceiling fans, clean all the windows, lug the extra tables and crap up from the basement, lug all the boxes full of dinnerware and extra glasses from the basement and wash them all (no, I don't have a dishwasher), cook for like 7 hours, lugging pots of water, standing all day, making bread, rolls, etc., mopping up all the spills (a gazillion times), then YES I count them. But I only figure an average between the fitbit and what MFP says I burned.

    If it is not in my 'normal' routine, I count them because I need to eat those back. But everyday stuff, I don't count them.

    I'd be too exhausted to party after all of that!!!! Though it is true that it takes a family get together of some sort for me to bother doing the whole house in one short burst!
  • Akimajuktuq
    Akimajuktuq Posts: 3,037 Member
    I have my settings sedentary. I'm pretty sure that I can judge for myself what is exercise and what isn't. Same for other people. So when I cook and clean for 6 hours in a day, it's not exercise because some people here think it isn't? Well, for me, yes it is exercise. I don't go to a gym and I don't jog for 10 miles. But sometimes I go for a 6 hour ATV ride over rough terrain. Sometimes I have to dig myself out of a swamp. Almost all of my activities are every day life activities and I know when I got a work out and when I didn't.

    When I log cooking, cleaning, riding atv, etc I only put in HALF of the actual time and only for activity above and beyond what is "normal" for me in a day. So, no, I don't ever log washing dishes. It would be just plain stupid to over-estimate and then choose to over-eat.

    I've been unfriended once or twice and had a few sarcastic responses when I log some of these activities. I'm not an idiot; I know if it's exercise or not.
  • Stage14
    Stage14 Posts: 1,046 Member
    I refuse to accept any sort of "day to day" activity as exercise until MFP gives me the option to log sex.
  • Sarahndipity30
    Sarahndipity30 Posts: 312 Member
    Invest in a good HRM (Heart Rate Monitor) and wear it when you do "serious cleaning" see what you burn if you are curious... if its significant, count it. That is what I do. The bigger you are, the more you will burn doing "everyday activities" like climbing stairs, doing laundry, mopping etc. TDEE -20% is the easiest way to handle it all though. :) Good Luck! :bigsmile:
  • running_free_1984
    running_free_1984 Posts: 115 Member
    I log cleaning/ moving furniture when there's a decent quantity/amount of time and real work involved. E.g. getting ready to sell our house was an all day cleanathon. I logged that, was bloody tired afterwards too!!

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