Cleaning as an exercise??

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lizstyles2013
lizstyles2013 Posts: 34 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I was wondering how many people on here add their daily housework as cardio? I usually spend about 1 hour a day cleaning up after my family :)
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Replies

  • Marinaclare
    Marinaclare Posts: 30
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    I think its all relevant as you are moving! I personally don't count it, I just think of it as a secret little bonus at the end of the week when I weigh in.
  • maasha81
    maasha81 Posts: 733 Member
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    I never count it to be honest but I do see some ppl here logging it on their diaries. It's a personal choice.
  • ekz13
    ekz13 Posts: 725 Member
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    don't ... think of it as bonus. and since you're not loggin it.. that will motivate you to do something else that you will log. plus that "extra" will help balance out the margin of error for weighing food, that extra cookie, etc..
  • wahelga
    wahelga Posts: 304 Member
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    I don't count it as I consider it part of my daily activities and therefore cover in my calorie allowance (the same for cooking). I would only count it if it was something massively different from usual such as cleaning up while moving, serious spring clean etc
  • asaw00
    asaw00 Posts: 1,904 Member
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    Usual day to day cleaning I won't add as exercise, but if I do a big cleaning and I'm doing lots of moving around I'll put it in. I can spend 2 to 3 hours vacuuming, washing floors, going up and down stairs doing laundry.
  • Butrovich
    Butrovich Posts: 410 Member
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    Unless I push the vacuum with the same hand the FitBit bracelet is on, I don't count it.

    Mike
  • skinnygirlfighting
    skinnygirlfighting Posts: 3 Member
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    If I break a sweat doing it, I count it. Such as rearranging the furniture or deep cleaning
  • mitchiejo
    mitchiejo Posts: 179 Member
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    I never log cleaning as exercise. Snow shoveling is a totally different story!
  • merisaOct3
    merisaOct3 Posts: 197 Member
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    I think it depends on personal preference. For me, I have my settings on "Sedentary" because most days I'm behind my desk. But when I do walk an extra 20-30 minutes or clean for 30 - 60 min, I will add that because my default is "sedentary." It should be noted that I am also a firm believer in eating your exercise calories. You may not see as fast a weight loss as others, but I think it contributes to me being more comfortable and sticking with the program long term.
  • Eleonora91
    Eleonora91 Posts: 688 Member
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    I always do my clean up all at once and rarely need less than 1 hour to complete my work, so yes I do log it in. It makes me sweat. :/
  • scrittenden
    scrittenden Posts: 79 Member
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    I have my activity level set to sedentary.. I don't log normal cleaning.. 10 minutes here, 15 minutes there etc.... but i will log if i spend a whole chunk of time doing something.. deep cleaning the kitchen for example.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    I was wondering how many people on here add their daily housework as cardio? I usually spend about 1 hour a day cleaning up after my family :)

    To an extent it depends on the base activity level that you set. If someone is set as sedentary it makes sense to include some.

    Personally I'm set as lightly active, I work as a programme manager so whilst I'm not desk bound I'm office based. I don't log the walk to and from work, about 300 cals per day, or housework/ gardening as a rule.

    Equaly it depends how religious one is about the numbers, some people obsess, some treat them as a guideline. I'm in the latter camp. I'm in general in deficit enough to be seeing results.
  • da1128
    da1128 Posts: 212 Member
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    If I break a sweat doing it, I count it. Such as rearranging the furniture or deep cleaning

    Absolutely! You are bending, twisting, lifting heavy objects. Why not count it as an exercise? However, if you are munching on a donut while pushing the vacuum, that might be a bit much. :bigsmile:
  • emilymhanson
    emilymhanson Posts: 1 Member
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    I would say that it depends on how much you do and what you do. Some cleaning tasks are more exercise than others.
  • skyfall91
    skyfall91 Posts: 74
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    I dont. I set my level to lightly active seeing as im at home with 2 kids under 3 and run the household/cook/clean all day so I include it all in my activity level. The only things I log is actual workouts, but its up to the person on what they choose to log
  • CookieEmporium
    CookieEmporium Posts: 74 Member
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    I do add it but ONLY when I'm actually running around my house, getting my heart rate up, breaking a sweat. I purposefully clean "harder" to get a workout. I DON'T count it if I'm just wiping the counter down or standing there washing dishes or anything like that.
  • SephiraRose
    SephiraRose Posts: 775 Member
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    When I vacuum and wash floors or move furniture, I definitely log it as exercise.
  • lizstyles2013
    lizstyles2013 Posts: 34 Member
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    When I vacuum and wash floors or move furniture, I definitely log it as exercise.



    That's how I do it when I work up a sweat I log it
  • McKenzieLeigh
    McKenzieLeigh Posts: 113 Member
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    I don't count my daily cleaning at home, but I do clean my office every weekend for extra money and I do count that. It is a little harder work than just my chores at home and I usually try to do it quickly and break a sweat.
  • Linnaea27
    Linnaea27 Posts: 639 Member
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    I do if it is a "cleaning day" for me-- that is, if I'm picking up messes, vacuuming, mopping the floor, doing multiple laundries, scrubbing the bathroom. I don't log things like cleaning the kitchen or sweeping the floor or day-to-day straightening up since I have my settings on "Lightly Active" although I have a desk job.

    I can be very busy and active for 4-5 hours on one of my cleaning days, and by the end I'm worn out and sweaty. You bet I log all that time! I just don't know how accurate MFP's cleaning calorie calculator is.

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