Do you count house cleaning?

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tmahfouza
tmahfouza Posts: 39 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
If you normally do light cleaning, but today you CLEANED for 3 hours...would you put that in as exercise? Just wondering what others do.
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  • Panda86
    Panda86 Posts: 873
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    Anything that is above and beyond my usual daily cleaning, I log. Today I am moving my daughter into her own room which involves a lot of cleaning and moving stuff, so I am logging that, but not the other cleaning that I do today :)
  • aallison85
    aallison85 Posts: 97 Member
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    I don't because I consider it to be part of the calories I burn on a daily basis. I feel I get more bang for my buck there. But I know others count it.
  • thankyou4thevenom
    thankyou4thevenom Posts: 1,581 Member
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    You certainly should count it. Cleaning is a very good way to get exercise into your normal routine.
  • Phoenyxtears
    Phoenyxtears Posts: 173
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    Yup...it's on the list once you click "browse all", so I add it lol! I put my HRM on, start it and the music and just go to cleaning my house lol! I don't put laundry though.
  • queenmedusa
    queenmedusa Posts: 247 Member
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    I do if it's a decent length of time but not if it's just maintenance cleaning like vaccuming.
  • cardbucfan
    cardbucfan Posts: 10,424 Member
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    You'll get different opinions but I do. I don't count the daily dishes, cooking, making the beds, swiping the bathrooms down or sweeping up the dog hair because I do most of that stuff every day but the once a week full blown clean everything, mop, vacuum, scrub the bathrooms, etc. I definitely count. It's in the database as either light or vigorous but I usually wear my HRM and use that count.
  • pftjill
    pftjill Posts: 488
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    The only thing I include is when I actually intentionally exercise. Like someone else said-that is most likely calculated into your cals. I am sure if I had a body bug or body media I would know more accurately my cal burn through out the day.
  • sweetseraph7
    sweetseraph7 Posts: 91
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    I count it as extra - but I still work out - only because you are moving and movement burns calories!!!!! I don't take it as my exercise for the day though I always add it with something else!! That's the key if you're going to log cleaning.

    Like today I'm working on packing up Christmas decorations (and if anyone is like me) that takes a ton of time to do and do it right! I clean off everything including the room I'm working in. It usually involves running up and down steps and moving heavy boxes. But I log it if I'm doing more than 15 minutes of cleaning usually.
  • unworthyservant
    unworthyservant Posts: 43
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    I think it depends on what your lifestyle is usually, if you have yourself listed as sedentary and you did an extra, unusual, 3 hours of cleaning, I would definitely log it. I do, I don't see why it would be listed in the database otherwise :) of course, if you always spend 3 hours cleaning and you have your lifestyle listed as lightly active because of that, then I would not log it. I'm sure you burned a lot thought =D
  • sanura
    sanura Posts: 459 Member
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    you absolutely can count it, especially if it's not your typical everyday cleaning.
  • heathersmilez
    heathersmilez Posts: 2,579 Member
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    YES, as long as your status is set to sedentary. If you are listed as lightly active b/c you are a SAHM and always kind-of moving then NO.
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
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    If you normally do light cleaning, but today you CLEANED for 3 hours...would you put that in as exercise? Just wondering what others do.
    did you clean before you started MFP?

    No I don't count it because it's something I do in a typical day (and did it before MFP), like dishes, cooking, laundry, etc. Yes they are exercise in a sense (but so is showering and getting dressed) but for myself I consider my exercise something that would raise my HR and keep it up to be able to call it cardio.

    You'll get many varied opinions I'm sure!
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    I'm set as lightly active because I'm a stay at home mom. Since I'm trying to do a better job of keeping up on housework and I'm no longer doing marathon cleaning sessions I don't count it. Even when I do have to do a few hours of cleaning I still don't count it.
  • CarolHudson11
    CarolHudson11 Posts: 372
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    If you normally do light cleaning, but today you CLEANED for 3 hours...would you put that in as exercise? Just wondering what others do.
    did you clean before you started MFP?

    No I don't count it because it's something I do in a typical day (and did it before MFP), like dishes, cooking, laundry, etc. Yes they are exercise in a sense (but so is showering and getting dressed) but for myself I consider my exercise something that would raise my HR and keep it up to be able to call it cardio.

    You'll get many varied opinions I'm sure!


    I agree. But, that's just me. Everyone is going to do things a little differently, and that's okay. If it's unusual for you, go ahead.
  • SarahRuth♥
    SarahRuth♥ Posts: 609 Member
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    Funny that I see this come up now because I was just debating this myself!

    My children are all old enough that I don't typically have to clean up after them a lot and they help me with all of the housework, so I normally don't have to do a whole lot on my own, just a few minutes here and there. But today I found myself up and raring to go at 5:45 am!!! So I did a buttload of cleaning! I have finished 3 loads of laundry, packed away all the Christmas stuff, took down the tree, swept almost the entire living area including under and behind furniture, cleaned my bedroom, cleaned the kitchen including moving everything on the counters and cleaning behind them plus cleaned the stove, cleaned part of the garage, scrubbed my bathroom top to bottom... I did so much that I actually forgot everything I did!

    Then after all that, I did a 30 minute workout and only logged the 168 calories I burned during that 30 minutes! I feel like I deserve more than that!!! LOL
  • melissarforlife
    melissarforlife Posts: 47 Member
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    I would put on a pedometer to see how much you walk...and use that! Walking is working out!
  • Magenta15
    Magenta15 Posts: 850 Member
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    not every day house cleaning keep up but yes if I am doing a "spring cleaning" attacking the walls, floors, closets and what not then I would wear my HRH and log it :)
  • Jenny2011
    Jenny2011 Posts: 30
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    I do - but I only log it as a short period of time because of the decrease in aerobic output.
  • hewhoiscd
    hewhoiscd Posts: 1,029 Member
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    Sometimes, if it's a LOT more than I usually do, then I log it. But I do it very conservatively. For example:

    It's not unusual for me to unload trucks at work and then load them in my van and take them to our warehouse then unload them again. Do it once or twice a week. I don't log that. However, if I end up doing it 3 times in one day, then I log it...but only for about half of the calories I think it actually was.
  • tmahfouza
    tmahfouza Posts: 39 Member
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    Thanks for all the input! I did clean above my normal today and my activity level is sedentary. I never list everyday cleaning I do. But, like I said, today was above and beyond!

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