Cleaning...Light or Heavy??

You can burn LOADS of calories cleaning! I try to not log mine any more though as I just end up eating it all back. :P

I would say heavy- scrubbing/hoovering

Light- dusting, wiping.

I wore my HRM once when I cleaned for 1 hour and burnt over 400!

So... you're going to ignore successful people and put blinders on so you can do what you want to do?

LOL I guess people do not know how to take advice now a days.

without reading all of the replies, unless you only ever rarely do some major intense scrub cleaning, something that you've never done before, then I would say probably don't log it, unless it makes you feel better. They are, after all, your calories to burn/eat back, therefore its your decision.

If you were doing an activity while gaining weight and getting fatter, then don't log it as exercise while losing weight.

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OP to answer your question, from a calorie-burning, weight-loss-affecting perspective there is little to no difference between the two. One could come up with a vague definition of either, but unless you're doing something that makes you break a serious sweat, over a sustained period of time, the difference to your calorie burn and intake is so small that it's not going to make much of a difference.

This is why so many are advising you not to log it. If you decide to do so, and adhere strictly to the principle of eating back your exercise calories, you run the risk of decreasing your deficit, and preventing yourself from losing weight at the rate you've chosen. If it makes you feel better to do so though, vaya con Dios.

^Just all of that.

The reason why people are offering their opinions rather than simply stating the difference between light and heavy cleaning is because they're trying to give you good advice and save you some trouble when it comes to potentially over-estimating your calorie needs. Aside from a couple of joking posts on the first page, I didn't see anyone be rude or deliberately unhelpful before you responded and took offense.

Of course it's ultimately your choice how you want to account for your activity level and what you want to log as exercise, and you are free to disregard anything that anyone says in this thread.

I have taken on what some people have said.

Since I asked a simple question I don't understand why everyone has such a big opinion on it.

As I am quite large light cleaning might break me into a sweat and gets my heart rate up as I am doing 4 different things at once.

I didn't even say I was even going to log the calories burnt I was just curious so I could see how many I do burn.

You come here...asking a question. You not only got some great answers, but some great advice on logging and you have a problem with it?

Anyway...if you're that curious get a fitbit.

This thread is interesting. I have always been a walker, walking several miles per day. Since starting MFP two weeks ago, I log that walking as exercise. Apparently, since I was walking before starting MFP, I should not be logging this?

I don't understand the logic of this.

People get weird about this, IMO.

I think it depends on how you determine your goal. When I first started I had my activity level on sedentary and used a Fitbit, and then ate back calories from my Fitbit, which of course included walking (and moving around when cleaning), so on. You get conflicting advice about this (sometimes contradictory advice, IMO), but it always worked for me. To this date Fitbit estimates my TDEE right in line with what I'm actually losing, if I also log in my intentional exercise that's not walking-based (biking, runs so it can adjust calories, etc.).

So similar to that, I think if people have their activity level as sedentary, they should log walking and cleaning and such, at least if the cleaning genuinely is active (washing dishes isn't for me, for example).

But I do think it's probably better, especially since I don't trust MFP estimates, to work regular activities into your activity level if you don't want to use something like a Fitbit. Thus, rather than logging my walking for commuting and other daily activities (which can be quite a lot as I live in a city and walk half a mile to my el stop and do most things on foot), I changed my activity level to lightly active. (IMO, most people probably are lightly active at least, not sedentary, and that would preclude having to log stuff like cleaning.) That aside, it's still quite possible that you would have days on which the walking (or cleaning) is way beyond normal, and then I think it makes sense to log it if you want. Or don't, and have those extra calories as a buffer for any underestimates.

However, my personal opinion about what makes sense to me need not be relevant to anyone else, so if others prefer to be "sedentary" and log walking and such on a daily basis I see no reason why that's not an acceptable approach. The only thing for anyone, no matter how you do it, is to be willing to adjust if it doesn't work.

I hate that people get all puritanical about logging daily activities when it's well known that people inaccurately assume they are sedentary based on the descriptions on the MFP site, and thus in theory should be logging activity beyond sedentary. It reminds me a bit of the way that some seem to think it's more virtuous not to eat back exercise when the MFP method is based on eating back exercise. Now, are there some benefits to doing a different approach where you don't have to do that? IMO, yes, but what works best and is most motivating or less burdensome is going to depend on the person.

This thread is interesting. I have always been a walker, walking several miles per day. Since starting MFP two weeks ago, I log that walking as exercise. Apparently, since I was walking before starting MFP, I should not be logging this?

I don't understand the logic of this.

I think it is a tricky situation. I don't log my walks, but I log my runs. If I consider it a workout it gets logged. If it is considered lifestyle it doesn't. But then the trick is to accurately record your lifestyle. I am obviously not sedentary. My job alone has me at lightly active. Then I have my daily routines, walking the dog, housework (although I am a terrible housekeeper). Is it enough to boost me to moderately active? I'm not sure. Then in the spring and fall I usually do heavy gardening (tilling, harvesting, pulling), in the summer I get lazy about pretty much any housework, but I am more recreationally active. In the winter I am lazy, lazy, lazy. Sometimes I shovel snow, but the amount is unpredictable and mostly dependent on mother nature and my family's eagerness to jump in.

So I think for some it is easier to put in sedentary or lightly active lifestyle, and then record everything that gets the heart rate up. The thing is unless you have a good hr monitor and activity tracker then the calories burned may not be at all helpful. There isn't really a right answer, but if you choose this method, and eat back the calories and find you are still losing, then great. If not, then it is time to rethink this system.

Right now I am trying to get a better handle on my true TDEE by recording my activity based on a scale I created based on my perception of how active I am on a given day. 1- is a sedentary day (Stay in bed watching old movies), 2-normal day (typical work day with my walks and typical housework), 3- normal day plus at least 30 minutes of working out or heavy housework/gardening, 4- normal day plus at least 60 minutes of working out, 5-highly active day (a day that revolves around fitness activities). I am hoping that with this information I will be able to adjust my calories based on my fluctuating activity levels. That way, if I am going through I lazy phase, I know what dietary changes I need to make to accommodate, and vice versa. It has only been 1 month in, so we shall see how helpful this proves itself to be.

I just wanted to see how many it burns, I am curious. Like if I went for a 90 minute walk I would want to know how many calories burnt to be curious

I WASN'T GOING TO LOG THEM!!! I AM CURIOUS OF THE NUMBER

SHEESH!! Calm down. No one is being rude and no one is coming down on you for logging cleaning calories (if you were going to). It is simply just advice. You cannot ask a question on these forums without getting some. It is a lot of helpful advice. Instead of taking it personal, just say thank you and move on.

It is okay if you choose to log it or don't. That is up to you. Your answer has been given many times and you got some good advice a long the way. I don't think that is so bad.

^^^^^^^^^

this

I don't log cleaning... but I guess light is just vacuuming. Idk. It depends on the person. If you clean a lot, I would just set the activity level to "lightly active" instead of "sedentary" so you don't have to worry about it.

Using a fitbit would probably tell you. HRM is for steady state cardio so the number would be inaccurate.

I just wanted to see how many it burns, I am curious. Like if I went for a 90 minute walk I would want to know how many calories burnt to be curious

I WASN'T GOING TO LOG THEM!!! I AM CURIOUS OF THE NUMBER

Plug each one into the exercise diary, note the number each burns, and then delete them from the diary. Your calorie goal will go back to where it was, and you'll know what you wanted to know.

I even clean as a part time job and don't care/log it....it's part of my daily activities...which I already account for when I selected my "activity level". Course, I do TDEE and idgaf about whether or not pulling out my bissell carpet cleaner today to run over a spill burnt an extra 5 calories. But I know how I'd spend it....coffee!!!

I had no idea there was an option to ignore people. Thank you.

No problem! Someone told me, too.

When I got told about it, someone said, "If you use it, you miss good advice!" You won't. You'll just miss childish name-calling, the constant mocking, some bragging and a lot of general rudeness and nastiness.

Someone else will post good advice in a way worth reading.

Well that's something I could do without
I may have to start "ignoring" a few people

Another way to find out if it is worth ignoring them... to find out if they actually give good advice on other topics (and just being schmucks on yours) is click on their number of posts (just under their picture). You can see their responses to other things. I have seen some people make nasty comments on one post, but when I look at their other post comments, they have some decent information/advice to give.

I only log it when I do a big clean...like before company comes. I always log light and I always log 1/2 the time I actually spent since the is a lot of pausing in cleaning.

If you want to know so that you can count this as exercise, you are fooling yourself. IMO, daily tasks should not be included in your exercise - that's just part of life.