Calories burnt doing household chores
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kshama2001 wrote: »The problem with logging normal housework is that those calories are already accounted for as NEAT calories when MFP gives you your goal. Your MFP goal is:
BMR + NEAT - caloric deficit calories
BMR = basal metabolic rate, the calories it takes to keep you alive at the most basic level. If you were in a coma, lying in bed all day, you would burn just your BMR calories
NEAT = non-exercise activity thermogenesis, the calories it takes to live your everyday life outside of exercise and your basic functions. This includes fidgeting, walking to work, opening your mail, washing dishes, etc.
Caloric deficit calories = 1 pound of fat is approximately equal to 3500 calories. To lose a pound a week, you would want to eat 3500 fewer calories per week, or 500 fewer calories per day. This figure moves up or down depending on how many pounds per week you tell MFP that you would like to lose.
As with any calorie calculator, MFP's numbers are best estimates. They will never be right on the mark, so you may have to tweak your calories after a few weeks. Knowingly choosing to double count NEAT activity as exercise activity is more likely to get you in a spot where you are not losing, or not losing as quickly as you would like.
This sounds logical but where do you see it? I just see:
Where do I see what?
Where do you see that "The problem with logging normal housework is that those calories are already accounted for as NEAT calories when MFP gives you your goal."
Some people don't cook or clean. They might utilize prepared food exclusively or live with someone who cooks for them and cleans for them.
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ceoverturf wrote: »People who log things like housework and cooking as extra calorie-burning exercise are only fooling themselves, IMO.
Your body isn't fooled though.
I've thought about not logging the first hour of cooking and cleaning that I do and if my weight loss stalls will revisit that.
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Even at sedentary there's an allowance for moving the equivalent of about 2000-2500 steps ..it includes general activity like cleaning house and heading to the shops0
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kshama2001 wrote: »
Some people don't cook or clean. They might utilize prepared food exclusively or live with someone who cooks for them and cleans for them.
So, since you said you do log it, are you saying you don't at least semi-regularly cook and clean?0 -
kshama2001 wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »The problem with logging normal housework is that those calories are already accounted for as NEAT calories when MFP gives you your goal. Your MFP goal is:
BMR + NEAT - caloric deficit calories
BMR = basal metabolic rate, the calories it takes to keep you alive at the most basic level. If you were in a coma, lying in bed all day, you would burn just your BMR calories
NEAT = non-exercise activity thermogenesis, the calories it takes to live your everyday life outside of exercise and your basic functions. This includes fidgeting, walking to work, opening your mail, washing dishes, etc.
Caloric deficit calories = 1 pound of fat is approximately equal to 3500 calories. To lose a pound a week, you would want to eat 3500 fewer calories per week, or 500 fewer calories per day. This figure moves up or down depending on how many pounds per week you tell MFP that you would like to lose.
As with any calorie calculator, MFP's numbers are best estimates. They will never be right on the mark, so you may have to tweak your calories after a few weeks. Knowingly choosing to double count NEAT activity as exercise activity is more likely to get you in a spot where you are not losing, or not losing as quickly as you would like.
This sounds logical but where do you see it? I just see:
Where do I see what?
Where do you see that "The problem with logging normal housework is that those calories are already accounted for as NEAT calories when MFP gives you your goal."
Some people don't cook or clean. They might utilize prepared food exclusively or live with someone who cooks for them and cleans for them.
The MFP calorie goal is based on the NEAT method. NEAT is all non-exercise activity energy expenditure and non-BMR energy expenditure. That's the very definition of NEAT. It doesn't matter that some people don't cook or clean. There are NEAT-type activities that I do that my neighbors don't do but that doesn't mean that if they started doing them they'd be exercise. Examples: trimming my dogs' nails and cleaning the yard up after them, carrying milk bottles up and down the basement stairs, etc. I could see eating a bit more after spending the day doing very heavy cleaning, but I'm talking heavy enough that it is a rare occurrence. Dusting the shelves and mopping the floor though? Nope.0 -
ceoverturf wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »
Some people don't cook or clean. They might utilize prepared food exclusively or live with someone who cooks for them and cleans for them.
So, since you said you do log it, are you saying you don't at least semi-regularly cook and clean?
No, I'm asking how do you know cooking and cleaning is included in the definition of Sedentary? All I see is Spend most of the day sitting (e.g. bank teller, desk job)
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Per this article
1) <5000 steps.d (sedentary);
2) 5000-7499 steps.d (low active);
3) 7500-9999 steps.d (somewhat active);
4) > or =10,000-12,499 steps.d (active); and
5) > or =12,500 steps.d (highly active)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14715035
So I get about 5k steps doing my weekly cleaning...2-3 hours. Laundry, scrubbing, bathroom etc...I don't log it.
I feel if your house is dirty enough to break a sweat cleaning it you don't deserve to eat back the calories from cleaning it...that is your punishment.
And to be frank if I see someone logging cleaning on my FL...they are removed. I want serious people on my FL...those who are honest with themselves about their true goals and if you are logging cleaning...that's not you.
IMO0 -
kshama2001 wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »The problem with logging normal housework is that those calories are already accounted for as NEAT calories when MFP gives you your goal. Your MFP goal is:
BMR + NEAT - caloric deficit calories
BMR = basal metabolic rate, the calories it takes to keep you alive at the most basic level. If you were in a coma, lying in bed all day, you would burn just your BMR calories
NEAT = non-exercise activity thermogenesis, the calories it takes to live your everyday life outside of exercise and your basic functions. This includes fidgeting, walking to work, opening your mail, washing dishes, etc.
Caloric deficit calories = 1 pound of fat is approximately equal to 3500 calories. To lose a pound a week, you would want to eat 3500 fewer calories per week, or 500 fewer calories per day. This figure moves up or down depending on how many pounds per week you tell MFP that you would like to lose.
As with any calorie calculator, MFP's numbers are best estimates. They will never be right on the mark, so you may have to tweak your calories after a few weeks. Knowingly choosing to double count NEAT activity as exercise activity is more likely to get you in a spot where you are not losing, or not losing as quickly as you would like.
This sounds logical but where do you see it? I just see:
Where do I see what?
Where do you see that "The problem with logging normal housework is that those calories are already accounted for as NEAT calories when MFP gives you your goal."
Some people don't cook or clean. They might utilize prepared food exclusively or live with someone who cooks for them and cleans for them.
Then they don't have to worry about logging it then....0 -
Even at sedentary there's an allowance for moving the equivalent of about 2000-2500 steps ..it includes general activity like cleaning house and heading to the shops
Again, this sounds quite logical but I'd be happier if someone would provide a link to someplace (not user generated )on MPF that says this.
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asflatasapancake wrote: »What are these "household chores" and "housework" that you speak of?
Thank you.
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kshama2001 wrote: »ceoverturf wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »
Some people don't cook or clean. They might utilize prepared food exclusively or live with someone who cooks for them and cleans for them.
So, since you said you do log it, are you saying you don't at least semi-regularly cook and clean?
No, I'm asking how do you know cooking and cleaning is included in the definition of Sedentary? All I see is Spend most of the day sitting (e.g. bank teller, desk job)
Are you under the impression there's a significant portion of the population that spends 24 hours a day doing absolutely nothing but sitting at a desk job?
Those descriptions differentiate between what people do for their working hours, but all assume they are going to walk to the restroom, cook, do laundry, talk on the telephone and clean their house.0 -
Per this article
1) <5000 steps.d (sedentary);
2) 5000-7499 steps.d (low active);
3) 7500-9999 steps.d (somewhat active);
4) > or =10,000-12,499 steps.d (active); and
5) > or =12,500 steps.d (highly active)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14715035
So I get about 5k steps doing my weekly cleaning...2-3 hours. Laundry, scrubbing, bathroom etc...I don't log it.
I feel if your house is dirty enough to break a sweat cleaning it you don't deserve to eat back the calories from cleaning it...that is your punishment.
And to be frank if I see someone logging cleaning on my FL...they are removed. I want serious people on my FL...those who are honest with themselves about their true goals and if you are logging cleaning...that's not you.
IMO
I think when you are here long enough you see that logging exercise is clutching at straws but think it's OTT to write them off like that. I confess to logging cleaning when I first started out but didn't mean I wasn't serious.0 -
kshama2001 wrote: »Even at sedentary there's an allowance for moving the equivalent of about 2000-2500 steps ..it includes general activity like cleaning house and heading to the shops
Again, this sounds quite logical but I'd be happier if someone would provide a link to someplace (not user generated )on MPF that says this.
I did it's above....0 -
ceoverturf wrote: »People who log things like housework and cooking as extra calorie-burning exercise are only fooling themselves, IMO.
Your body isn't fooled though.
I agree with this. And I am set to sedentary.0 -
I feel if your house is dirty enough to break a sweat cleaning it you don't deserve to eat back the calories from cleaning it...that is your punishment.
That made me laugh
I might eat a bit extra if I do something like spend the day cleaning out the attic and moving things all around but I don't think I'd ever actually log it. Just like I don't log brushing my teeth, combing my hair, opening my mail, filling up my car with gas, tying my shoes, grocery shopping, etc. despite them not being listed in the description for sedentary behavior.0 -
kshama2001 wrote: »Even at sedentary there's an allowance for moving the equivalent of about 2000-2500 steps ..it includes general activity like cleaning house and heading to the shops
Again, this sounds quite logical but I'd be happier if someone would provide a link to someplace (not user generated )on MPF that says this.
Fitbit deducts calories from MFP until I reach about 2700 steps. It is not written anywhere that I can see, but it is a safe assumption that would be the amount I need to reach MFP's sedentary goal.
For example this morning I went grocery shopping to Costco, parked far away, showered, made breakfast, did the dishes and laundry, went to the Post Office, opened mail, packed two parcels, and have only walked 1649 steps. Currently Fitbit is saying MFP is still giving me an extra 79 calories I don't deserve.
On long work days where I sit most of the time I am awake (around 1000 steps in a day), it deducts about 200 calories from MFP. This is proof enough to me that MFP's sedentary is including an assumed moderate amount of activity in a day that some (like me) might not get without doing extra exercise. Though I certainly enjoy eating the extra calories when I turn the Fitbit negative adjustment off and would enjoy eating the extra calories I would gain by logging cleaning/cooking/showering/any life activity.
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Thanks @RunRachelleRun0
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Thanks all. Just curious, nothing more. I'm actually reasonably healthy but wanting to tone up a little and maintain a healthy weight and I'll be honest look and feel a little better. I have my vices, quite a few beers at weekends etc but try to do the right thing 80% of the time. Today I did about 40 mins of vigorous chores which left me feeling as if I had trained in the gym ( i do tend to rush around) so thought the question was worth asking.
I've only been doing this for a week so still getting to grips with it. I started as staff in my gym suggested that I may not be consuming enough calories for the level of exercise (4-5 90 min sessions including running, rowing on alternate nights and other CV stuff and strength training). I typically burn an estimated 800 kcal while consuming around 1800. In the last two years I have dropped from 20st to 16st 4lbs and 42" down to 36", I run 10km in under 60 mins 2/3 times per week. I am a bit obsessive, admittedly.0 -
When I think of exercise, cleaning or cooking does not come to my mind.0
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