Cleaning as exercise!?

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NenaM812
NenaM812 Posts: 101 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Does anyone count cleaning or cooking as exercise? According to MFP, 30 mins of cleaning is 187 cals (I think...it's either 30 mins or an hour) and I think 30 mins of cooking is around 80 cals.

Confession: I do, only when I've gone over my calories by no more than 100 and it's not an exercise day :blushing:
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Replies

  • rubyrenga
    rubyrenga Posts: 402 Member
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    Well, I just moved into a new house, so the cleaning has been pretty intense, and I have logged that. But yeah, don't feel bad--I too start logging more of the mundane activities of everyday life when I've gone over my calories!
  • wintermama13
    wintermama13 Posts: 172 Member
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    If I do some good hardcore cleaning I will. I pick things up daily but every week or so I have a good day of scrubbing everything down real well and really working up a sweat doing it. May as well count them!!
  • momma3sweetgirls
    momma3sweetgirls Posts: 743 Member
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    Maybe I should count it...might encourage me to actually clean my house! Seriously, I consider any cleaning I do part of my regular activity. I can't say I've ever broken a sweat cleaning. You can tell by the state of my house!
  • LiciaHarry
    LiciaHarry Posts: 25 Member
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    Any time you're burning calories OVER what you normally do during the day (so, mostly sedentary as normal in my case) should be counted. Spring cleaning, gardening, running after kids now that school's out (we're BORED), standing and cooking up amazing meals (lots of chopping, stirring, etc.) really should count. So I do count it.
  • RubyA2011
    RubyA2011 Posts: 66
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    i do cleaning tidying and cooking everyday so i dont count it unless i clean the carpets or do heavy gardening then i do as they are things i dont do often
  • marathonmommy0205
    marathonmommy0205 Posts: 40
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    I don't normally but today I did cause I bathed the dog (120lbs) cleaned both upstairs and downstairs. I was sweating as if i worked out and could feel my heart beating fast so it was a workout! :)
  • Last_15
    Last_15 Posts: 129
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    Since I only do a thorough cleaning one day a week, I certainly do count it! My BodyMedia shows that I burn quite a bit extra, so I count it.
  • AtomicDarling
    AtomicDarling Posts: 42
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    If I break a sweat, I log it. If not then I don't bother. :P
  • OnionCookie
    OnionCookie Posts: 272 Member
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    My rule is that if its cleaning you do often don't count. If its cleaning you don't do too often, count it.
  • AtomicDarling
    AtomicDarling Posts: 42
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    If I break a sweat, I log it. If not then I don't bother. :P
  • basschick
    basschick Posts: 3,502 Member
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    I don't count house cleaning but I do log when I wash the car. All those repetitive arm movements are a good workout.
  • jrueckert
    jrueckert Posts: 355 Member
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    My policy is - if I sweat or I feel like I want to count cleaning as exercise, I do it :) After all, it is my decision!
  • jamielise2
    jamielise2 Posts: 432 Member
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    If you've listed your activity as Sedentary, then absolutely. If you've listed as lightly active, then only if you break a sweat and REALLY clean vigorously. Just my opinion.
  • ChantalGG
    ChantalGG Posts: 2,404 Member
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    I did on the weekend but only because i was lifting and movie furniture and switch rooms around. And scrubbing pots and pans like a crazy woman. I was sweating so i checked it out to see if it counts and it was on there so i added it.
  • njean888
    njean888 Posts: 399 Member
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    No I don't, because if you truly burned that many calories cleaning, I'd weigh 110 pounds.
  • rorosaw
    rorosaw Posts: 360 Member
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    Funny you should mention this. One of my MFPals had logged a calorie burn through housecleaning. I had just gotten my new HRM and thought what the heck? I was about to start my housecleaning anyway. Here's what I posted:

    "Well this is just weird. I turned on my HRM and did some ridiculously mild cleaning at home--really barely moving. I kept the HRM on for 01:25:01 and it says I burned 188 calories basically by just walking around my house a bit. No up and down the stairs or anything. Wow. Not bad."

    I didn't log it but it was an interesting exercise. I wasn't scrubbing floors or doing anything heavy duty though so it was more like what my body was burning naturally by moving around my house.
  • soniajc
    soniajc Posts: 38 Member
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    I would only count this as an exercise if your settings are set to sedentary
    :wink:
  • misscfe
    misscfe Posts: 295 Member
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    I don't officially count cleaning, as in record it on here. The company I train with though does say it is a good form of fat burning training. I don't count cooking at all because to me that is part of my daily calorie burning, that is not something extra I do.
  • NenaM812
    NenaM812 Posts: 101 Member
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    Hehehe I'm glad I'm not the only one. I listed my activity as sedentary because I'm a probation officer and spend most of the day sitting at a desk...I gotta take what I can get!
  • NenaM812
    NenaM812 Posts: 101 Member
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    Funny you should mention this. One of my MFPals had logged a calorie burn through housecleaning. I had just gotten my new HRM and thought what the heck? I was about to start my housecleaning anyway. Here's what I posted:

    "Well this is just weird. I turned on my HRM and did some ridiculously mild cleaning at home--really barely moving. I kept the HRM on for 01:25:01 and it says I burned 188 calories basically by just walking around my house a bit. No up and down the stairs or anything. Wow. Not bad."

    I didn't log it but it was an interesting exercise. I wasn't scrubbing floors or doing anything heavy duty though so it was more like what my body was burning naturally by moving around my house.

    That's VERY interesting. I've been looking into HRMs, but do they HAVE to be tied around your chest or are there some that you can wear just like a watch??? I don't know if I can handle walking around with something like that wrapped around me :ohwell:

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