Counting work as exercize?

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annakoral
annakoral Posts: 6
in Introduce Yourself
I clean houses for a living and it's long hard work. It takes 2-5 hours a house (1-2 houses a day) of sweating, scrubbing and carrying a 30 lbs vacuum up and down stairs. I've been counting this towards exercise (under the light to moderate cleaning) mostly because I am too tired to run on days I work and I feel like I need the extra calories. Do you guys think I am cheating? Anybody else count their job as exercise?
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  • xraychick77
    xraychick77 Posts: 1,775 Member
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    yes its cheating..since its something you do everyday your body as adapted to it..that is why we add an activity level multiplier to our BMR calculations. it already accounts for this work.
  • annakoral
    annakoral Posts: 6
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    I don't think I've done that... I'll look for it
  • brittanybee07
    brittanybee07 Posts: 39
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    If you are at the base calorie level of 1200 you are just accounting for being sedentary. If it is higher you have already accounted for this activity. However, if you are at the base level you are absolutely not cheating! =)
  • monocot
    monocot Posts: 475 Member
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    Every day is different. I'm a cook. Every day im on my feet, every tuesday and friday I carry heavy boxes around for a hour,
    If I work Night shifts, I job around. My activity level is different every day. but Its what I've been doing for 5 years. My Body is used to it.
    The extra i make a effort to do is what i add. When i am doing prep work, I am a bunch of those things where you raise up onto your tippy toes then come back down.
  • punkrawkcutie
    punkrawkcutie Posts: 439 Member
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    I have a full time and a part time job. Both are totally different activity levels. Since my PT job has irregular hours/shifts and it is far more active, I do log it (it involves climbing lifting etc while my ft job is an office job). I think however if it's your ft job, you need to simply change your activity level as (like the other poster noted) you're doing it everyday
  • yeabby
    yeabby Posts: 643 Member
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    I count my work activity as part of my lifestyle. If I were you I'd change my lifestyle to active or very active and then count running when you get to it as exercise. That's just me though. If what you've been doing is working go with it. :)
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    No. I don't count work as my exercise. I have my activity level set as active but I suspect it should be set as heavily active.

    I work 4-5 days a week and right now I am averaging 7-9 hr work days. Other than my break (15 mins) and lunch (30 mins to an hour depending on the length of my shift) I am on my feet the entire day. I am in constant motion.

    Since my body is used to doing this job - been doing it for 5 years - I don't consider it my exercise. Had it been enough to make me lose weight, I wouldn't have needed the gym. I would have already lost weight at work. But, it didn't. So, I don't add it as exercise.
  • jmatthews75
    jmatthews75 Posts: 525 Member
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    Count it. Its not cheating. Thats like saying a pro football player couldn't count practice as exercise, Thats just plain STUPID. Bottom line, its calories burned. If part of your job is to walk for 3 hours at a time, would you count that? I would... to say otherwise is just plain silly.
  • mollyrb
    mollyrb Posts: 4
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    When i went to my doctor to get on a healthy diet, I asked the same question. she said "no" it doesn't count. You have to get your heart rate up to a certain level for a certain period of time and cleaning is something you do everyday, so your body is used it. I wish it did count because I am a stay home mom/wife.
  • melliebee
    melliebee Posts: 187 Member
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    I do sometimes. I work as a waitress and burn over 2300 cal /shift - BMR of course. I have my activity level as sedentary and I add about 1/4 of my work calories on days that I don't workout. It's not working so well for me though. Haven't lost a pound in a month. I may have to eat more. Aaahhh this is confusing.
  • scarecrow41
    scarecrow41 Posts: 116
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    I don't buy this "you do it everyday so your body is used to it" idea. I mean, by that logic: I excercise everyday so why should I log that...isn't my body used to it?
  • annakoral
    annakoral Posts: 6
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    Thanks guys, I changed my activity level to active. We will see how this goes. I'm a student and class just got out last week, so I have started working a lot more again. I was only working 3 hours a week before so I am really calorie deficient right now.
  • Crystalchaos72
    Crystalchaos72 Posts: 531
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    I would suggest as another user did to change your settings to active or very active. Then when you run count that. I walk all night long at my job and lift heavy boxes, and squat and stand, and push and pull items. I sweat my @ss off and I have mine set as active, it seems to be working for me. Good luck :)
  • annakoral
    annakoral Posts: 6
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    I don't buy this "you do it everyday so your body is used to it" idea. I mean, by that logic: I excercise everyday so why should I log that...isn't my body used to it?

    That's a very sound point.
  • nurse_christieyne
    nurse_christieyne Posts: 231
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    I work in a hospital and mostly sit behind a desk. Every now and then (maybe once a week) I work on the floor with patient care. I am on my feet for 12 hours, walking, turning, and lifting patients. My activity is set to sedentary so on those days that I do extra, I do log 2 hours of walking at a 2.0 pace and use it as my excercise. I think if I worked the floor everyday though, I would not count it.
  • yeabby
    yeabby Posts: 643 Member
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    I don't buy this "you do it everyday so your body is used to it" idea. I mean, by that logic: I excercise everyday so why should I log that...isn't my body used to it?

    That's a very sound point.

    Hopefully your exercise isn't the same every day and you are using different muscles and different intensity levels. Also, those calories are above and beyond your daily activity level setting. If you put the weight on while doing the job, counting it as calories burned isn't going to help you take it off.
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
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    well, I don't know if it's cheating. I've been a spin instructor for 7.5 years, but I still count my classes as calories burned. Granted, I don't burn as much as a larger, less fit person, but I still think it counts. hmmmmm.

    Maybe you should put "active" as your lifestyle choice, but maybe determine your average per day and count anything over the average, then anything less than the average, cut back some calories -- if you clean for 8 hours, that sure is a lot longer than just 2.

    blessings.
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    I don't buy this "you do it everyday so your body is used to it" idea. I mean, by that logic: I excercise everyday so why should I log that...isn't my body used to it?

    Well. For me, the exercise I do at the gym isn't the same ole thing everyday. My job IS the same thing every day.

    Plus, my job does NOT get my heart rate up into the fat burning zone like exercise does. Not at all. Am I on my feet constantly moving? Yep. But, am I pushing my body like I would at the gym?

    NO.
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    I don't buy this "you do it everyday so your body is used to it" idea. I mean, by that logic: I excercise everyday so why should I log that...isn't my body used to it?

    That's a very sound point.

    Hopefully your exercise isn't the same every day and you are using different muscles and different intensity levels. Also, those calories are above and beyond your daily activity level setting. If you put the weight on while doing the job, counting it as calories burned isn't going to help you take it off.

    I didn't lose weight doing the job that I am doing, so I sure as heck don't want to count on it to maintain my weight now. I lost weight because I work out at the gym - not because I walk around and am moving at work. Had THAT been the case, I wouldn't need the gym - right?
  • mollyrb
    mollyrb Posts: 4
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    That is exactly what I meant when I said "your body gets used to it" Thanks for putting that insight. You definitely got to challenge your body.

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