The "Cleaning" entry under Exercises

peraltapiano
peraltapiano Posts: 26 Member
edited November 20 in Fitness and Exercise
Long post... a basic TLDR is, how do you feel about the Cleaning exercise entry?

I do all of the cleaning in our apartment because my boyfriend takes hours to clean anything and complains throughout. But I noticed, in the Exercises category, that there is a Cleaning / Tidying entry for calisthenics.

That seems pretty broad given how diverse cleaning tasks can be. Washing dishes and folding / putting away laundry may seem similar but they really only require concentration. Moving boxes, vacuuming or mopping, and cleaning surfaces like windows, counters, and the shower... could not be more different in their demands. I think I expend a bit more scrubbing the toilet than I do putting books away, lol.

I guess I'm just really mystified that its allowed in the database. What is your take on this? How is such an odd concept as a set amount of calories burned by ~cleaning~ even calculated in the Calisthenics category?

And I'll add, it's really attractive for lazy me. I used the entry as a sort of hurrah when we moved in a couple weeks ago to congratulate myself on effort spent, adding I think 1/3 of the time I really cleaned under the "minutes" section because I know all exercise entries are very inaccurate. But after a lot of contemplation (and more cleaning...) I personally just think it's wrong. I think it should be deleted.
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Replies

  • victory68
    victory68 Posts: 76 Member
    I really only log it for moving cleaning if I am trying to justify the pizza they provided or something. It has to be a few hours of very intense scrubbing for me to log it but I still like that it's there just for the amusement
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    My house isn't big enough to justify cleaning as an exercise.

    I only log actual exercise, not something I've done regularly since i was a teenager, eg house cleaning/housework.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    The MFP database is obviously a standard database of most human activity that they've tapped into.bits not specially created for MFP users and the calorie counting methodology on this site. Just because it's in The database doesn't mean it's ok to log it if you're wanting to lose weight.
  • Momepro
    Momepro Posts: 1,509 Member
    I do, when I don't have my watch on, because I'm not counting steps at the time. Or if I do more cleaning tban usual.
    But for me, dishes and laundry aren't merely concentration, they are alot of standing and bending, which on some days can be much more difficult than others.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    I'll know when to log "cleaning" light or heavy, as exercise. Loading the dishwasher and loading/unloading the laundry isn't it for me.
  • jennybearlv
    jennybearlv Posts: 1,519 Member
    I'm a housewife and probably do much more cleaning than the average person. It is not unusual for me to get 8000 steps just doing work around the house and yard. I use an activity tracker, but if I didn't have one I would still feel justified eating a few hundred back everyday. Though it would probably make more sense to change my activity level than to log the cleaning activity.
  • Muscleflex79
    Muscleflex79 Posts: 1,917 Member
    HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
    peraltapiano wrote: »
    Long post... a basic TLDR is, how do you feel about the Cleaning exercise entry?

    I do all of the cleaning in our apartment because my boyfriend takes hours to clean anything and complains throughout. But I noticed, in the Exercises category, that there is a Cleaning / Tidying entry for calisthenics.

    That seems pretty broad given how diverse cleaning tasks can be. Washing dishes and folding / putting away laundry may seem similar but they really only require concentration. Moving boxes, vacuuming or mopping, and cleaning surfaces like windows, counters, and the shower... could not be more different in their demands. I think I expend a bit more scrubbing the toilet than I do putting books away, lol.

    I guess I'm just really mystified that its allowed in the database. What is your take on this? How is such an odd concept as a set amount of calories burned by ~cleaning~ even calculated in the Calisthenics category?

    And I'll add, it's really attractive for lazy me. I used the entry as a sort of hurrah when we moved in a couple weeks ago to congratulate myself on effort spent, adding I think 1/3 of the time I really cleaned under the "minutes" section because I know all exercise entries are very inaccurate. But after a lot of contemplation (and more cleaning...) I personally just think it's wrong. I think it should be deleted.
    Just noticed this.

    So, on a thread where we discuss what constitutes basic adulting and what you should log, we have a bloke who uses whinging and taking ages over tasks to get out of adulting. Ironic.

    I have a son who tries that method. He's eight years old though, and I am confident he will learn to clear up after himself automatically in the next ten years. I certainly won't be going round to clear up after him when he leaves home, and I will be very disappointed in him if he cons a girlfriend into doing it.

    I know this isn't a relationship thread, but just, have a think about it. And don't focus on reproaching yourself for logging doing all the cleaning for two people's mess.

    I was thinking the same...is her bf 10 years old?
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    I believe I logged cleaning when I cleaned out my basement after it flooded. I don't log what is part of my normal activity level though.

    There are lots of exercise choices in the database that might not describe effort very well or make sense. You can log playing a musical instrument or gym, misc for example. You have to make up your own mind what will be useful for you to log.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    If I did it when I was fat, I ain't gonna count it as exercise when I am trying to lose weight. Seems counterproductive because it is.

    This.

    And this is exactly why I make a point to go on every thread asking about logging some *non-exercise-thing* as exercise. Quite frankly its far too easy to over-estimate the calories burned with exercise and under-estimate the calories eaten that it rarely is beneficial to your long term success.
  • ShrinkingViolet1982
    ShrinkingViolet1982 Posts: 919 Member
    Personally, when I was larger, any housecleaning beyond basic tidying made my heart rate spike, I got into a sweat, and it was exercise. So when I did the "big" house cleaning days, I logged it because it was exercise. Now that I am smaller, those things don't spike my heart or make me break a sweat, so it doesn't make any difference to my weight loss and I don't log it.
  • SuzySunshine99
    SuzySunshine99 Posts: 2,989 Member
    General, everyday cleaning, no. It's just a part of regular daily activities. I only would log it if I was doing particularly heavy all-day cleaning, including moving furniture and such.
  • erika_307
    erika_307 Posts: 82 Member
    I do log cleaning when it's the type that gets my heart rate up and makes me sweat... and Even then, i log it as "light to moderate cleaning". I do not log my normal daily cleaning like vacuuming, dishes, laundry, etc.
  • MakePeasNotWar
    MakePeasNotWar Posts: 1,329 Member
    If I'm going to be cleaning consistently, I add it to my activity level. When I was ill it was actually more conservative to set my activity level to sedentary and add back all activity on the days I was able to do it. If I'd been trying to lose I might have just considered it a "bonus" but I wanted to maintain, so I tried to be as accurate as possible.

    The one huge caveat is that the entries are for total calories expended, so to be accurate, I subtracted my sedentary TDEE per hour from the entries. This way, stuff like hatha yoga or light cleaning added dozens of calories to my target, not hundreds.

  • goldthistime
    goldthistime Posts: 3,213 Member
    edited August 2017
    MakePeasNotWar wrote: »
    If I'm going to be cleaning consistently, I add it to my activity level. When I was ill it was actually more conservative to set my activity level to sedentary and add back all activity on the days I was able to do it. If I'd been trying to lose I might have just considered it a "bonus" but I wanted to maintain, so I tried to be as accurate as possible.

    The one huge caveat is that the entries are for total calories expended, so to be accurate, I subtracted my sedentary TDEE per hour from the entries. This way, stuff like hatha yoga or light cleaning added dozens of calories to my target, not hundreds.

    I've often thought that was a good idea for ANY entry. (IE subtract your TDEE from the calories burned)

  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    eyer0ll wrote: »
    How many calories do I burn while folding laundry for 14 hours while stifling the seething resentment I feel towards my spouse for not helping? That's got to be around 1500, right????

    You have too many people in the house or you're too slow if it takes 14 hours to fold laundry.
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