Do you log cleaning as exercise?

Brandi0785
Brandi0785 Posts: 5
edited October 2 in Fitness and Exercise
I work a desk job so cleaning up around the house in the afternoons is part of my movement for the day. Do you all log it and how closely? Its not a tremendous amount of earned calories but its an extra snack a day for me :)
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Replies

  • Hi, yes I do log it and it can add up for instance 3 hours of light cleaning (its in "exercises" under cardio-vascular) clocks up several hundred calories- even hour an hour is over 100. I also log ironing and gardening! :flowerforyou:
  • circusmom
    circusmom Posts: 662 Member
    I don't, because I look at it like, I was doing this while I was gaining weight so it didn't do anything for me in the way of exercise then so why should I count it now.
  • I have been doing nothing but canning these past couple of weeks, it's only 127 cal/hr but when you are doing it for 2-4 hours it adds up!
  • I log mine too. It is the only movement I get some days (other then taking care of kids, I'm a stay at home mom, and because of that, by the time they go to bed, I do homework an crash myself.) So, this helps me burn up some calories. :)
  • sure do! scrubbing the tub and bathroom floors burns 266 cals an hr! and believe me, my tub takes and hr after a week of husbands job
  • Kristhin
    Kristhin Posts: 442 Member
    I don't log it, but everybody has their own ways they like to do things. If its working for you I say go for it. :)
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
    I only log things that I don't do all the time - like moving furniture, scrubbing floors on my hands and knees or steam cleaning.
  • vettle
    vettle Posts: 621 Member
    not usually. I try and keep things that I do anyway out of my diary and things that I do extra for and am motivated to do I log. Otherwise there would be so many things we log. I would consider cleaning part of regular activty, light or not.

    however, one day I cleaned my house for 5 hours, scrubbed on hands and knees, and I was like.. you know, this isn't normal so I'm logging it. But normally cleaning toilets and washing dishes, no.
  • I don't, because I look at it like, I was doing this while I was gaining weight so it didn't do anything for me in the way of exercise then so why should I count it now.


    yeah, I agree with this!
  • russelljclarke
    russelljclarke Posts: 836 Member
    I only log mine if it's vigorous or prolonged. And the cleaning.....
  • amelia_atlantic
    amelia_atlantic Posts: 926 Member
    I dont' personally because I feel like our bodies adapt to those ranges of motion over time.

    Any calories burned are just a bonus!
  • MrBrown72
    MrBrown72 Posts: 407 Member
    I don't log the things I did while gaining weight. No log for; cleaning, sex, doing my job, chewing, typing in forum threads, walking to or from the car, or any number of things that obviously didn't keep me from putting on weight.

    However had I done nothing but walk from the bedroom to the computer and suddenly started walking or whatever, I'd say definitely log it.
  • MelissaE27
    MelissaE27 Posts: 682 Member
    I dont log unless its like steaming cleaning or something out of the ordinary... because those are things I do daily anyway.. nothing out of the norm...
  • Lleldiranne
    Lleldiranne Posts: 5,516 Member
    General, day-to-day upkeep I don't. But when I have a big project, I will. Basically, if I'm feeling worn out or out of breath, I figure that I exercised. But dishes, dusting, laundry, etc, I don't.
  • sblair77
    sblair77 Posts: 355 Member
    no I don't
  • GypsysBlood
    GypsysBlood Posts: 42 Member
    I have logged it as exercise, but only the times when I was dancing, jumping a running around with my kids at the same time. I try not to use the extra calories I earn from exercise anyway so a lot of times I don't even log my exercise.
    But you gotta do what works for you....work a little harder while cleaning, dance around, do some squats in between cleaning areas, burn those extra calories and enjoy your healthy snack! :-)
  • maritza327
    maritza327 Posts: 100 Member
    If I am doing a good house cleaning I do log it....last weekend I cleaned for 2 hours, strapped on my HRM and burned 917 cals. It depends on the type cleaning your doing.
  • PlanetVelma
    PlanetVelma Posts: 1,223 Member
    I log it when it's heavy duty cleaning (ie spring cleaning, shampooing carpets, moving furniture, washing the dogs, etc...).
  • killagb
    killagb Posts: 3,280 Member
    Not me, I feel that unless you're wearing a HRM for these activities, it's likely just going to cause you to overeat if you eat back your exercise calories.
  • SiltyPigeon
    SiltyPigeon Posts: 920 Member
    The only time I would log ANYTHING as exercise is if it raises my heart rate for a significant period of time or if my muscles are going to be sore because of it. Anything less is everyday activity.
  • tmiqueen
    tmiqueen Posts: 254 Member
    Only if I break a sweat while doing so.
  • bbygrl5
    bbygrl5 Posts: 964 Member
    If I get my heartrate up over 140, I'll log it. That does not include most housework, ever, but two weeks ago I had my carpets cleaned and moved all of my furniture off the carpets and then back on the next day. You better believed I counted it. It was intense resistance training too with everything I lifted, so I needed a recovery day as well.

    If I scrub the toilet, I'm not logging it, but if I'm scrubbing the shower vigorously for 1/2 an hour, I log it. It's up to you, but I say that if you're not feeling like you're working hard while you're cleaning, it's probably not worth noting the small calories burned. Many will already be accounting for your body's natural burn calories.
  • redfroggie
    redfroggie Posts: 591 Member
    I only log if I do enough that I sweat.
  • HarlCarl
    HarlCarl Posts: 266 Member
    I would only log something if it's in addition to the things I was doing before I started to losing weight. Mowing the lawn, for instance, I used to pay the kids to do it, now I do it.
  • luv2run
    luv2run Posts: 54 Member
    I don't log cleaning only because when you set your goals it asks you your activity level and so that kind of stuff would be fiqured into the amount of calories you burn per day, I do however log gardening/yardwork because that is not something I do on a regular basis its more of a once a week or every other week type thing for me. I just feel like for me if I log my cleaning then I am just trying to justify having a snack.
  • I don't, because I look at it like, I was doing this while I was gaining weight so it didn't do anything for me in the way of exercise then so why should I count it now.
    my thoughts exactly
  • "light" cleaning, even for a few hours, is normal. it's part of peoples everyday lives. unless youre just dirty and never clean but once a month. if it's part of life, DO NOT ADD IT. cleaning is something you did before. so unless you are completely getting down on the floor and scrubing with bleach and moving heavy things around, its nothing out of the norm.

    anything extra you do (workouts, walking, etc.) that you didnt do before, is what you should log.

    cleaning, washing dishes, ironing, prepairing foods- these are normal, everyday things.

    working out, walking, cardio- those are the extras that help you lose. LOG THESE!
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
    I don't, I put my hrm on for a cleaning session of mine and compared it to a non-clean but normal legth of time and figured out that for me the difference was negligible. Also, it's a normal part of my life, so for this is built in to my activity level.
  • missikay1970
    missikay1970 Posts: 588 Member
    i log-in cleaning if i notice a change in my heart rate. most notibly when i clean the carpet on the stairs, haul laundry up & down for an hour or clean my teenage son's room (ha)
  • dovesgate
    dovesgate Posts: 894 Member
    I log any out of the ordinary cleaning like when I clean up the yard (hubby usually does it) or move furniture or deep clean my floors. Normal everyday cleaning doesn't get logged.
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