am i cheating by counting cooking and cleaning as cardio?

Options
12357…12

Replies

  • jessihoover
    jessihoover Posts: 63
    Options
    I would still count it! moving is moving! however I would probably NOT eat those calories back!
  • JLove2Zumba
    JLove2Zumba Posts: 54
    Options
    You can log it, But don't eat it.. I eat back my exercise calories But I would never eat those calories back, Unless you are cleaning on a 90 degree day w/out air conditioning and dripping in sweat, you are not burning fat, and that is the whole point of a workout right.. My Doctor said, its not about getting 30 minutes of exercise in everyday its about Sweating for 30 minutes everyday. Basically if you workout doesn't cause you to sweat ( unless medically you cannot) Its not Cardio!
  • Shell_7609
    Shell_7609 Posts: 786 Member
    Options
    I have my activity level set at sedentary, but only count cooking & cleaning if its above/beyond normal daily activities.
  • katlynx6
    katlynx6 Posts: 68
    Options
    I would agree with those who have said that the only person you are cheating is yourself. If it is something that keeps you motivated and keeps you logging despite feeling ill, then by all means go ahead!

    But keep in mind: just because MFP estimates a calorie burn of 200 cals for an hour of cleaning (just numbers I made up - I have no idea what it would really be) doesn't mean you actually burned them. So ultimately, sure you can count them.... but if you eat them back you may end up gaining weight.
  • Tobi1013
    Tobi1013 Posts: 732 Member
    Options
    3) Aren't we all smart enough to know not to eat our exercise calories? And on that topic, does it irritate anyone that our daily diary automatically adds those into our available calories. Then you have to subtract them to see what's really left, if you journal after every meal and exercise routine.

    Actually, many of us are smart enough to know that the daily calorie allotment we are given already includes a deficit to allow us to lose the weight we want each week WITHOUT exercise. If you don't eat back the exercise calories, you are increasing that deficit and that could, depending on how large a defict you are creating through exercise and how long you go without eating those calories back (among other variables), hinder your your results.

    There are plenty of topics in the forums that address the reasons we should be eating our exercise calories back and a search of the forums will yield plenty of results.

    As for the question posed by the OP, many others have already stated the same, but if what you are doing is working, continue to do it. You are the only one who can say if what you are logging is helping or hurting your results.
  • ckmama
    ckmama Posts: 1,668 Member
    Options
    i think you should quit looking at it as pass/fail or cheating, this isn't a test.

    It is a lifestyle change. And if you normally sit on your behind all day and you started cleaning and mowing your yard and not sitting on your behind all day then you are burning more calories.

    It all depends as well on how your calorie level is set up, if you have it set for sitting on the couch or in an office chair all day then you should be fine.
  • Jenncoc86
    Jenncoc86 Posts: 203 Member
    Options
    if it's not normal count it, I count it as light stretching
  • KyleB65
    KyleB65 Posts: 1,196 Member
    Options
    If your activity setting is Sedentary, then no. Logging cooking and cleaning should count as calorie burn.
  • dixie3379
    dixie3379 Posts: 11
    Options
    If it were me, yes I would feel that it didnt count and in the back of my mind I would be cheating myself. I dont log that type of activity, if I did I probably wouldnt be as motivated to get to the gym. If I get a lot accomplished around the house, I think of it as a bonus.
  • shaelataylor
    shaelataylor Posts: 224 Member
    Options
    i count any sort of activity like work or cooking or cleaning as a part of the "lightly active" i put in for my lifestyle. if i had put it on sedentary, i might count those in though.
  • chicpeach
    chicpeach Posts: 302 Member
    Options
    I log intentional exercise only. The problem with using cleaning the house as exercise is that is it not necessarily continuous exercise. If you stop to answer the phone, watch an interesting scene that happens to be playing on the tv, spend 5 minutes convincing your teenage to clean his room, etc., those are minutes you are not actually scrubbing, sweeping, etc. If you include these minutes in your total, then you're over estimating your time spent and it's a best guess how many calories you're actually burning when you are engaged in cleaning activity.

    Personally, I think it's better left as a hidden bonus burn.
  • dme1977
    dme1977 Posts: 537 Member
    Options
    I have mine set to "sedentary" and my calories are adjusted to this.
    so I COUNT ANY/ALL cleaning, laundry, vacuuming, mopping, grocery store trips, sweeping, digging in my garden, shopping (using a cart) , sex , raking the yard, taking the big trash cans to the curb, etc... the list goes on and on.
    WHY WOULDN'T YOU COUNT IT?!!!!
    IT IS A TYPE OF EXERCISE.
    personally I don't count cooking.
    As far as cheating...the only person you can cheat on here is YOURSELF!!!
    so DON'T cheat yourself out of the exercise calories you are due from these daily tasks. :bigsmile:
  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
    Options
    3) Aren't we all smart enough to know not to eat our exercise calories? And on that topic, does it irritate anyone that our daily diary automatically adds those into our available calories. Then you have to subtract them to see what's really left, if you journal after every meal and exercise routine.

    LOL... smug! Maybe you don't understand how MFP is set up? The deficit is already built into your base calorie goal, so you will lose at your prescribed rate, even when you eat all your exercise calories.

    I ate most of my exercise calories and it worked for me! :-)
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
    Options
    It all depends - what did you choose for your "lifestyle" when you set your account up?

    If you put your lifestyle in as "sedentary", then you should most certainly count things like housecleaning as cardio. If you spend a day walking through the mall, put that in as "casual walking".

    If you have already upped your lifestyle base to account for housecleaning, then it should not be in your exercise log, because you're already accounting for that exercise as part of your routine lifestyle.

    The whole point is to try to estimate calories burned to the most accurate extent possible. And, as others have said, nothing is "cheating", at least as far as everyone else is concerned. If you decide to overcount exercise or undercount eaten calories, you're only affecting your own progress. It's in your own best interest to count them as accurately as possible so you can learn what works best for you.
  • solskinnzombie
    solskinnzombie Posts: 122 Member
    Options
    I spend an hour vacuuming the store at my work everyday. I sometimes build up a sweat doing so. It is an old, huge vacuum. Right before I do this I spend about 20 minutes in a cooler rearraging cases of soda and food. I usually log that as 30-40 minutes of cleaning(light moderate), so about half. I know I am burning calories when i do these things. I just dont think it is as high as mfp says.
  • lilv711
    lilv711 Posts: 24 Member
    Options
    If I prep and cook for longer than an hour, then yes, I do log it in. Perfect example would be Thanksgiving day: I prepped, cooked, and cleaned up my workspace & that took about 5 hours.

    As for cleaning, moving & organizing, I also take into account the effort it took to complete & how long it took. I live in a small apartment so if I spend more than an hour, I'm more likely to log it in. For me, anything less than an hour of cleaning my place isn't worth logging in. If I'm at my boyfriends & I help him with chores, then yes I'll log it in being that I I have to go from his room on the 2nd floor to the basement, repeatedly to do laundry.
  • eve7166
    eve7166 Posts: 223 Member
    Options
    I dont log the daily maintenance cleaning (quick sweeping up, cooking, dishes, wiping down counters, etc) but on Sat or Sun mornin when I do deep cleaning I do log it. I do 100% effort with music and all and work up a nice sweat! Plus I have to run up and down stairs to take lundry up and down as well.
  • tifalva
    tifalva Posts: 220 Member
    Options
    I always count cleaning the house as cardio. I work up a sweat and I'm tired when its done. Sometimes I will count cooking but its never my WORK OUT just extra calories I've burned through the day and I don't count it towards my calories burned at the end of the week. I focus on my workouts themselves and cleaning as my calories burned through the week.
    Hope you get to feeling better soon :)
  • KellyKAG
    KellyKAG Posts: 418
    Options
    You cook and clean in your normal everyday life. In my opinion, cooking and cleaning doesn't count. Especially if you're eating back your exercise cals.

    ^^^ I agree with this. Only house thing I record is mowing the lawn (and I'm talking about a old push mower not a ride lawnmower. It always seems crazy to me when I see that)
  • stacygayle
    stacygayle Posts: 349 Member
    Options
    I put it down if I do a marathon cleaning session or do something out of the ordinary with cleaning such as scrubbing the floors or washing the car. I do cleaning everyday so I don't have to clean all day on Saturday so I try to make it fun by doing it as fast as I can and try to beat the timer and I can work up quite a sweat but I usually don't count that since I do it everyday. Sometimes it is the only cardio I get especially on a hectic day so I may count it then if I don't get any other exercise in.

Categories