am i cheating by counting cooking and cleaning as cardio?

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  • Krissy_b777
    Krissy_b777 Posts: 87
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    I count it . If I shouldn't count it, it should not be on there. Obviously, MFP felt it was exercise. And it depends on what I am cooking. If I am cooking a big meal and moving around alot I do. But something simple, no. When I clean my house, I really clean and scrub. In my book, that is exercise, you can call it cardio or not. Especially if it last more than 10-15 minutes. count I could care less if someone commented on my exercise or not. I am still going to do it and log it.
  • Krissy_b777
    Krissy_b777 Posts: 87
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    That's what I like about combining MFP with Fitbit and HRM. HRM tracks my real cardio and Fitbit takes care of accumulated non-cardio activity (cleaning, walking around). Using all three takes the guesswork out of everything.


    this too.
  • whatluckycat
    whatluckycat Posts: 52 Member
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    If cooking is cardio, then I guess eating must be cardio too. I mean, you do have to move your hand back and forth to your mouth after all.
  • MsMargie1116
    MsMargie1116 Posts: 323 Member
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    my life has been so hectic lately and I've been dealing with a recurrent sinus infection. I haven't worked out in weeks!!! I feel crappy, but I'm really trying to stay in my calorie range. So far, I've been pretty good about it (considering my history). That being said, I've been counting my cooking and cleaning as cardio. I'm trying any way that I can to keep my motivation up to continue counting. I keep thinking that this is cheating. Does anyone have any insight on this? Am I cheating or does this seem accruate?

    IMO, if you are using the lowest setting (sedentary) on your settings, then I say you are good to go. I usually don't count cooking/cleaning if I have done other exercises, but if I didn't get a chance to get in exercise, then I do count it... :)
  • SilviCor
    SilviCor Posts: 110 Member
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    To me, that's not really cario, it's life!
  • LordBezoar
    LordBezoar Posts: 625 Member
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    I can see an argument for cleaning. I cook a lot. I consider myself to be a decent cook and have made some extremely complex meals in my time. HOWEVER, I cannot think of a time that I have expended enough effort to actually log it as exercise.

    Technically, I log both of these activities, however, because I wear my FitBit all day every day--so my steps count toward exercise if--and only if--MFP & FitBit perceive that I have expended more Calories than my activity level give me.
  • LizJ08
    LizJ08 Posts: 127
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    I never thought to count cleaning as exercise until I saw other people on here doing it. I allow myself an extra 100 calories every day I exercise and for me it was freeing to know that I could count it as exercise and not also work out (have a sort of rest day) on Saturdays to have more time with my family. Recently I started just changing my activity level for the weekends instead of logging the cleaning because I'm on my feet a lot on the weekends. I don't think it's cheating. Obviously it's probably not much exercise if you drag it out all day vs. busting your butt to get it done!
  • JessieArt
    JessieArt Posts: 275 Member
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    I don't count cooking but I do count cleaning. I have a 3800 square foot house, 3 teenagers, a five year old, a husband, 2 dogs and 2 cats. Heck yea I'm counting cleaning up after them.

    If it makes you sweat and gets your heart rate up, count it. If not, clean harder!!! :wink:
  • Brittany3914
    Brittany3914 Posts: 258 Member
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    For fun one day, I wore my heart rate monitor as I cleaned my house (vacuuming, folding laundry, carrying baskets, mopping, etc). Unless people are doing lunges and squats between cleaning, I think MFP estimates that high. Especially with food prep. Although moving your body burns calories, I would never log it. It's a part of your every day life. I had a MFP friend who logged over 1,000 from food preparation one day. So ridiculous. If you log those calories, you'll have the mindset that you can eat them back and lose weight. I just consider them "bonus" workout calories that I don't necessarily log.
  • funkymoover
    funkymoover Posts: 4
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    I don't count mine if it is in my normal routine, so cooking dinner no, tidy kitchen no

    But like a previous poster I only Hoover once a week and I seriously break a sweat doing it, so I count some of it, same with mopping & sweeping the floors it's not a big job very often but if I have to out a lot of effort in then I count the calories
  • olyrose
    olyrose Posts: 569 Member
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    For me, there is a huge difference between FEELING wiped out or exhausted from doing things like cooking, cleaning and shopping, and actually BEING wiped out from doing a real workout. I figure that the moving around from cleaning and shopping and being on my feet is a good thing, but don't count it towards calories burned, because I know the difference in myself between when I really workout and when I don't. I've seen people burn a ton more calories from "cleaning" than I have over the same amount of time for busting my butt on the treadmill or elliptical, pouring sweat with a high heart rate and weak legs. It just doesn't quite add up for me.

    I've seen a lot of people mention that they wanted the extra calories so they could eat more, or not see the red on their profile, or feel better that they got a huge calorie burn in. But your body responds to the actual calories in and out, not what the log on MFP says you did.

    Also, for my weight loss, I've tried to get away from "deserving" to eat or "earning" it, because that's the same mentality I used when I would stuff myself after a long day, or a celebration, or when I was feeling down. Now I try to think about what my body needs. Using the "extra" calories because you feel you deserve them is not something that works for me.
  • desirae500
    desirae500 Posts: 146 Member
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    I always count vacuuming and mopping! Oh, and scrubbing the tubs!
  • FitLink
    FitLink Posts: 1,317 Member
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    When I was a newbie on this site I use to count it as part of my calorie burn. I think it was because I saw how congratulatory everyone was when you did something to burn calories. Needless to say I am no longer a newbie. I have learned that I can not count everything I do in my life as a way to burn calories especially if they are things that I do on a normal day to day basis. I only count calories burned if I do something physical that I do not do as the Norm. Lifting weights....running...hiking...biking...going for long walks...Golfing...basketball..baseball.....etc.

    The only exception I have to this rule would be if you shovel snow or cut the grass....just as long as its not a riding lawn mower with a cup holder holding an alcoholic beverage lol

    Newbie or not, you CAN count anything you do in your life as a way to burn calories, provided ONLY that it burn calories. You can't count them twice, so if you're set for an activity level that already takes them into account you can't count them again (but only because you already counted them) but if your settings don't take them into account there's certainly no scientific reason they don't count as calories burned. If you use your line of thinking, your workouts don't count since you do them "on a regular basis." If you lift weights regularly, they ARE the norm, so, again by your reasoning, it doesn't count.

    The laws of physics don't work that way.
  • FitLink
    FitLink Posts: 1,317 Member
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    For me, there is a huge difference between FEELING wiped out or exhausted from doing things like cooking, cleaning and shopping, and actually BEING wiped out from doing a real workout. I figure that the moving around from cleaning and shopping and being on my feet is a good thing, but don't count it towards calories burned, because I know the difference in myself between when I really workout and when I don't. I've seen people burn a ton more calories from "cleaning" than I have over the same amount of time for busting my butt on the treadmill or elliptical, pouring sweat with a high heart rate and weak legs. It just doesn't quite add up for me.

    I've seen a lot of people mention that they wanted the extra calories so they could eat more, or not see the red on their profile, or feel better that they got a huge calorie burn in. But your body responds to the actual calories in and out, not what the log on MFP says you did.

    Also, for my weight loss, I've tried to get away from "deserving" to eat or "earning" it, because that's the same mentality I used when I would stuff myself after a long day, or a celebration, or when I was feeling down. Now I try to think about what my body needs. Using the "extra" calories because you feel you deserve them is not something that works for me.

    Calories burned are calories burned no matter HOW they are burned. YES, they DO count as calories burned. What scientific reason could there be that they didn't count?
  • cf0506
    cf0506 Posts: 17 Member
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    If I am cleaning, running around with the kids, working in the yard, cooking - and I don't get an actual "actual" cardio workout for the day - I totally count it! I know all that chasing after my kids & cleaning has gotta count for something. And it keeps me motivated to get back to a more "real" workout the next day.
  • sammniamii
    sammniamii Posts: 669 Member
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    When i go "major cleaning mode" then I count it. I'll clean the house starting at one end to the other, often finding things that belong elsewhere so I'm always moving & walking around, sometimes sweating too. For the milder stuff like cooking, washing dishes or clothes, I typically plan them around playing video games (real good excuse to get up often so I don't sit all day - so want something I can work out on while I'm playing).

    But, I never consider housework "cheating" on cardo - everybody is different and some people's light work is another's day long adventure!
  • milf_n_cookies
    milf_n_cookies Posts: 2,244 Member
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    I don't log anything like that unless it is outside the scope of what I normally do, I do laundry, cook and clean every.single.day and get in over 12000 steps on a daily basis because of it, so instead of logging it as exercise I just bumped my activity level up to active and MFP adjusted my calories for me. I feel like if it does not raise my heart rate then it does not count at cardio.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    Calories burned are calories burned no matter HOW they are burned. YES, they DO count as calories burned. What scientific reason could there be that they didn't count?

    Yes, all calories burned count. The question is though is what counts as "regular daily activity", are these calories already accounted for in your settings, and does "sedentary" really mean doing nothing as some posters in this thread seem to imply.
  • olyrose
    olyrose Posts: 569 Member
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    Calories burned are calories burned no matter HOW they are burned. YES, they DO count as calories burned. What scientific reason could there be that they didn't count?

    Yes, all calories burned count. The question is though is what counts as "regular daily activity", are these calories already accounted for in your settings, and does "sedentary" really mean doing nothing as some posters in this thread seem to imply.

    And also it relates to ACTUAL calories burned. I can add up all my cleaning, grocery shopping, cooking, and come up with hundreds of calories burned for a couple hours worth of time. MFP counts these burns much higher than they actually are. When I run or use the elliptical for 45 minutes, I burn about 400-500 calories according to the machine. That is strenuous effort for me, I am working hard. There is no way I burn that many calories in 45 minutes or an hour of shopping, vacuuming, or cooking. So yes, I can log those things, but it doesn't mean I am actually burning those calories.
  • mrmanmeat
    mrmanmeat Posts: 1,968 Member
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    Calories burned are calories burned no matter HOW they are burned. YES, they DO count as calories burned. What scientific reason could there be that they didn't count?

    Yes, all calories burned count. The question is though is what counts as "regular daily activity", are these calories already accounted for in your settings, and does "sedentary" really mean doing nothing as some posters in this thread seem to imply.

    And also it relates to ACTUAL calories burned. I can add up all my cleaning, grocery shopping, cooking, and come up with hundreds of calories burned for a couple hours worth of time. MFP counts these burns much higher than they actually are. When I run or use the elliptical for 45 minutes, I burn about 400-500 calories according to the machine. That is strenuous effort for me, I am working hard. There is no way I burn that many calories in 45 minutes or an hour of shopping, vacuuming, or cooking. So yes, I can log those things, but it doesn't mean I am actually burning those calories.

    So you count going shopping as exercise?

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