Thoughts about burning calories by cleaning?

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Replies

  • angijunbug
    angijunbug Posts: 205
    I only use the cleaning calories burned when I am doing spring cleaning or heavy duty on your knees scrubbing and stuff. General day to day cleaning I don't count. I use these also because I have my activity level set to sedentry and don't want to dip too far below net calories of 1200. Gardening and raking I also use. I do go to the gym 5 days a week and get a good burn there as well.

    This ^ exactly because not everyone cleans the same either. Using a swiffer on a 200 square foot room is not the same as scrubbing a 400 square foot room on your hands & knees. And the MFP site gives too many calories for exercise. I have noticed that & need to get a HRM to be closer to accurate.
  • SinkTheBismarck
    SinkTheBismarck Posts: 133
    I see it like this:

    If you're gonna do moderate cleaning EVERY DAY, then you could probably set your activity level as lightly active / active (depending on how much you do it) but NOT log it.

    If you do it ONCE IN A WHILE, then yes, it may count as extra exercise and then you just log it normally.

    But that's just my opinion (and what I do myself)
  • MonkeyButtMom
    MonkeyButtMom Posts: 1 Member
    I think it all depends on the effort you put into it. If a person feels like they put in enough energy when it comes to cleaning to burn extra calories then what their body uses to survive, good for them. If you think about it, sweeping can be a killer workout...try doing it in a squat or demi squat position really focusing on twisting your core back and forth with the sweeping motion. Let me tell you, as a single stay at home mom with a 20+ pound 8 month old baby, cleaning can become quite the workout. Lol. As a side note...I take time out of my day (during nap time, when I can find a sitter, or with the stroller) to exercise, the cleaning is just an extra push to get me where I want to be.
  • XXXMinnieXXX
    XXXMinnieXXX Posts: 3,459 Member
    If I'm doing heavy cleaning I wear my hrm and count it, but I don't eat them back! Just gives me more of an incentive to something tedious! X
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    I often wonder how people log all the energy they waste sitting in judgment over what other people log as exercise. Getting on a high horse has got to burn quite a bit.
    :drinker:
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
    I often wonder how people log all the energy they waste sitting in judgment over what other people log as exercise. Getting on a high horse has got to burn quite a bit.

    It depends. I believe it's about 45 calories per foot for the height of the horse.
  • blowsfire
    blowsfire Posts: 76 Member
    i clean for a living and i can tell you, it's a pretty hard job! but cleaning at home,unless it's vigorous and for a long time i wouldn't put it on there. i also live in a loft and go up and down stairs thru out some days, and go out to do laundry back and forth. i guess i could use that but those are hard to log so i just stick to:ohwell: workouts
  • AlyiEli2017
    AlyiEli2017 Posts: 81 Member
    I don't think many of the activities MFP lists burn anywhere near the calories they claim, but I just lower the time to whatever I feel I was actually putting significant effort into it, rounded down a bit.

    For example, in the garden yesterday, I was digging up rows. That's 15 minutes of intense labor followed by 5-10 minutes of standing in the shade sweating and drinking water. I spent 3 hours, I logged an hour and a half. I really think I burned MORE calories than I came up with using that method, but the entry was "gardening - general" and I know I wouldn't have spent nearly as much effort running strings for the peas to grow on, or planting seeds (which I didn't count at all).

    I think guesstimating it the way I do works pretty well. I'm losing weight at the pace I set, so something's gotta be working right. :)



    I agree. I dont use the scale they use. I half EVERYTHING they say. Unless I actually go to the gym, then, I follow the machine!
  • antipanic
    antipanic Posts: 64
    Yes, yes and yes.

    It's no different than walking - moderate (walking dog)
    or Mowing Lawn
    or Raking Leaves
    or Cycling 10-12 MPH, to the grocery store, which happens to be to 10 miles away!

    The fact that I get something done while burning calories is just an added bonus! Others may pooh-pooh it, but in my opinion, moving more is moving more. Kudos to the stay at home moms, working moms retired moms, women without children, and (gasp!) men who work up a sweat cleaning. :smile:
  • SassyCalyGirl
    SassyCalyGirl Posts: 1,932 Member
    why does it make you feel like you've done nothing? If others want to log "cleaning" as exercise- they are only cheating themselves.
  • april_beth
    april_beth Posts: 616 Member
    on a side note: what one person does or does not log does not affect you personally towards your lifestyle goals and you should not be bothered by it enough to linger in your mind or make you feel like your workouts dont matter.
  • Buddhasmiracle
    Buddhasmiracle Posts: 925 Member
    Not sure why you are even bringing this up, or what it has to do with stay at home Moms.

    Wear a HRM and you will find out for yourself the caloric value of house cleaning if you are so concerned about what other people are doing.
  • fuhrmeister
    fuhrmeister Posts: 1,796 Member
    I don't log it unless I am really going at it for more than 30min. Even then I log half teh tiem I actaully spend cleaning and I mare it as light to moderate...never vigerous. If I'm on my hand and knees scrubbin teh tub or floor I get sweaty..that is a work out.

    On a similar not I log my gradening the similarly. If I am pulling weed I mark at half the time I actaully spent working. If I am lugging bags for dirt and mulch around I log at leat 3/4 of the time.
  • Shayztar
    Shayztar Posts: 415 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Shayztar/view/house-work-or-sometimes-the-people-on-the-community-boards-upset-me-223764

    I'm taking a rare rest day today because cleaning the whole house yesterday was the straw that broke THIS camel's back.


    14839892.png
  • dragonsheart84
    dragonsheart84 Posts: 75
    Who cares. it is their weight-loss journey not yours. If you feel that you are not doing enough because of this, then by all mean do more. That does not mean you have the right to dog someone because they are doing the best that they can do in their life. Downing someone because they do count the hours upon hours that it takes to be a stay at home mom and keep the house clean after kids destroy the room after you JUST pick it up, just makes them quit. Been there done that. It is negative ninnys that bring a lot of people down for their efforts. This makes a lot of people quit. If you are so worried that someone else is going to beat you in your weight loss goals by doing something else than you, you need to re-evaluate your priorities.
  • ShaunaLaNee
    ShaunaLaNee Posts: 188 Member
    Good topic.

    I use a HRM ( my polar) and YES, it does burn calories, so does gardening, yard work. MFP WAY over-estimates the calories burned. I really try not to comment anymore when I see someone say they burned 3000 calories walking a mile or cleaning, LOL

    I however am at the gym 5 days a week. The problem is that if you were already cleaning and gardening before staring to work out or diet, wouldn't that NOT be an increase?
  • kjbbdoll
    kjbbdoll Posts: 86
    I clean houses for a living and use a fitbit. You absolutely burn a TON of calories if you are vacuuming, mopping and scrubbing vigerously. I actually had no idea that I was burning so many calories a day.
  • tabbycat27
    tabbycat27 Posts: 9
    Good topic.

    I use a HRM ( my polar) and YES, it does burn calories, so does gardening, yard work. MFP WAY over-estimates the calories burned. I really try not to comment anymore when I see someone say they burned 3000 calories walking a mile or cleaning, LOL

    I however am at the gym 5 days a week. The problem is that if you were already cleaning and gardening before staring to work out or diet, wouldn't that NOT be an increase?

    Thanks for not making me hate myself. It really means a lot.

    I DO actually see people log thousands of calories a day of cleaning.

    I am more confused than anything else, and naturally I compare it to what I do.

    I'm sorry.
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
    To me, "cleaning" is (or should be) part of one's normal day. By adding these calories into an exceptional category, it is likely that they are hurting their progress... I only add exceptional exercise such as cardio at the gym... I don't even log weight training as "exercise" ... Just the cardio. It is all about the results.

    No, I'm not hurting my progress, but thanks for the assumption. :flowerforyou:

    i certainly meant no offense and certainly did not mean to belittle any form of exercise... and housework IS exercise. However, if we log things we do on a regular basis AND incorporate it into our regular routine (activity level in our profile)... then we are doubling up on the same activity.. and THAT could short circuit our progress. Again, I know how much work housework can be and it does use up energy.
  • fuhrmeister
    fuhrmeister Posts: 1,796 Member
    I often wonder how people log all the energy they waste sitting in judgment over what other people log as exercise. Getting on a high horse has got to burn quite a bit.

    LOL, I love this response!
  • Alanakrahenbil
    Alanakrahenbil Posts: 811 Member
    I don't add cleaning but I don't judge those who do. They might have never cleaned before, they have to start somewhere.
  • cristina_marie
    cristina_marie Posts: 83
    If its just straightening up, that's one thing. But for me, I definitely CLEAN my house. Pushing a heavy vacuum through each room, SCRUBBING the tub, toilet bowl, constantly bending up and down putting things up, dusting (not just the lamp, I'm talking every surface and corner) , cleaning the oven, sweeping, mopping, Kitchen counter tops. Also, I move fast. I don't know about anyone else, but I sure do break a sweat! I think it's fine counting calories burned while cleaning, but it's important to really pay attention to the time you are physically moving. It also helps because the more aware I am of every little calorie burn the more inspired I am to continue and burn more!
  • ZombieSlayer
    ZombieSlayer Posts: 369 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/ZombieSlayer/view/high-burn-days-242896
  • KLD81230
    KLD81230 Posts: 29 Member
    I'm of the opinion that MFP consistently and drastically overestimates calorie burn. I never count activities as "exercise" unless they are actually exercise. I consider everything else...well....life.....

    Note, I'm sure you burn plenty of calories stripping your floor varnish or re-grouting your tub...I just personally don't consider it "exercise".

    ^^^ THIS
  • treetop57
    treetop57 Posts: 1,578 Member
    Thanks for that data, Zombie Slayer. Fascinating!
  • loves_jc
    loves_jc Posts: 86 Member
    I have to say that I burn way more calories then MFP says I do, according to HRM. So when I in put something like garding or housecleaning it is something different then I usually do not just getting up after dinner to clean the kitchen, or throw a load of wash in. But I feel my little jog means more to me then it ever will to anyone else. That may be true for those doing the cleaning thing. It may not only be what they get it may mean it is their special time also.
  • zsaoosh
    zsaoosh Posts: 402 Member
    I dont log it. I dont understand eating more just because you cleaned your bathroom :laugh:
  • Graciecny
    Graciecny Posts: 302 Member
    I'm with the peeps who have said I don't log normal stuff. The other day, I spent two hours moving furniture (sectional sleeper sofa, recliners, tables, etc), vacuuming, running up and downstairs doing seasonal change-over laundry, and I logged 30 minutes of light cleaning. I figured it took me so much time it made working out necessarily shorter, and also I had done a LOT of running around to log only 170 calories or whatever. I just try to keep it real and realistic. I don't want to delude myself into thinking I've burned more than I have, but all that effort should also be work something!
  • fairestthings
    fairestthings Posts: 335 Member
    I'm a stay-at-home-mom and make time to work out. There are ways to make time for working-out.

    With that said, I don't log cleaning. Unless I do yard-work cleaning or something that makes me sweat, I feel that whoever cleans the house does it often enough that it's not really aw orkout. As for me, I keep up with cleaning enough that when it's time to clean-clean, that even isn't a big deal.
  • LilynEdensmom
    LilynEdensmom Posts: 612 Member
    I only log a marathon cleaning or like the other day I scrubbed the floors on my hands and knees for alittle over an hour I logged that...

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