Housework as an activity
stevew_68
Posts: 126 Member
Someone told me how to work out the calories burned doing housework. I don't do any proper exercise so the housework takes it out of me physically.
Tonight I went mad with our new steam cleaner for about 1.5 hours. Was knackered after it.
Any advice is welcome. I know some people dont log housework, and some do. I think its one of those grey areas. How do I work out the cals burned on activity. Housework wasnt listed there.
Tonight I went mad with our new steam cleaner for about 1.5 hours. Was knackered after it.
Any advice is welcome. I know some people dont log housework, and some do. I think its one of those grey areas. How do I work out the cals burned on activity. Housework wasnt listed there.
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I don't track housework0
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No.0
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It's under "cleaning."
Personally, I don't track my regular housework, like laundry and cleaning bathrooms and stuff because that's already included in my calorie goal, but if I've done something very strenuous that happens to be housework, I might log it. I've done it after an entire afternoon spent vigorously scrubbing floors. Also, I have friends with limited mobility and energy. They log cleaning simply because it is a physical victory for them some days.
Log it if you like. Just know that it probably doesn't burn as many calories as you think and adjust your calories accordingly.0 -
I don't track housework. However, I live in a small house and I don't have children, so it only takes me few minutes. If I had a big house and garden, children, pets, etc. I will keep track of the housework.0
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It's not clear to me how the burn for any housework activity, however vigorous, was determined and by whom. My confidence in its approximation is about the same as closing my eyes and picking any exercises' calorie burn at random.0
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I track the serious housework I do.
It's under cleaning. I think you can choose llight or vigorous.0 -
I only log housework (cleaning) when it's out of my routine. Things I do daily, like cooking (there is a food prep option) or whatever, I don't log.0
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All work (including housework, yard work and child care) is part of your activity level—not exercise.
Work = activity level. Workouts = exercise.0 -
So does that mean I put it down as an activity?0
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it depends - if you have put yourself down as sedentry then the housework may be enough to give you a few extra calories. However if you included that type of thing when you set your activity level then no.0
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Personally I don't track housework as its part of my usual routine, the house still needed cleaning when I was bigger and nothings changed!
But saying you really felt you worked hard, of course feel free to log it, cleaning is there in the exercise section. Its a personal decision. If I logged it I would feel I could eat more, and believe me I don't NEED to eat any more than I do already lol
what settings are you set at on MFP? sedentary? lightly active? if its the latter then the housework would pretty much be included in that and you will have more allotted calories per day anyway. Hope this helps0 -
So does that mean I put it down as an activity?
The log is your personal reminder on what you consume and what you burn. Many people do not bother logging housework because the calorie burn isnt accurate and could vary wildly. I might log it if it was over and above what I normally do and my heart rate was raised considerably. Its your choice, but if you log exercise that overestimates what you burn and eat the calories back then you are really just tricking yourself into believing you are burning more than you are. If you find your weight loss stalls, then consider the logging of the housework as one area to check. You will get what benefit there is to it, whether you log it or not. Its up o you.0 -
I think what she means is that you probably originally calculated an activity level (e.g. sedentary, lightly active, whatever) and regular housework is assumed in that. But I'd think you could log 1.5 hours of going mad with the steam cleaner as exercise, because presumably you don't go mad with the steam cleaner every day.
In terms of logging housework, I do what I gather a lot of people do -- namely, I don't log regular everyday stuff that's just part of life (like cooking or putting away dishes or walking to the corner store for eggs), but if I do a sustained amount of out-of-the-ordinary work, like a day I spent shifting boxes and re-arranging the spare room, I'll log it under "cleaning" or something else that makes sense. (Scroll through the options. It's weirdly fun to see what's been "calculated.")
I logged some holiday cooking because I was darned well on my feet for hours on end, kneading and mixing and so on. Which is not at all my everyday cooking! But I didn't count every single minute because c'mon.
So it's a judgment call. But I'd say you could log it as exercise.
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If you classified your activity as "sedentary," then your calorie goal was calculated without expecting any activity save being awake and minimal movement. You clearly should include housework in your log in that case.
If you classified your activity as "lightly active," then it's more of an iffy area. Some activity is factored into your TDEE because you're a bit more naturally busy. To be on the safe side, I probably wouldn't add housework or other non-fitness activities if you're in as "lightly active."0 -
Nope mine is sedentary0
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I wouldnt stick doing the dishes or filling washing mashine and stuff like that. I was meaning 'out of the ordinary stuff' and stuff where I work unusually hard, maybes even break into a sweat doing it.
I had to put my lifestyle as sedentary as I have a chronic back issue that severly limits what I can and cannot do at present, so stuff that some people find normal, could potentailly be a huge deal for me. Thats the only reason I am asking. Thanks for everyones advice though. I know everyone will have different opinions on this, which I appreciate.0 -
I wouldnt stick doing the dishes or filling washing mashine and stuff like that. I was meaning 'out of the ordinary stuff' and stuff where I work unusually hard, maybes even break into a sweat doing it.
I had to put my lifestyle as sedentary as I have a chronic back issue that severly limits what I can and cannot do at present, so stuff that some people find normal, could potentailly be a huge deal for me. Thats the only reason I am asking. Thanks for everyones advice though. I know everyone will have different opinions on this, which I appreciate.
I do think then you should log your heavy duty cleaning...its nice to know you've earned those calories sorry to hear you have back issues hope that improves for you!0 -
I don't bother tracking laundry, dishes or day-to-day cooking, but when I've spent a few hours doing heavy housework and lots of cooking, I track that, because it's not every day. Or even every week. I hate housework.0
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You can log it or not. The problem that I see with it is the reason you want to log it is so you can feel justified in eating more (i.e. eat back the calories). If you are chronically miscalculating (and I don't see how anyone could not) and you eat back all those alleged calories, you are going to gain weight, not lose it. If you are not going to eat them back, why bother logging them and just have the satisfaction you are most likely in deficit (assuming you are logging your intake correctly).0
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Well I can certainly say I am not going to log so that I can more calories to eat. Its just to record doing the activity as a record, as, like I say, for me, doing normal stuff that others take for granted, is tough. I try to log everything as accurately as I possibly can. I'm not trying to cheat at this, I'm just starting out and wondering what peoples thoughts are on the subject, and what they do or dont do. I always try to stay under my calorie goal, and not use the extra calories I might of earned doing stuff. Its literally just for the recording of stuff.0
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I have a chronic back issue that severly limits what I can and cannot do at present
Are you doing any physical therapy for your back condition?
My wife has back issues and her spinal specialist recommends walking in a pool. The buoyancy takes some of the load off the spine while helping strengthen the core muscles.0 -
I don't log anything that doesn't get my heart rate up to 70-95% max. I use my activity log to track cardio (walk/runs with the dogs, dance, elliptical, treadmill) and strength (powerlifting).
My line is- did I put on a sportsbra to do it? Did I get my heart rate up? If yes to both, I count the exercise.0 -
You still gained weight in the past when you cleaned right?!? So how is it different now from then0
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BigGuy, I am not currently doing any physio. I was having it but I found it either didnt help or at times flared it up.
the pool walking thing sounds handy. The doc advised against swimming, but he never said anything about walking0 -
irishman213 wrote: »You still gained weight in the past when you cleaned right?!? So how is it different now from then
Wouldn't the difference now be that people are eating at a deficit? They're more mindful of what they're eating? They're actually exercising now? Being more active? Before, yes you cleaned, but you also ate a buttload of food. So yeah, it didn't matter before because you ate more, moved less. That's what different now, move more, eat less. Don't people think about that when they ask this question? It boggles my mind every time I see this question asked.
OP for huge cleaning like what you did, I'd count it. As you said, you were "knackered after it". Normal cleaning, nope. :flowerforyou:0 -
LoneWolfRunner wrote: »You can log it or not. The problem that I see with it is the reason you want to log it is so you can feel justified in eating more (i.e. eat back the calories). If you are not going to eat them back, why bother logging them
I agree that the crux of the question is "why do you want to log it"? But I don't see any reason to assume it's just to eat calories back. It seems to me that one reason to have lots of different activities available for logging is that it gets you thinking about how to be more active.
Not many people are really going to go to the gym every day. Not everyone likes to run. But what ELSE can be done to be more physically active? Like walking instead of driving. Or, I dunno, whatever fits your life ... spending the whole day on yard work ... painting the kitchen ... going out dancing ... anything that bumps up your ordinary activity level.
And whether or not it gets your heartbeat up or you're sweating doesn't need to be the point. Of course that'd be a good benchmark if you're focusing on heart health. But strength training, for instance, wouldn't have you exhausted afterwards. (Or shouldn't, I assume!) And plain old calorie loss can be a long leisurely stroll (and then not eating it back LOL).
So, yeah, if the point of logging something is to apply it to a Snickers bar, then of course that's fooling yourself and it'll have the expected non-results. And I'm skeptical of the number of calories listed for some non-gym activities (and for a lot of gym activities, actually.) But I definitely don't see that as the only reason to log activities that wouldn't take place in a gym or with workout clothes on!
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Well I can certainly say I am not going to log so that I can more calories to eat. Its just to record doing the activity as a record, as, like I say, for me, doing normal stuff that others take for granted, is tough. I try to log everything as accurately as I possibly can.
In that case, go ahead and log it, with 0 calories. Given physical limitations, for sure it makes sense to keep track of times you exert yourself.
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It becomes more important when you are trying to maintain. If you keep loosing faster than your goal, or if you dip below the goal, then you may want to adjust.
As a farmer, I disagree with the person who stated that the only real workout you can get only happens with a gym membership. Come and carry bales of hay into my barn with me anytime. No charge.0 -
KatieHall77 wrote: »As a farmer, I disagree with the person who stated that the only real workout you can get only happens with a gym membership. Come and carry bales of hay into my barn with me anytime. No charge.
Farm work most definitely burns calories! But it's part of your activity level, and should not be logged as exercise.
Work = activity level. Workouts = exercise.-1 -
KatieHall77 wrote: »It becomes more important when you are trying to maintain. If you keep loosing faster than your goal, or if you dip below the goal, then you may want to adjust.
As a farmer, I disagree with the person who stated that the only real workout you can get only happens with a gym membership. Come and carry bales of hay into my barn with me anytime. No charge.
LOL, hear hear! I think of a lot of what I do at the gym as an effort to duplicate, at least to a small degree, what my rural family members (like most humans throughout history) achieve naturally every day One of my goals is to have upper arms that are as wonderfully toned as my sister-in-law. Her "exercise equipment" includes cows, hay, etc!0
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