House work and calories burnt

Gritty_Gal

just out of curiosity... Do you guys count calories burnt while doing some of the major household / yard chores such as vacuuming, raking leaves, washing floors, gardening etc?

rejectuf

Unless I'm sweating for 30+ minutes, I don't count it as exercise.

maxit

All movement counts toward energy expenditure - trackers may or may not provide "accurate" data but if you collect your own data over a month you will be able to figure out approximately how many calories you are burning / calories you are eating.

Gritty_Gal

I never really counted it, but today I did 2 hours of rather labour intensive yard work and i feel more exhausted than I normally feel after a workout. So I was hoping it would count for something

Larissa_NY

Household chores aren't exercise. They are the active lifestyle that exercise allows you to lead. If you got overweight while doing those things, you're not going to lose weight by counting them as exercise and rewarding yourself with food for doing them.

SezxyStef

no I don't...because when I was fat I did all those things and it didn't help me at all.

I only count purposeful exercise that I do for my health and fitness...

Gritty_Gal

Good points Larissa and Stef. I never really thought about it from that perspective. Thank you ladies for sharing

marcianne98

Larissa_NY wrote: »

Household chores aren't exercise. They are the active lifestyle that exercise allows you to lead. If you got overweight while doing those things, you're not going to lose weight by counting them as exercise and rewarding yourself with food for doing them.

True. May be different if you are sedentary.
I clean for a living for 35+ years. It is a rare day that I am not on my feet. Most of those years I have been overweight. I always said for the work that I do I should be thinner, but have not been. The only time I was my goal weight, was when I seriously reduced calories.

barbecuesauce

Nope. But if I go over my calories after doing yardwork, I don't feel bad about it.

Christine_72

Larissa_NY wrote: »

Household chores aren't exercise. They are the active lifestyle that exercise allows you to lead. If you got overweight while doing those things, you're not going to lose weight by counting them as exercise and rewarding yourself with food for doing them.

yes, but they ate more than they burned doing said housework when they were overweight. ..