So, is housework considered exercise or is it not?

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Replies

  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    I believe that if it induces a sweat and it's outside of your usual routine, you can count it. If you spent 2 hours deep cleaning all the carpets and moving furniture and it left you tired, count it. If you spent 2 hours baking for a bake sale of something, count it. It's not your usual routine, you are tired from it, and it burned calories. If you want to count it, log it.

    If you know you overate that day and you're just looking for ways to round it all out in your journal, I would say it's not legit. It shouldn't count.

    Sweating doesn't make you burn more calories!!! It's just sweat!!! I live in Florida, sitting outside I sweat, should I count that. :huh:
  • marciebrian
    marciebrian Posts: 853 Member
    Only on MyFitnessPal have I seen people consider cleaning and food preparation to be "exercise."

    its ridiculous to log cooking dinner or vacuuming??
  • froeschli
    froeschli Posts: 1,293 Member
    Anything that isn't habitual, maybe stripping floors or spring cleaning, or helping a friend who just moved clean out their place. Everything else, sadly, is part of life(style).
  • clairedrose
    clairedrose Posts: 121 Member
    I don't log daily chores but when I am sweating through a whole house cleaning of 3000 sw ft of scrubbing, vacuuming,etc...absolutely! If it weren't hard work my DH would be doing his share when he says he will :-D
  • technobunny
    technobunny Posts: 131
    I believe that if it induces a sweat and it's outside of your usual routine, you can count it.

    by this logic, having the flu is exercise.

    pretty sure i'm one flu away from my goal weight if that's the case.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    Why do people care what other people log it doesn't effect you.? If it works for them great if it doesn't work there problem not yours.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    I got my fitbit in April and this is one of the things I was curious about (I wasn't logging housework before, because I was unsure). Cleaning definitely doesn't give much of a calorie burn. On days where I clean (unless of course I do a full deep clean), I don't burn enough calories for fitbit to consider me lightly active. So personally, I wouldn't consider it an exercise unless its a deep clean (moving furniture, ect) and then I'd only log a quarter of the time it took.
  • megsi474
    megsi474 Posts: 370 Member
    To be honest, I did a few times when I first started. I was very sedentary and lazy and it gave me a sense of accomplishment and a boost I needed at the time to start paying attention to myself and my surroundings and how I was impacting them. I wouldn't log it now, not even for a major cleaning job but I also made intentional exercise a priority and get my successes from that. I guess I see it as part of my evolution and the necessity to log cleaning died out.
  • knitjogread
    knitjogread Posts: 15
    I am the one who said "I have to laugh when I see people basically logging anything that gets them off the couch as exercise". Take that how you will and if you want to get upset, that's fine. You can do whatever you choose and if it works for you, that's great. But personally, I love running and Zumba and burning a good amount of calories. I have about forty pounds I would like to still lose and can't imagine getting those results from cleaning.

    What I meant by laughing was that I see people logging EVERYTHING. Sex, dusting, laundry, etc. It just makes me picture them like, "I got off the couch! That's twenty calories!" And yes, I probably am a *****. I'm okay with that.
  • 77tes
    77tes Posts: 8,571 Member
    I log it if it is outside my usual activity. And housework is outside my usual activity. I apologize for losing weight while fooling myself in this way.
  • skullshank
    skullshank Posts: 4,323 Member
    I believe that if it induces a sweat and it's outside of your usual routine, you can count it.

    by this logic, having the flu is exercise.

    pretty sure i'm one flu away from my goal weight if that's the case.

    lol

    i'm kicking this diet into high-gear *licks all the handles on the train*
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,474 Member
    sure is, I sweat like a pig doing it all,
  • knitjogread
    knitjogread Posts: 15
    I don't care what other people choose to do. But someone created a post asking for opinions, so they got opinions.
  • tquill
    tquill Posts: 300 Member
    I personally don't log any excercise (I don't think it counts strength training anyway). Monitoring your weight consistently is a better indicator of how many calories you're over or under.
  • technobunny
    technobunny Posts: 131
    I believe that if it induces a sweat and it's outside of your usual routine, you can count it.

    by this logic, having the flu is exercise.

    pretty sure i'm one flu away from my goal weight if that's the case.

    lol

    i'm kicking this diet into high-gear *licks all the handles on the train*

    hahaha not to mention all the vomiting we'll be doing...we'll be "fit" in no time!
  • poohpoohpeapod
    poohpoohpeapod Posts: 776 Member
    nope
  • clairedrose
    clairedrose Posts: 121 Member
    I'd like to mention when I was in college, I cleaned three houses a week one summer. I lost 15 pounds. This was her I was young, fit and really didn't need to lose weight. I think I was burning some calories
  • 81Katz
    81Katz Posts: 7,074 Member
    Why do people care what other people log it doesn't effect you.? If it works for them great if it doesn't work there problem not yours.

    You're right. It doesn't effect me. But everyone has opinions.
  • skullshank
    skullshank Posts: 4,323 Member
    I believe that if it induces a sweat and it's outside of your usual routine, you can count it.

    by this logic, having the flu is exercise.

    pretty sure i'm one flu away from my goal weight if that's the case.

    lol

    i'm kicking this diet into high-gear *licks all the handles on the train*

    hahaha not to mention all the vomiting we'll be doing...we'll be "fit" in no time!

    oh, you mean my ab routine?

    hell yeah us!

    tumblr_m61utx1PGM1rqfhi2o1_500.gif
  • treesha450
    treesha450 Posts: 321 Member
    I don't count housework, but I do count yard work because my yard is a huge project, shoveling dirt and moving plants I know I'm burning calories, even then I only add 1/2 the time I'm actually out there.
  • xmeganxtarax
    xmeganxtarax Posts: 79
    Exercise, examples: Walking (and not to and from the kitchen) biking, swimming, tennis, weights, rollerblading, jump-roping, etc.

    NOT exercise, examples: Washing dishes, folding underwear, chopping onions, boiling a pan of water, putting 3 pairs of socks into a dresser drawer, walking down aisle 5 at Wal-mart while pushing a cart.

    so ...... :glasses:

    ^^THIS.
  • clairedrose
    clairedrose Posts: 121 Member
    Yes yes yes. If you work hard it is exercise. If it is not part of your daily routine,it is exercise.
  • tlou5
    tlou5 Posts: 497 Member
    LOL- love the if you start losing weight too fast count it comment
  • technobunny
    technobunny Posts: 131
    Only on MyFitnessPal have I seen people consider cleaning and food preparation to be "exercise."

    HaHa! Really.

    I've seen people log standing as exercise...

    I've seen someone log over 1k calories for 360 minutes of driving.
  • tquill
    tquill Posts: 300 Member
    Why do people care what other people log it doesn't effect you.? If it works for them great if it doesn't work there problem not yours.

    If you're wondering why people are giving opinions... it's because the OP asked for them.
  • MsGuMama
    MsGuMama Posts: 17 Member
    I would count clean as an exercise 1 time out of every 2 weeks but it entails about 4-5 hours of cleaning at a fast pace and i live where it is about 85 degrees and 80% humidity. I will bust butt non stop for ATLEAST 4 hours keeping up a sweat but I would only log 1 hour of cleaning for exercise (25% of actual work done). Why? Because I clean to the point of exhaustion (a lil crazy OCD scrubbing an all tile house and reorganize everything every 2 weeks) but I cannot see logging 4 hours no matter how hard i worked which is why i will only log 25% of the time just to give me a little Hurrah for hard work.
  • melindasuefritz
    melindasuefritz Posts: 3,509 Member
    yup
    I put mine under
    cleaning- light
  • Lalasharni
    Lalasharni Posts: 353 Member
    Anything that raises my heart rate from the norm over a sustained period of time, I log.
  • jkal1979
    jkal1979 Posts: 1,896 Member
    Only on MyFitnessPal have I seen people consider cleaning and food preparation to be "exercise."

    its ridiculous to log cooking dinner or vacuuming??

    I would think that these activities are already factored in. If someone were to start logging all of these little things and eat back the calories burned from them it could have an effect on their weight loss especially since MFP tends to overestimate calorie burn.
  • ExcelWithMel
    ExcelWithMel Posts: 192 Member
    I do NOT count housework as exercise.
    I only count purposeful exercise like swimming, running, fast walking (not including a commute or to meetings), lifting weights, doing workout videos, etc..
    I also do not count easy/hatha yoga or ab workouts. I give myself 1 calorie burned for these just so I can log them.
    I would probably count spring or fall yard clean up or something like shoveling if I was really getting my heart rate up there.

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