So, is housework considered exercise or is it not?

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Replies

  • Gwen_B
    Gwen_B Posts: 1,018 Member
    NO, exercise counts as exercise!!! Using cleaning as exercise is and excuse not to exercise!! You can account for it on your activity level!!!
  • MelissaL582
    MelissaL582 Posts: 1,422 Member
    I'm a stay at home mom of 3 and I don't count cleaning as part of my exercise. However, I do have my lifestyle set to lightly active.
  • bbbgamer
    bbbgamer Posts: 582 Member
    I would not log it, just as I would not log showering, brushing teeth, walking to car, driving to work, changing clothes.......
  • Gwen_B
    Gwen_B Posts: 1,018 Member
    "Exercise" - No. It will never replace the gym.

    "Activity" - Yes. It burns calories and I like to eat them.



    Absolutely!!
  • Gwen_B
    Gwen_B Posts: 1,018 Member
    I would not log it, just as I would not log showering, brushing teeth, walking to car, driving to work, changing clothes.......


    Right!!!
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    And now that you just totally demeaned anyone that got off the couch...what about the person that is so morbidly obese that they can't walk to the end of their driveway to get mail? I'd be pretty damn proud of them if they swept the floor. Or how about someone that DOES break a sweat going down the stairs, because they never thought their legs would carry them...all of you rockin' the six packs on their high horse, completely deflated someone that thought they were doing awesome...good job guys, way to be raging douche bags.

    ummmmmm ...

    so should the obese person who got off their *kitten* to get the mail get a medal or something?

    I think the points being made is that a person that is obese more than likely cleaned when they are obese, and now that they are losing weight that the cleaning they were already doing is not exercise as it is already included in their daily lifestyle...
    Should a person who bicycled regularly while obese - eating at a surplus - not log bicycling when they start their journey to a healthier lifestyle by eating at a deficit?

    are we talking cycling like long distance 10+ miles stuff....or taking the bike out for five minutes in the park or something...

    I don't see too many obese people cycling where I live...maybe that is just me though....
    I'm talking about bicycling an hour each way, to and from work, as a baseline I can personally relate to, as an overweight person who used to do it.

    Does the above indicate - should I reacquire a bicycle and enough comfort in my knees to do so again - that I shouldn't log two hour-long bike rides, 5x a day, as exercise, because I did that activity while I was obese, by the strictest technical definition of the term?

    if you did it then and you do it now then it is already built into your active setting of sedentary, lightly active, active, etc....IMO
  • Gwen_B
    Gwen_B Posts: 1,018 Member
    I don't count housework. It was something I did before I started my weight loss journey and its something I have to do every day. Its part of my normal daily expenditure of calories. I only count extra exercise such as bike rides and walks in the park.



    Absolutely!!!
  • Normacurrie
    Normacurrie Posts: 19 Member
    I clean a couple of houses and 1 of them is 3 levels, I do not stop for the entire 3 hours, and my steps are around 4000. I`m in a hot sweaty lather by the time I`m finished. Soooooo I think depending on how strenuous and for how long it is in fact exercise.
    Also I do add it to my activity , there is after all the option of housework in the activity list.
  • Gwen_B
    Gwen_B Posts: 1,018 Member
    Only on MyFitnessPal have I seen people consider cleaning and food preparation to be "exercise."



    Exactly!!!
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,706 Member
    Only on MyFitnessPal have I seen people consider cleaning and food preparation to be "exercise."

    On Sundays I work as a volunteer in a charity soup kitchen for ten to twelve hours, preparing breakfast and making anywhere from 350-400 warm meals and doing clean up afterwards. I carry pots that weigh 50+ pounds, sacks of produce and am on my feet all that time. I count that as exercise. But usual housework and all activities that have to do with my home, I don't.
  • SailorKnightWing
    SailorKnightWing Posts: 875 Member
    How often do you clean? Do you straighten up a little each day, or do you spend one day a week doing each room all at once? That should be your answer.
  • LovinDaNewLiz14
    LovinDaNewLiz14 Posts: 217 Member
    DEPENDS hours of moving heavy furniture yes!!!! 30 minutes of folding clothes and mopping ummmm no
  • RllyGudTweetr
    RllyGudTweetr Posts: 2,019 Member
    And now that you just totally demeaned anyone that got off the couch...what about the person that is so morbidly obese that they can't walk to the end of their driveway to get mail? I'd be pretty damn proud of them if they swept the floor. Or how about someone that DOES break a sweat going down the stairs, because they never thought their legs would carry them...all of you rockin' the six packs on their high horse, completely deflated someone that thought they were doing awesome...good job guys, way to be raging douche bags.

    ummmmmm ...

    so should the obese person who got off their *kitten* to get the mail get a medal or something?

    I think the points being made is that a person that is obese more than likely cleaned when they are obese, and now that they are losing weight that the cleaning they were already doing is not exercise as it is already included in their daily lifestyle...
    Should a person who bicycled regularly while obese - eating at a surplus - not log bicycling when they start their journey to a healthier lifestyle by eating at a deficit?

    are we talking cycling like long distance 10+ miles stuff....or taking the bike out for five minutes in the park or something...

    I don't see too many obese people cycling where I live...maybe that is just me though....
    I'm talking about bicycling an hour each way, to and from work, as a baseline I can personally relate to, as an overweight person who used to do it.

    Does the above indicate - should I reacquire a bicycle and enough comfort in my knees to do so again - that I shouldn't log two hour-long bike rides, 5x a day, as exercise, because I did that activity while I was obese, by the strictest technical definition of the term?

    if you did it then and you do it now then it is already built into your active setting of sedentary, lightly active, active, etc....IMO
    10 hours of bike riding a week is built in to "sedentary?" Seriously?
  • caramelgyrlk
    caramelgyrlk Posts: 1,112 Member
    I do not.
  • scruffykaz
    scruffykaz Posts: 317 Member
    I wouldn't count it unless I was doing a lot of yard work, washing cars, etc. To me, I have to laugh when I see people logging anything that is basically them off the couch. If you mark your activity level as moderate or light, it should already account for some of this.

    I don't think 'laughing' is very helpful or supportive.

    Like others, I only log it if I've done something out of the ordinary. That said, when I started here, I was a slug who sat on the sofa eating so every little bit helped :smile: I think it's a personal choice whether you log it or not. Only you know if you've done a lot and want to log it.

    It's not for me (or anybody else) to laugh because they are off the couch....being off the coach is GOOD! Get up, move, let the housework lead to a walk and improving your fitness. Not everybody is confident enough (or has enough money) to pound it out at a gym...

    Getting off the couch is to be encouraged, not laughed at!!
  • Mongand
    Mongand Posts: 2
    OK, first of all, I don't count ordinary housework. But who am I to judge?

    I once spent an entire afternoon at three warehouse stores (Costco, Lowes, Idea). I figured later that I must have walked at least two miles. Granted I was walking slowly most of the time, but walking still burns 100 cal per mile. That's way out of the ordinary for "sedentary" and should count, shouldn't it. If I had the dog on a leash and walked two miles anyone would count that.

    Everyday housework is, for me, part of the day and part of my base calories burned. To say that a shopping trip, pushing a lawnmower for an hour, or some other activity is or is not "exercise" is up to the individual. How serious are you about logging everything else. Are you just trying to be hyperaccurate, or are you trying to justify a Snickers bar?

    David
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    And now that you just totally demeaned anyone that got off the couch...what about the person that is so morbidly obese that they can't walk to the end of their driveway to get mail? I'd be pretty damn proud of them if they swept the floor. Or how about someone that DOES break a sweat going down the stairs, because they never thought their legs would carry them...all of you rockin' the six packs on their high horse, completely deflated someone that thought they were doing awesome...good job guys, way to be raging douche bags.

    ummmmmm ...

    so should the obese person who got off their *kitten* to get the mail get a medal or something?

    I think the points being made is that a person that is obese more than likely cleaned when they are obese, and now that they are losing weight that the cleaning they were already doing is not exercise as it is already included in their daily lifestyle...
    Should a person who bicycled regularly while obese - eating at a surplus - not log bicycling when they start their journey to a healthier lifestyle by eating at a deficit?

    are we talking cycling like long distance 10+ miles stuff....or taking the bike out for five minutes in the park or something...

    I don't see too many obese people cycling where I live...maybe that is just me though....
    I'm talking about bicycling an hour each way, to and from work, as a baseline I can personally relate to, as an overweight person who used to do it.

    Does the above indicate - should I reacquire a bicycle and enough comfort in my knees to do so again - that I shouldn't log two hour-long bike rides, 5x a day, as exercise, because I did that activity while I was obese, by the strictest technical definition of the term?

    if you did it then and you do it now then it is already built into your active setting of sedentary, lightly active, active, etc....IMO
    10 hours of bike riding a week is built in to "sedentary?" Seriously?

    Well if you rode your bike 10 hours a week and then sat on the couch the other 168 hours of the week then yes, that would be sedentary..

    All I said is if you did it before and you did it now it would be included in whatever your activity level is...
  • stephaniemejia1671
    stephaniemejia1671 Posts: 482 Member
    I've logged it when it's something that I do for a few hours. We all have different views as to what is considered exercise, use your judgment and go with it.
  • Sjenny5891
    Sjenny5891 Posts: 717 Member
    In the begining, I counted anything that took more than 15 minutes. I was RIGHT AT my goal each day and lost an average of 2 pounds a week.

    I stopped doing it around the time I changed to "Maintain weight"

    Of course, I set my goal based on Sedentary Activity and logged the calories I burned at work.
  • cindy326
    cindy326 Posts: 70 Member
    I personally do not count housework as exercise. Housework is a daily activity that my body is accustomed to doing. Exercise to me is above my normal daily things. I might count yardwork because I dont do it everyday.
  • PepperWorm
    PepperWorm Posts: 1,206
    Did you sweat? Raise your heart rate for an extended amount of time? Scrub enough to hurt? Clean for longer than an hour?

    Yeah, that I would log.
    I did all of those things besides the scrubbing, just sitting on my backside over the last hour and ten minutes. There's a heatwave, and there was a fly buzzing around my apiphobic head.

    Edit: Typonese

    LOLOLOOLOL.

    That damn heat. :)
  • splutschak
    splutschak Posts: 17
    I don't. I think that falls into your type of lifestyle that you choose in your profile (active, etc.)
  • keeponkickin
    keeponkickin Posts: 1,520 Member
    Not in my book. It's every day living.
  • Pixi_Rex
    Pixi_Rex Posts: 1,676 Member
    In my world? No.

    Do I judge anyone who counts it? Nope not at all. I know for some people it is not a normal thing and that it takes extra effort.
  • MercenaryNoetic26
    MercenaryNoetic26 Posts: 2,747 Member
    If you're an extremely sedentary person with no (fitness) ambitions... perhaps.
  • melindasuefritz
    melindasuefritz Posts: 3,509 Member
    yees mine goes under cleaning- light
  • melindasuefritz
    melindasuefritz Posts: 3,509 Member
    extremely sedentary person with no ambitions... perhaps.
    WOW THATS BOLOGNA
    I EXERCISE OVER 60 MNINUTES A DAY WALKING, ELIPTICAL AND OTHER STUFF AND I STILL COUNT CLEANING
  • danibu98
    danibu98 Posts: 281 Member
    only major yardwork- the kind when I have to stop every 15 mins to rehydrate, my heart rate is up and I'm sweating my nonexistent balls off. Living in SC in the summer, mowing my lawn on a hill, yes, that counts. Lopping off branches, hauling them, anything intense gets counted.
  • TheEffort
    TheEffort Posts: 1,028 Member
    I don't count it but I don't see an issue with people counting it either.

    Healthy body and healthy domicile...it's a win/win to me.

    8488541.png
  • MercenaryNoetic26
    MercenaryNoetic26 Posts: 2,747 Member
    extremely sedentary person with no ambitions... perhaps.
    WOW THATS BOLOGNA
    I EXERCISE OVER 60 MNINUTES A DAY WALKING, ELIPTICAL AND OTHER STUFF AND I STILL COUNT CLEANING

    Just my opinion. Doesn't sound like we have the same fitness ambitions, lol. Why not count your light cleaning in tdee if you're doing other more challenging cardio?

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