So, is housework considered exercise or is it not?

Isakizza

I'm a physician, and I hear this often. Many people believe that any activity in which they are moving about throughout the day serves as an alternate form of exercise. While housecleaning, chasing children and doing laundry all provide a modest expenditure of calories, it is not exercise unless the activity lasts at least 30 minutes during which time you have increased your heart rate to an aerobic level and maintained that level throughout the exercise, as you would if you were to walk, run, jog, or bike for that time period. The first few minutes of activity utilizes nutrients circulating the bloodstream, rather than mobilizing and burning fat-thus the need for sustained exercise.

Daily chores does not provide this benefit. Count it as a bonus-if you use a few extra calories doing anything, it is better than doing nothing. I wish that the miles I travel up and down hallways during the 8-12 hours I see patients everyday meant that I didn't need to run the 4 miles I have to in order to achieve my fitness goals. Alas, it isn't so.

^^^ Agreed

peeaanuut

i think people are forgetting that some people have an easy time doing housework and some of us get winded walking form one edge of the house to the other. So while it seems to be easy for some to do 5 loads of laundry and then vaccuum and then dust and then do dishes and then windows, etc, for some its pretty strenuous compared to their normal activity level. I say that if you log it and find that with a good diet that you are not losing the weight you should, then I would begin to cut down the amount you log until you find something that works.

SansyPansy

Depends on how you look at it. I used to use WebMD's calorie counter and they encouraged tracking things like doing the dishes and vacuuming. They don't count for many calories separately.. but it feels good to see them add up AND get the house clean :happy:

mdhummel

I don't sweat while doing chores like I do at the gym. Unless you are doing lunges and squats while vacauuming I am going to say "don't count housework as exercise".

TheSink

Seven pages of talking heads.

If you set your profite to "sedentary", it means that MFP is assuming you do nothing but sit on your @ss for the vast majority of the day. Thus, it is setting your calorie goals based on this profile assumption. It is not assuming "oh, they do 3 to 5 hours of housework a week". So, if you have a desk job, set your profile to sedentary, if you clean your whole house from top to bottom for 3 to 5 hours (for instance), than plug it in as exercise, and cut back on the calories. Seriously, some of the people on this site just make me laugh. At least you're keeping the massive workout products machine going.

chelseascounter

No.

I once saw "burned __ calories preparing food" on my newsfeed. No.

mdhummel

i think people are forgetting that some people have an easy time doing housework and some of us get winded walking form one edge of the house to the other. So while it seems to be easy for some to do 5 loads of laundry and then vaccuum and then dust and then do dishes and then windows, etc, for some its pretty strenuous compared to their normal activity level. I say that if you log it and find that with a good diet that you are not losing the weight you should, then I would begin to cut down the amount you log until you find something that works.

I see your point, but if the chores were already part of your daily routine why would it count as exercise? Folding laundry doesn't even involve walking.

TheSink

I don't sweat while doing chores like I do at the gym. Unless you are doing lunges and squats while vacauuming I am going to say "don't count housework as exercise".

I sweat when I sit outside drinking beer in 100 degree heat? Should I count that as exercise because I'm getting a better sweat going than when I drink beer in my air conditioned basement?

majoki

I use a BodyMedia Link armband.
I just checked my calorie burn for 3 hours of cleaning that I did last Sunday: I was mostly sorting piles of clothes, sweeping, pulling things off of shelves to throw away, loading piles of clothes into garbage bags, ~6 bags, and carrying them about 20 feet.

When I'm sitting around lounging I usually burn ~70 calories per hour.
While I did this cleaning I burned ~180 calories per hour.

I automatically "log it" in the sense that I just eat up to whatever my BodyMedia says I burned. I don't think this cleaning was what I'd call "exercise", but I'll still eat the calories I burned from cleaning since I'm trying to maintain my weight.

peeaanuut

i think people are forgetting that some people have an easy time doing housework and some of us get winded walking form one edge of the house to the other. So while it seems to be easy for some to do 5 loads of laundry and then vaccuum and then dust and then do dishes and then windows, etc, for some its pretty strenuous compared to their normal activity level. I say that if you log it and find that with a good diet that you are not losing the weight you should, then I would begin to cut down the amount you log until you find something that works.

I see your point, but if the chores were already part of your daily routine why would it count as exercise? Folding laundry doesn't even involve walking.

Laundry can involve walking if you fold and then walk to putit away one piece at a time. not very time efficient, but doable. lol But really I should probably log the work I do to avoid doing the chores my wife gives me. Do the laundry? heck no! gotta go inspect the muffler bearings on the car.

MarthasVineyard

I do not count housework as exercise no matter how hard and long I work at it. I only count intentional exercise. I think of housework and other as an undocumented bonus.

jfl5

What if it's outside the house work? Say, cutting with a pushmower for an hour in 95 degree heat and 90% humidity?

that would be yard work, not housework and you still don't count it...just increase your activity level to active or something..

So why does myfitnesspal include "Walking, 2.0 mph, slow pace" as exercise?

ndj1979

What if it's outside the house work? Say, cutting with a pushmower for an hour in 95 degree heat and 90% humidity?

that would be yard work, not housework and you still don't count it...just increase your activity level to active or something..

So why does myfitnesspal include "Walking, 2.0 mph, slow pace" as exercise?

I don't work for MFP ..ask them.

Lady_Bane

My profile is set to sedentary, so it is for me.

ndj1979

I use a BodyMedia Link armband.
I just checked my calorie burn for 3 hours of cleaning that I did last Sunday: I was mostly sorting piles of clothes, sweeping, pulling things off of shelves to throw away, loading piles of clothes into garbage bags, ~6 bags, and carrying them about 20 feet.

When I'm sitting around lounging I usually burn ~70 calories per hour.
While I did this cleaning I burned ~180 calories per hour.

I automatically "log it" in the sense that I just eat up to whatever my BodyMedia says I burned. I don't think this cleaning was what I'd call "exercise", but I'll still eat the calories I burned from cleaning since I'm trying to maintain my weight.

body media is off by about +/- 10% so I would be wary of that method...

jfl5

What if it's outside the house work? Say, cutting with a pushmower for an hour in 95 degree heat and 90% humidity?

that would be yard work, not housework and you still don't count it...just increase your activity level to active or something..

So why does myfitnesspal include "Walking, 2.0 mph, slow pace" as exercise?

I don't work for MFP ..ask them.

It just seems like some folks are up on their high horses here and should realize everybody is not exactly the same.

"Push Mowing
The number of calories you burn is calculated primarily on your weight and the amount of time you spend on any particular activity. If you weigh 155 pounds and spend 30 minutes mowing the grass by hand, you burn 205 calories. If you weigh 185 pounds and spend 30 minutes mowing, you burn 244 calories. Burning calories at this rate is faster than a 30-minute session of volleyball or kayaking."

Source: http://www.livestrong.com/article/315630-calories-burned-while-push-mowing/

goldfinger88

Housework is definitely exercise. People seem to be of the misguided opinion that only formal exercise is in fact exercise. Nothing could be further from the truth. Look up the term "NEAT" on the web and learn about the value of all movement. Exercise burns very few calories. It's the movement we do throughout the day that gives us the "real" calorie burn. If we exercise an hour and sit the rest of the day, we' considered sedentary. Many NFL players are sedentary.

Do count your housework and all of your activities.

ndj1979

What if it's outside the house work? Say, cutting with a pushmower for an hour in 95 degree heat and 90% humidity?

that would be yard work, not housework and you still don't count it...just increase your activity level to active or something..

So why does myfitnesspal include "Walking, 2.0 mph, slow pace" as exercise?

I don't work for MFP ..ask them.

It just seems like some folks are up on their high horses here and should realize everybody is not exactly the same.

"Push Mowing
The number of calories you burn is calculated primarily on your weight and the amount of time you spend on any particular activity. If you weigh 155 pounds and spend 30 minutes mowing the grass by hand, you burn 205 calories. If you weigh 185 pounds and spend 30 minutes mowing, you burn 244 calories. Burning calories at this rate is faster than a 30-minute session of volleyball or kayaking."

Source: http://www.livestrong.com/article/315630-calories-burned-while-push-mowing/

Really, I could care less. My personal opinion is that housework, yard work, etc is something that is included in your activity level and is already accounted for. My office is on the second floor of our building, I walk up and down the stairs like ten times a day, I do not log that as "exercise" it is just built into my lifestyle...

I would assume that may people were obese and still did housework, yard work etc...so I don't know how that counts as moving more when it was something you were already doing when you were overweight...

Not a "high horse" just an opinion..take it as you may..

ndj1979

Housework is definitely exercise. People seem to be of the misguided opinion that only formal exercise is in fact exercise. Nothing could be further from the truth. Look up the term "NEAT" on the web and learn about the value of all movement. Exercise burns very few calories. It's the movement we do throughout the day that gives us the "real" calorie burn. If we exercise an hour and sit the rest of the day, we' considered sedentary. Many NFL players are sedentary.

Do count your housework and all of your activities.

NFL players are sedentary? Have you ever trained with one in the off season?

meadow_sage

I think there is no right or wrong answer here. It's what's right for you. I have personally decided to stop eating back exercise calories except for the days that I do strength training. When I do strength training I will eat a eat a protein/carb snack after working out and I won't care if that puts me over my normal allotted calories for the day. But that will not be eating up all of exercise calories. This is my personal choice and is not up for debate, as should be any decision that any of you make. What I would do is keep track either way, so you can discover what works for you. Try counting the cleaning calories for a week or two and see if you lose the expecting weight....if you do, continue doing so, if not, don't count it.