Housework? :)

XaraLouise

How does one work out how many calories you burn doing the housework?
There's the hoovering, dusting, hanging out washing, ironing and general walking about the house when you're a mum at home with two kids. :drinker:

I'm sure it burns calories, it has to: hardly sit down or stop all day!!
So how would one work it out?

trgobble

I think if you go to the "track exercise" piece here and type in WHAT you did (ie, dusting) and type how LONG you did it, it'll track what you burned for you. I feel the same way about my job...I've been decorating my rooms at school, so I've called that "walking at a slow pace" because I'm running around all day, just not quickly.

countrygirlsoul

I know what you mean! It seems to never end when your busy doing housework all day! LOL I found this great website that has things like washing dishes by hand (I don't have a dishwasher), hanging laundry, etc on it. You should check it out.

http://www.dietandfitnesstoday.com/caloriesBurned.php

Jenks

If it's your daily activities then you should factor that in when you set your goals. When it asks how active you are.

LauraAkaTigger

Some of the normal every day cleaning would be tracked as your lifestyle choice... Sedentary, active ect that you chose when setting your goals.
If you are on your feet all day at work it is active.. The sane would apply for a busy mom at home.
I only ever track housework if it is making me begin to sweat and takes alot of effort.. I included cleaning last week helping my sister to clean a new house(I was sweating!) I would also include weekly/monthly big cleans like moping all the floors, running up and down stairs with clothes (if done a few times in a row)
be careful not to include too many daily activities as you may end up allowing yourself too many extra calories hindering weight loss

hope this helps!!

vickiele1

I know what you mean! It seems to never end when your busy doing housework all day! LOL I found this great website that has things like washing dishes by hand (I don't have a dishwasher), hanging laundry, etc on it. You should check it out.

http://www.dietandfitnesstoday.com/caloriesBurned.php

Thanks for sharing the website - this is perfect for me - I found "office work" which is what I do all day. I know that I burn calories doing my job, but this helps me see how many - not that I shouldn't also do my aerobic/strength training exercises as well - but at least I don't look like I'm a slug doing nothing all day. LOL

otpeds

I was just thinking...several of you have asked about house work, if you are a home Mom with young children it is hard to break away and have time to yourself sooooo....why not add weights around you wrists and/or ankles...that would definitely be a workout...

XaraLouise

I know what you mean! It seems to never end when your busy doing housework all day! LOL I found this great website that has things like washing dishes by hand (I don't have a dishwasher), hanging laundry, etc on it. You should check it out.

http://www.dietandfitnesstoday.com/caloriesBurned.php

This is brilliant, thanks!!
For my weight, 20 mins of hoovering burns 97 calories!

XaraLouise

I was just thinking...several of you have asked about house work, if you are a home Mom with young children it is hard to break away and have time to yourself sooooo....why not add weights around you wrists and/or ankles...that would definitely be a workout...

Suppose you could count carrying around a 24lb baby while doing chores a "weight"