Should You Really Log Housework?

Dexy_

I see a lot of people logging housework as exercise. I'm not exactly sure why but I'd feel very odd logging this. I have worn my HRM during my housework time the last 2-3 days and on average I'd burn about 100cals for an hour of housework. That's pretty significant for me (considering it would take be about 30-40 mins to burn 100cals doing any other exercise). Should I log it or not? I'm thinking not but just looking for opinions.

katem78

i am not really sure if you should.... i mean, in our profile we choose our daily activities which more or less include some things we basically do. if you (or anyone of us) add our housework calories then we could add our sleeping calories our watching tv calories our whatever calories. our body burns calories all day and night which is more or less added by our profile choices.
no???

good luck
xx

Lyadeia

I don't log anything that's not a formal workout. I would have done housework, no matter how "intense" or "long," whether I was planning on losing weight or not. Others might feel differently, but I feel like I cheated myself when I log silly things like housework when I could have done a HIIT routine in the same amount of time.

Dexy_

Yeah that's what I thought I would feel like I was cheating myself also. Thanks guys

mybeachpal

I think we should log housework as a form of exercise. It is an activity, and in most cases a pretty significant activity. Consider that many people do not get too involved with keeping their house clean and tidy; and truly, housekeeping if done "right", is a wonderful activity. Just sayin...

trud72

NO WAY! :mad: this does anoy me! :mad: :mad: :mad:
the only exersice i log is when i phisically get off my @ss and do some exersice! :drinker:

unsuspectingfish

If it's not housework that's part of your normal routine, then I wouldn't. If it's something you do less often and which is more intense than normal, then I would.

As long as it's not regular, everyday, barely-moving-around housework, it's a legitimate workout, whether you log it or not. It gets you up, moving around, and working your muscles. Plus, you get the added bonus of actually getting something accomplished while doing it. I don't think your cheating yourself out of anything.

P.S.

The CDC considers it a legitimate form of exercise: http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/01/26/tem_tem2a.html

I'm just saying.

sms1986

I know someone who was a SAHD and he lost some weight a few years ago, and never included housework as part of his exercise. I don't include it myself, although I don't really do a lot of the housework.

SueGeer

the only exersice i log is when i phisically get off my @ss and do some exersice! :drinker:

Same here

Sue x

cocolo89

i normally don't log it in. I will only log it in if I am doing a deep cleaning ( I usually clean throughout the day, but once a week I do a deep cleaning for 4hrs but I only log it in as 2) same with shopping. If i do a quick shopping trip, i don't log it in. but if i'm gone for 5-6hrs I will only log it in as 90mins. Those i consider extra because its something i don't do every day )

snowpony

I log in housework sometimes because I usually sit all day at a computer for my job. But because I work for a fashion company sometimes I have to go and count clothes and pull them out of boxes and sort them out which is really heavy exercise with the squatting and bending and being on your feet for a few hours in high heels mind you. Its not housework but I log it as housework because I can't find a similar exercise.

killagb

I personally don't log it. I'd look at anything burned as a bonus calorie deficit(that's also because I do eat back all my exercise calories and wouldn't want to for something like housework). If it's logged for motivational purposes then that is different.

katem78

i clean and cook and tidy my house on a daily basis. when i'm done i don't feel like i did something extra for my body. i don't feel i worked out. like corina_b89 said,if i do a deep cleaning, take my carpets on the balcony and wash them for an hour or, get on my knees and mop the whole house for an hour or go to the supermarket and walk back home carrying heavy bags ..that maybe i would add.... but this doesn't happen daily!

tracymnx

I would never log housework, I think its cheating a bit as you would be doing it anyway whether you wanted to lose weight or not, right?? I agree with other posters, I only log when im doing a proper workout and not day-to-day things.

Tracy x

spottedlee

NO WAY! :mad: this does anoy me! :mad: :mad: :mad:
the only exersice i log is when i phisically get off my @ss and do some exersice! :drinker:

I agree! Especially when someone "cleaned house" for 2 hours day in and day out.. I wondered,, I mean,, average time it take to clean house is less than a hour daily, but not 2 hours! No Way!

My opinion,, shall we log it,, NO!

wolfiesgirl

I don't log housework but I do log the cleaning I do at work, sweeping and mopping the floors after service is a killer! Makes me sweat! lol x

unsuspectingfish

NO WAY! :mad: this does anoy me! :mad: :mad: :mad:
the only exersice i log is when i phisically get off my @ss and do some exersice! :drinker:

I agree! Especially when someone "cleaned house" for 2 hours day in and day out.. I wondered,, I mean,, average time it take to clean house is less than a hour daily, but not 2 hours! No Way!

My opinion,, shall we log it,, NO!

If you're not doing it every day, though, or even every week, it's going to require more effort and be outside your normal routine. That's the point at which I think it's OK to log.

sugarbone

I wouldn't log it, it strikes me kind of desperate for calories and if MFP is wrong about what you burnt, you could mess up your weight loss eating back too much. I'd only log dedicated exercise that you're confident you know the calorie burn of.

getfitnfab

I normally do not do any housework, I have recently started and used to log as my workout, because instead of lying in bed I was moving around, but I just realized I eat those calories back and they are not helping me lose weight!

So for the near future I won't be logging chores!

runs4zen

the only exersice i log is when i phisically get off my @ss and do some exersice! :drinker:

Same here

Sue x

Me too! :bigsmile:

Eleanorjanethinner

I think it totally depends.

I set my activity level as 'sedentary' as I sit as a desk all day for work. I would only log a couple of hours of full on floor mopping, vaccuming etc. 'cos it's out of the ordinary for what I normally do. And I tend not to eat all my exercise calories.

I also log long shopping trips as slow walking, 'cos it is and again, it's more active than sitting at a desk. But I seriously underestimate the time spent doing it and tend not to eat all the calories.

I wouldn't bother getting flaming mad over what someone else is doing. You can send them a polite message asking for their reasoning, or just unfriend them or hide their posts. No need to get your knickers in a twist!

aa1440

NO WAY! :mad: this does anoy me! :mad: :mad: :mad:
the only exersice i log is when i phisically get off my @ss and do some exersice! :drinker:

I like this one.

4caramel

i just burned 551 cals in 50 min doin housework , i wear a hrm, i usually burn at least 300 doin house work, i eat every 3 to 4 hours and my metabolism has increased sooo much, it works for me....i have three kids so im squating and picking up things alot!

Lindsayrob

NO WAY! :mad: this does anoy me! :mad: :mad: :mad:
the only exersice i log is when i phisically get off my @ss and do some exersice! :drinker:

I like this one.

Each to his own surely? We're each on a personal journey here and should do what we feel is best for us. If your activity level is set as sedentary, then anything on top of that is extra, surely? And exercise doesn't have to be something you do in the gym. More important is constant movement, and nobody should be discouraged from that.
Don't get mad at other people's methods, encourage them to be active.
If you run for an hour, good for you. You've raised your heartbeat, worked up a sweat and achieved something personally. If you scrub floors, clean windows and hoover the stairs for an hour, you've raised your heartbeat, worked up a sweat and got a nice clean house. I think both are to be commended, and both burn up cals.
I do a mixture of both - my normal day is desk-bound, so a day of spring-cleaning needs extra fuel, just like a day when I run. Nobody who is working towards a healthier way of life deserves your anger! Big them up!

Ashlea82

I've once logged gardening in my log because its something i would never usually do and we spent half a day sweating our *kitten* off pruning bushes and lugging branches around etc.. it was damned hard work
i also logged cleaning once because we did a full on overhaul of the shed which again is something i would not usually do and it was hard work and worked up a sweat lifting and moving things
general daily cleaning no i wouldn't log i did that when i wasn't dieting as well\

what other people do is their own business tho i don't really feel the need to get mad about it.. its not my body or my choice

killagb

NO WAY! :mad: this does anoy me! :mad: :mad: :mad:
the only exersice i log is when i phisically get off my @ss and do some exersice! :drinker:

I like this one.

Each to his own surely? We're each on a personal journey here and should do what we feel is best for us. If your activity level is set as sedentary, then anything on top of that is extra, surely? And exercise doesn't have to be something you do in the gym. More important is constant movement, and nobody should be discouraged from that.
Don't get mad at other people's methods, encourage them to be active.
If you run for an hour, good for you. You've raised your heartbeat, worked up a sweat and achieved something personally. If you scrub floors, clean windows and hoover the stairs for an hour, you've raised your heartbeat, worked up a sweat and got a nice clean house. I think both are to be commended, and both burn up cals.
I do a mixture of both - my normal day is desk-bound, so a day of spring-cleaning needs extra fuel, just like a day when I run. Nobody who is working towards a healthier way of life deserves your anger! Big them up!

As long as they aren't overestimating the burn(and then eating back an over estimated amount of exercise calories back), it's fine really.

tal202

I kind of see housework as bonus calories burnt, just like any walking I do which if 15 minutes or under (e.g. from the train station). I wouldn't log it myself but I do understand that not everyone has the time to hit the gym, and therefore this could be their only legitimate exercise in a day.

JunkFoodJane

NO WAY! :mad: this does anoy me! :mad: :mad: :mad:
the only exersice i log is when i phisically get off my @ss and do some exersice! :drinker:

I agree! Especially when someone "cleaned house" for 2 hours day in and day out.. I wondered,, I mean,, average time it take to clean house is less than a hour daily, but not 2 hours! No Way!

My opinion,, shall we log it,, NO!

Must be nice! I spend HOURS on my house each day. 3 little boys, a slob of a hunk, two fluffy cats, two dogs... Just the dirt tracked in from letting the dogs out 7 times a day?! The fur is NEVER ending, the 'messies!' as our little one calls spills, there are on most days 5 loads of laundry between towels, wet beds, pajamas, uniforms, spilled on, things the dogs got dirty. Each has to be carried up and down the stairs, often with a 23 lb load of toddler on my hip or in the basket atop the laundry.

I use full sized vacuums and carpet cleaners on my stairs and by the time I'm done with them I have certainly worked to a sweat and heavy breathing. My activity level is set to sedentary and sometimes, yes, I log it.


I lost 7 pounds in 2 months with no other form of exercise. That's really not bad. There are days when 12 hours go by before I sit down. In the last 5 weeks I've lost 6 pounds working my butt off biking as much as I can while still keeping up the house, for comparison. Maybe that will lead to 10 pounds in 2 months? Not a whole lot of additional loss considering how often I bike!

I don't log it often, but I log it when I find myself wiping my dripping forehead and saying, "Whew, time for some water."


I don't think it's cheating myself. I think acknowledging that getting off my duff and cleaning the kitchen is good for my house, mind and body is a positive thing.


I guess my answer is: try it and see. If you clean hard and log it for every day for two weeks and lose 3 pounds? Maybe it's a great motivator for you!

misstonico

I have logged it as exercise the last week or so, as well as the time spent walking around my house, but I'm recovering from emergency abdominal surgery and any movement is exhausting and makes me sweat right now. Normally I would only log it if it was outside of the norm, ie cleaning and organizing the basement storage room or stripping and rewaxing the wood floors.

OTOH, why does anyone care if someone logs it or not? We have no idea if that maybe is the only time someone gets off the couch or out of bed each day. I'm not familiar enough with everyone's circumstances to pass judgement and I'd hate to have someone pass judgement on me without all of the facts about my life.

0PhAtDaDdY

I see a lot of people logging housework as exercise. I'm not exactly sure why but I'd feel very odd logging this. I have worn my HRM during my housework time the last 2-3 days and on average I'd burn about 100cals for an hour of housework. That's pretty significant for me (considering it would take be about 30-40 mins to burn 100cals doing any other exercise). Should I log it or not? I'm thinking not but just looking for opinions.

Some log this stuff to justify eating more...Makes you feel good about eating more...Cheating..NO Cheating......

tigersword

Anything that is something you do consistently on a weekly basis is part of your routine. TDEE is actually calculated as a daily average of weekly calorie burning. Also, sedentary doesn't mean you never move, or do housework of any kind. It means you spend the majority of your day sitting, not the entire day.