Do you consider this exercise?

Sweet_Potato

vacuuming is exercise? come on people. this is why america is fat.

Americans are fat because they think you need to have a special spandex outfit and a gym memebership and some bulky piece of home exercise equipment to stay in shape. If more Americans took on the attitudes of other cultures and simply DID MORE STUFF instead of sitting around feeling bad about not doing "real" workouts, obesity would be less of an issue here.

KBGirts

if its stuff you do all the time..it doesn't count...but lets say you are helping a friend move..and you are helping to clean ..then thats out of the usual. For instance during the summer..our family helps with some community projects. We spent 12 hrs scraping paint, sweeping, pulling weeds, painting..I logged all of it..cause I dont do that normally

You could just not log it and consider it a bonus.... That way you aren't tempted to eat it back.

Beezil

Well I for one think cleaning counts - as long as it's out of the ordinary routine and actually causes you to work your muscles / heart. My vacuum cleaner is very heavy, the bottom part is broken, so I can only use the hose. This makes vacuuming take much longer, and it is much more work. (Can't afford to get a new one or have it fixed or obviously I would lol) I think mopping should count too, I only do that once a week or once every other week, along with scrubbing down the bathrooms entirely. Big projects like that should count imo. If it's something that happens every day, don't log it. If it's something that happens once a week or less, I'd say it counts as long as you're actually putting in a substantial amount of effort. I always log less time than I actually am doing it for though. A few months back I cleaned and detailed my husband's car as a belated Father's Day present, which I spent about 8 hours doing over the course of two days. I only logged about half of that time, but the whole time I was scrubbing the carpets, used a toothbrush to scrub tar off the non-fabric areas and get in between cracks, vacuumed, washed windows, scrubbed seats, etc. I think it was a lot more work than a normal car would be just because he smoked in it for so long without ever having it cleaned. lol. But my point is, cleaning can be just as intense if not more so than a typical workout session. :bigsmile:

dragonfiel

Let me tell ya, any decent nutritionist or trainor will tell you that "household chores" that involve up and down stairs, squatting/bending over, sweeping or vacumming, dusting (where your squatting/bending over/etc) will definately count as exercise. It raises your heartrate and elevates your core body temp (sweating) thus help you burn more calories than just at rest/watching tv, reading etc. Your losing weight is a combination of caloric intake/expenditure and nutrition, and if you dont keep tabs on all three, you'll be missing a chunk of info in your weight loss goal. Of course maybe your just looking to drop 1 or 2 lbs then its overkill, but if you have a significant goal (more muscle, less fat, or keep the muscle and just shave off the fat etc) than things like those activitites are best left (if possible) to be done on your rest days where it can be considered an active rest day..which bumps up your metabolism as well as your caloric expenditure for that day and gives you twice the benefit because your getting your blood to circulate more than normal thus aiding in getting oxygenated blood to the muscles (sore) that are recouperating.

Dont listen to opinions, get the facts and stay the course.

Seanb_us

Actually, that's your call. I don't log household chores and such, even if I rearrange the basement. I log sports or specific exercise, like treadmill, but only if it causes a sweat. If household stuff has an aerobic effect, then I consider that an undocumented bonus. :-D

cryspetstalerson

When I log ANYTHING i don't eat my calories back. Why? Because chances are I miscalculated the amount of calories I ate that day anyway. I don't know what people put in the food they cook and I'm not about to hunt them down and drill them either. Yeah I guess, sue me.

Honestly I don't think anyone can tell you what is and isn't considered "exercise" anything that causes you to get off you *kitten* and do something longer than walking back and forth to the bathroom or kitchen is better than just sitting around all day.

Why would MFP even have simple things listed in the menu if it wasn't considered some form of exercise?

So true, because what is one persons norm, may not be another persons norm. If that is stuff you normally do then why would you log it, But if you are like me, and have medical issue after medical issue and are lucky enough to have a random okay day, then please log it. I log it on days I am doing a lot, and I am losing weight fine by using MFP as a guideline.

PinkEarthMama

I log it only if I'm out of breath and sweating. I will log light / moderate exercise if I make it worthwhile ( squats, lunges to pick up toys, going up and down the stairs a zillion times, etc ). I log any major walking, though that is less for calorie reasons that for rehab for my ankle. I think it also depend on how you rate your activity level. If you rate yoruself as sedentary, and then you're up and about all day..

You can cheat on your diary, but you can't cheat the scale. If people are still losing weight doing that, then it is fine for them.

zeeeb

i only count gardening / digging when i'm sweating... and when it's more than 15 minutes, like if i'm solid gardening for an hour or 2 i might log it, but generaly not.

yesterday i went to they gym for an hour, then came home and cleaned solidly (sweating as it was really really hot) for another 2 hours, but i only logged one hour at the gym.

i figure it's not going to hurt me to get a bit more exercise in, i don't need a medal for it that's for sure.

HorrorChix89

vacuuming is exercise? come on people. this is why america is fat.

Americans are fat because they think you need to have a special spandex outfit and a gym memebership and some bulky piece of home exercise equipment to stay in shape. If more Americans took on the attitudes of other cultures and simply DID MORE STUFF instead of sitting around feeling bad about not doing "real" workouts, obesity would be less of an issue here.

^^this

granolagrl85

I still think its quite amusing that working in a bank is 'sedantry' ... I've worked in Retail Banking for 5 years, in my current branch, my main safe, my office, the toilet and the staff room are all on the 3rd floor (the banking hall is on the ground floor). I am on my feet all day, and I am often chasing the Account Managers / Mortgage and Financial Advisers accross all 3 floors.... there are no lifts or esculators. Now, while I certainly wouldn't count this as exercise, I definately noticed after 4 weeks of being in the branch I am now, that I could run up the stairs without getting out of breath as I had on my 1st day there!

I think nurses are considered lightly active yet at my previous night shift job in a nursing home I spent 90% of my time sitting at the nurses station doing paperwork.

rjt1000

so, I shouldn't log "breathing" and "growing fingernails" and "blinking eyes" as exercise???

roxierox1989

Even when you set yourself to seditary it is mostly talking about your day job, it even says someone like a bank teller, desk job etc.

Often times the people who count dish washing are just looking to cheat on their diet.

I basically agree. It's just justification to eat more. I know that at work, having my office on the second floor and my lab on the first and the other offices 2 buildings over, I do a lot of moving around. I would never count that!!! That's my buffer.
All in all, it doesn't matter what you count or what you write down here, the body knows. If you want to lose and are really serious, don't take the shortcuts.

Just because you've logged cleaning as an exercise doesn't mean you've eaten those calories back so how is it cheating? I agree some people may do but again everyone is DIFFERENT!!!

jazzalea

I consider every thing I do a form of exercise and I will tell you why.....


The real secret to weight loss is simple math.... if I make a tuna sandwich... I count the calories from the bread, the butter,the mayo, and the lettuce.

Whether I write it down in a book or log it in on the computer... my body absorbs those calories......

Now when I walk upstairs to go to the bathroom instead of going to the one down the hall... .I burn an extra 8 calories.....when I push myself to get up there a little faster I burn 10 ....

The point is... start treating your whole day as a way to burn off calories.... stand up straighter, feel how hard it is to hold yourself up right... that's working those muscles.... muscles at work burn calories... so what if it's not as much as 20 minutes on the treadmill.... you see how hard it is just to stand up straight and hold your stomach in for more than a minute....by the time it becomes easy you will be seeing results and feeling like you can do more......

So turn your housework into a work out and keep it in mind while you are sweeping and mopping!

granolagrl85

vacuuming is exercise? come on people. this is why america is fat.

Americans are fat because they think you need to have a special spandex outfit and a gym memebership and some bulky piece of home exercise equipment to stay in shape. If more Americans took on the attitudes of other cultures and simply DID MORE STUFF instead of sitting around feeling bad about not doing "real" workouts, obesity would be less of an issue here.

I agree with this. I used to be very thin and healthy but I was always doing something though none of you would consider it exercise. Burning calories is burning calories. Doesn't matter how it gets done.

Dawners98

Honestly, I think it's totally acceptable to log cleaning if it's one of those times that you overhaul your house. I know I can work up quite a sweat! However, let's be honest - like everyone is saying - taking out the trash or going to the washroom are normal activities of daily living. If anything, count them as an unlogged bonus and move on! Don't sell yourself short, but certainly don't overlog or you'll never see results!!!

2012Kristin

The only time I count cleaning is when it is a major cleaning overhaul - rearranging furniture, taking loads to salvation army, hands & knees scrubbing, etc....

Everything else that you listed - I agree. If you track it, you're cheating yourself.

cmevans22

BE PREPARED FOR A PG-13 RESPONSE:

So here's my question...what about SEX?! Just wondering because I know that it can certainly be a workout yet I haven't found it in the exercise database (or any other foreplay, frisky business). It's also not something I do in my daily routine...probably TMI but, yes, a few times a week, just like exercising. If my heartrate is elevated, I'm sweating and working muscles I don't usually work...is that exercise?! Does that count as calorie burning? I read a whole article about approximate calories burned just making out, "petting" and yes, even sex.

ajbeans

The search function is your friend. This has been done to death.

The long and short of it is, if you dont' want to log it, don't. Don't worry about what other people do. Your life will be much simpler when you focus on yourself instead of other people. Trust me on this.

artcaro1972

BE PREPARED FOR A PG-13 RESPONSE:

So here's my question...what about SEX?! Just wondering because I know that it can certainly be a workout yet I haven't found it in the exercise database (or any other foreplay, frisky business). It's also not something I do in my daily routine...probably TMI but, yes, a few times a week, just like exercising. If my heartrate is elevated, I'm sweating and working muscles I don't usually work...is that exercise?! Does that count as calorie burning? I read a whole article about approximate calories burned just making out, "petting" and yes, even sex.

If my heart rate was elevated for 30 minutes or more I would log it.

meerkat70

One of the other weightloss sites includes an entry (so to speak) for sex. I think it might be calorie count.

I've never felt the need to log it. But again, for me, it's certainly part of my daily activity... :-)