House work as exercise

Lar349

I guess if u do choose to log housework maybe u should just not eat the calories back. It is a good argument on both sides because it does beg the question where do we end logging. If I do 35 minutes of cpr on someone and then lug them down 2 flights of stairs its a pretty good workout and I am sweating, but would not dream of logging it and stopping for a burger reward x

DieVixen

There was a lovely user on this site,who I have not seen around in awhile that wrote a very good post on it.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/291071-activity-level-and-logging-exercise?hl=activity+level+and+logging

tadpole242

If you think it is legitimate to log zumba, then equally it is legitimate to log house work, neither get the heart rate anywhere near the heart rate of say cycling, and both are low impact, and involve a fair amount of just weaving your arms or *kitten* about. What applies to one equally applies to the other, depending on the intensity of the action both or neither are exercise.

douglasmobbs

Yawn

Please use the search function before posting.

coliema

I don't log house work because I HAVE to do house work. I log my workouts and runs because I DON'T have to do any of that. That is just my opinion.

Bobby_Clerici

I found a way to log cleaning and yard work as exercise.
Like many, I thought this was totally ABSURD - get out and exercise.
DON'T BE LAZY!
And I still believe some people logging in these terrific calorie burns for house cleaning are dreaming.
They'll fail.
What I did was purchase a 70 pound, weighted vest, and when I wear that vest, I count it as exercise.
It feels like exercise.
My wife is thrilled, because I clean more now.
Seriously, do what you want, but the fruit of your philosophy at day's end is this: RESULTS!
And be very careful logging in house cleaning as anything more than a low calorie burn.
Good Luck :flowerforyou:

You can buy those? Awesome.

Yes, and they're great. I wear the vest just walking and get a good burn.

Kara_xxx

You can come and do my housework anytime!!! :drinker:

supplemama

I don't log cleaning because frankly, I don't clean long enough or hard enough to consider it exercise. For example, I'll spend 10 minutes cleaning the bathroom then go do sonething else. A few hours later I might sweep for 10 minutes, then go do something else. Later I might water the plants, tidy up the living room a bit for 10 minutes then go do something else. And so on. All told on a daily basis I probably do an hour's worth of cleaning in short, 10 minute bursts. Am I supposed to count that as exercise? My heart rate doesn't go up, I rarely break a sweat, so for me it's just not exercise. I feel like I would be cheating myself if I counted it. Same with gardening...I used to count it until I realized that my heart rate wasn't increasing or anything. Same with walking my dog. He's one of those dogs who likes to mosey along and stop and act nosy about every little thing. Same with work, I teach and I'm on my feet all day, I wear a pedometer at work and I actually get a lot of steps in, but I don't count it as exercise because my heart rate isn't increasing and I'm not breaking a sweat teaching.

I don't care what other people do, so if anyone else wants to count their cleaning as exercise, fine with me. I have noticed that some on my friends list who do this, it's the only exercise they do. Which I find interesting.

JoolieW68

I don't log routine housework, but when I rented a steam cleaner from Lowe's, carried it upstairs, steam cleaned a bedroom, carried it back downstairs and cleaned the living room, then carried it back upstairs and cleaned 2 more bedrooms and the hallway, then helped my daughter move all of her furniture from one bedroom to another....

.....You're damn right I logged it.

EDIT to add: Who the hell cares what one person logs anyway? What I log as exercise, or even food, isn't going to make someone else lose or gain weight.

PoeRaven

The way I see it is if it's working for you to include housework as exercise, then by all means log it as exercise. But...If a person is logging housework to make excuses to consume extra calories and that same person is struggling with losing or maintaining their weight...then that person is only fooling themself.

Just sayin'
:indifferent:

trophywife24

I don't personally log housework because, as a stay at home mom, it's something that I do every day. But for people who are not always going up and down their stairs or washing walls or vacuuming, it's a form of exercise. I do log when I do a seriously thorough cleaning though. I think this is just another one of those things that women are criticized for. *shrug* Women can be really mean to each other.

This. Especially the last line.

I don't log my exercise on here anymore but I'm also a stay at home mom with two young kids and a small apartment, all I do is clean, haha. If other people don't normally clean as much, then yes, it would be exercise.

janemem

My activity level is set at Sedentary so yes, I do log household jobs and dog walking as 'exercise' because I'm doing more than just sitting still all day.
I don't eat back my exercise calories but I like to know they are there if I do occasionally go over my calorie goal.
I also like to see my 'net' getting smaller as the day goes on (I log all food I plan to eat in the morning/night before).
One thing I have noticed since starting to log these 'exercise' minutes is that I now do far more cleaning/household tasks with much more effort and for longer than I normally would have done, purely because I know I'm going to log it and I want to see that 'net' going down.
I'm sure my poor dog wonders why we don't take a leisurely stroll any more instead of speeding it up like I have done, lol!
It works for me so I'll carry on doing it, I'm not harming anyone and I am (I hope) getting a bit fitter by doing so.

FitLink

I hope this thread will encourage some people to rethink their views.

I have read a few threads recently which criticiseMFP members for adding housework (cleaning) to their cardiovascular exercise. I find this quite bizarre as my understanding is that MFP works out the number of net calories you need to eat using the number of calories you would burn if you stayed in bed all day, your weight goal and the number of pounds you want to lose per week.

Why is housework a lesser form of exercise than any other? Is there some sort of exercise snobbery going on? Just because it has to be done, it doesnt make it less valid in my opinion. Is it a sexist thing? If so why is it predominantly women that have been critical? I sugar-soaped my kitchen door at the weekend and it was a great work-out for my bingo-wings! Are there any other forms of exercise that people think should not be listed? Dog walking? Gardening? As a single Mum I have all these responsibilities. As I also have to work, cleaning, dog walking and gardening are sometimes the only form of exercise I have time(or the opportunity) to do - and its paying off because I am listing them as exercise, sticking to my net calories (most of the time) and I am losing weight! What are your thoughts?

PS I wish MFP worked out the calories burned during strengthening exercises e.g. pressups, situps. Is there a reason for this?

I'm always on the "log it" side so I'm not sure there's any reason for me to answer but...

One group of these people condescendingly says the equivalent of "You're only cheating yourself." It's a sly way to imply cheating, when sedentary is defined by MFP as "mostly sitting," (not lying in bed, as you claim, but that's really irrelevant.) so no "cheating" is involved, and there's really no such thing as "cheating yourself," anyway. They can feel better about themselves by telling the world that YOU are a cheater, THEY would NEVER cheat.

Another group says, "I got fat while cleaning my house, obviously I'm not going to get thin by calling cleaning exercise." These people ignore the fact that MFP is a multi-pronged approach, and they, and you, didn't get fat while cleaning the house AND maintaining a caloric deficit. Don't clean and don't eat the cleaning calories or clean and eat the calories, the deficit is built in, and most of us can't clean while sitting. Net less than you burn and you lose. You body can't tell if you're using a stepper machine or running up and down your basement stairs to check the laundry. No reason why one is exercise and the other isn't. These people also can feel better than you, because they work out and you do not. It's not exercise unless you wear special clothing for it, you know.

My personal favorite are the people who say it's not exercise if you "usually do it," or "do it daily or almost daily." Of course they exclude running or workouts THEY do daily or almost daily, because these are "obviously exercise." They never seem to have an answer to whether people who pay someone else to clean for them have to subtract some calories for the ones they say MFP adds in for the cleaning that it's "normal" to do. Again, it's all about, "I'm somehow more virtuous than you."

And I also actually dislike the "peacemaker" group. They say "I would NEVER count housework, but if someone is VERY OBESE, and this motivates them to move more, maybe this all they can do right now." Also busy feeling better than those poor souls who have to count housework because they're not as "fit" as these people.

I think it's all about feeling superior. S you just do what works for you, keep your food and exercise diaries CLOSED so you don't get sidetracked by people who think they're better than you, and remember you only have to answer to yourself.

I wear a FitBit and only manually log things FitBit can't measure accurately (or in some cases, like swimming, at all). So my "cleaning" is recorded as exercise by my FitBit because it does indeed record more calories when I'm cleaning than when I'm not. Maybe the best thing would be not to call it "exercise" since it's really "calorie burning activity."

And MFP does list calories burned during strength training. Why wouldn't it?

love2bthin

You tell them girl! I totally agree with you. I work 45-50 hours a week and I would like to enjoy my weekends and just relax but if so my house would not get clean. Do I sweat when I clean? Sure I do, just like when I exercise. So yes it counts!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

marias2gaa

I think counting housework as a work out is valid because i sure do feel like Im burning calories while im sweeping mopping and doing all household chores

wellbert

If you feel like you need to eat back the calories expended by housework, by all means, track it.

FitLink

I don't log house work because I HAVE to do house work. I log my workouts and runs because I DON'T have to do any of that. That is just my opinion.

Why would you burn calories doing something you don't HAVE to do and not when you DO have to do it? How would your body tell one from the other? This makes absolutely no sense to me.

AmeChops

Regular housework I don't log, purely because it's regular and my body is quite 'used' to doing it. The not so regular 'spring clean' type affairs I'll log and things like sweeping the garden etc.

Capt_Apollo

agreed. if you google image "maid" you get some very very sexy and fit women pop up on the search. so ladies, clean your pretty little hearts out!!

Kara_xxx

Isn't the whole point of the activity levels so that you can (honestly) determine your baseline 'status quo' of activity?

So if you clean a bit and run after a toddler, set it to "lightly active" or whatever you think it justifies, rather than making hoovering a sport?