House work as exercise

trud72

I apologize in advance...I'm sorry....but this is one of the reasons we are so obese as a society. We should not be aguing over recording basic life chores. Cleaning, walking, gardening ect. ect. it is considered life. Our ancestors walked an average of 15 - 20 miles per day. They did not call that exercise. That was their way of Life!
I clean, garden, cut the grass, Hike with the kids, I call that an active lifestyle, the way we SHOULD Be. Then I exercise! Change your perspective and you will have better results.



i'm pretty sure(tho i may be wrong) that my fitness pal did not exist then!!! :noway:

MissyTRobinson

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

I just read this link and it made so much sense to me. Thank you for posting it. I am new to all this so all this back and forth is very confusing. I was very very inactive before so it helps to see tht the more I move the more I burn. Thanks again.

Brenda1271

I really don't care what other people think about what I log in for myself as exercise or not. If I step on the scale and it shows that I have lost weight by what I've been doing then I'm sure as hell going to do it. It doesn't matter to me what someone else logs for themselves either, I'm not here to judge anyone. I'm here for my own well being and to encourage others when I can.

MrsFolk

Cleaning is definitely moving around, but I wouldn't categorize it as physical exercise. I have three small children so I know what cleaning all day is like BUT I don't log it on MFP as real work outs.

In order to be healthy, I need to get real workouts in. If I start to tell myself that cleaning counts, I may not be motivated to work out any more. I'm not letting that happen!

FitLink

I apologize in advance...I'm sorry....but this is one of the reasons we are so obese as a society. We should not be aguing over recording basic life chores. Cleaning, walking, gardening ect. ect. it is considered life. Our ancestors walked an average of 15 - 20 miles per day. They did not call that exercise. That was their way of Life!
I clean, garden, cut the grass, Hike with the kids, I call that an active lifestyle, the way we SHOULD Be. Then I exercise! Change your perspective and you will have better results.

Those "ancestors" also didn't go to the gym or "work out." Their exercise WAS doing that 20 miles and all those NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Themogenesis) activities! IOW, it DID "count as exercise" for them. Now you're saying it shouldn't be exercise for us?

BTW, those same ancestors had MUCH shorter lifespans than even the most obese and unhealthy among us. They WERE NOT healthier than we are.

amsohs85

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?

THANK YOU FOR BEING A VOICE OF REASON HERE!!!! I've been reading these posts for the past week and a half and i was starting to wonder if i had accidently logged into FACEBOOK. How childish it is when people climb up on their high horse and judge what others find significant in THEIR journey to get healthy!!! You just have to wonder why it bothers some people so much what others log into their exercise and food diary's. It's one thing if someone comes on the forums and asks for opinions on their food and activities...by all means then you have a right. If they dont like you're opinion so be it...they asked and they got your response. I fully support the right of everyone on here to express their opinion because i believe in individuality. But i guess what some on here forget is that along with self expression should come respect for others differences. The line is crossed when someone posts that they burned x amount of calories doing whatever and then they are subject to ridicule or smart *kitten* comments as to the validity of that. If you believe that the only way to truly get fit, healthy or lose weight is to cross train, run 5 miles a day or do 90 minutes on the elliptical good for you. I respect and am awed by you're drive but maybe thats not my thing. I expect others to respect my personal choices on exercise as well. Remember respect doesnt equal approval just that you will not judge. Not to mention that you do far better to inspire by your example then try to force by belittlement!!

Really the grammer, food and exercise nazis on here need to take a deep breath and back off. Get over yourselves...you are not perfect nor is your way of doing things considered perfect by others!

Kara_xxx

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

Maybe we could start a business!
We charge people a maid service fee for house cleaning, and double dip with a training fee from clients who pay us to lose weight.

:drinker:

Bobby... if you come in a maid outfit I WILL pay you... :laugh:

LindaCWy

Edited because I decided I don't care

jennifer52484

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:

This x100

annadunn12

I log my housecleaning as exercise when I am truly exerting myself and doing above and beyond my normal everyday things. It is exercise to me and I am sore afterwards. I sweat, I use muscles I wouldn't have used sitting at my desk. I AM ACTIVE and not sitting on the couch. Am I running a 5K yet, no, but I am getting there, more slowly than a lot, but I am much better than I was a year ago before I started logging anything at all. I'm getting there and I hope when I finally get to the point that I am doing what others call "real exercise" I don't look down on those who are just starting and trying to go from totally sedentary to MOVING and feeling at least a little bit better about themselves for logging it at all. We are on here to build up and not tear down. Most of the people on this site are here because they want to be healthier and probably lose weight and be more active. We are all at different levels and a 5 min walk may not seem like exercise to someone who does 5 miles a day running. Yes, there are those on here who may never get past just logging housecleaning, but there are a lot who will, with encouragement and not nastiness or criticism.
[/q

Such lovely supportive comments. Thank you for this :-)

amcrook

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.

If you think Zumba is not an exercise then you have never taken a class before and you are merely speaking out of ignorance. The zumba classes I take get you heart rate up, make you sweat, and are definately not low impact. Zumba is not the same as house cleaning! And it's more than just weaving your arms about...get a clue and educate yourself!

mmarlow61

It's not exercise. It's the basic rudimentary functions of the 21st century human being in a first world society.

Granted, can you break a sweat cleaning or chasing a couple toddler's around? Absolutely...But to put that on the same level as 60 minutes in the gym..or a zumba class for that matter is stretching the bounds of a lazy rationale.

You should be taking care of all your domestic work in addition to conventional exercise outlets...not cleaning the toilet and calling it a hard days work.

Nothing is worse than failing because you didn't work hard enough.

REALLY??? I see someone here who more than likely hasn't had the responsibility of keeping a house and keeping up with laundry. How many times have you gone running out to chase a toddler who sneaked out the back door while you were taking a moment to actually THINK you had time to go to the restroom while they were preoccupied? (and yes the door was locked, he had figured out how to open it). Or how many times you've gone up and down stairs to do laundry for your children who brought laundry home from college? OR how many times you've stressed over how clean your house was and gone on a rampage cleaning because your children were bringing guests home and you wanted to make the right impression. NOT to mention the mundane everyday chores of sweeping, mopping, keeping yards up, vacuuming, and I could go on and on and on. There are SO many strenuous chores you go through keeping up a house that YES you DO get a good workout doing them.

chris1816

It's not exercise. It's the basic rudimentary functions of the 21st century human being in a first world society.

Granted, can you break a sweat cleaning or chasing a couple toddler's around? Absolutely...But to put that on the same level as 60 minutes in the gym..or a zumba class for that matter is stretching the bounds of a lazy rationale.

You should be taking care of all your domestic work in addition to conventional exercise outlets...not cleaning the toilet and calling it a hard days work.

Nothing is worse than failing because you didn't work hard enough.

REALLY??? I see someone here who more than likely hasn't had the responsibility of keeping a house and keeping up with laundry. How many times have you gone running out to chase a toddler who sneaked out the back door while you were taking a moment to actually THINK you had time to go to the restroom while they were preoccupied? (and yes the door was locked, he had figured out how to open it). Or how many times you've gone up and down stairs to do laundry for your children who brought laundry home from college? OR how many times you've stressed over how clean your house was and gone on a rampage cleaning because your children were bringing guests home and you wanted to make the right impression. NOT to mention the mundane everyday chores of sweeping, mopping, keeping yards up, vacuuming, and I could go on and on and on. There are SO many strenuous chores you go through keeping up a house that YES you DO get a good workout doing them.

So increase your activity level accordingly. It gives you more calories on a daily basis.

LazyHairyBear

REALLY??? I see someone here who more than likely hasn't had the responsibility of keeping a house and keeping up with laundry. How many times have you gone running out to chase a toddler who sneaked out the back door while you were taking a moment to actually THINK you had time to go to the restroom while they were preoccupied? (and yes the door was locked, he had figured out how to open it). Or how many times you've gone up and down stairs to do laundry for your children who brought laundry home from college? OR how many times you've stressed over how clean your house was and gone on a rampage cleaning because your children were bringing guests home and you wanted to make the right impression. NOT to mention the mundane everyday chores of sweeping, mopping, keeping yards up, vacuuming, and I could go on and on and on. There are SO many strenuous chores you go through keeping up a house that YES you DO get a good workout doing them.

You are doing what people do in factories and restaurants all over the world, working for a living. Maybe you need to set your activity level to "Active" and no longer log the house cleaning as exercise. Or maybe factory workers should log their entire day as exercise and set their activity level to "Sedentary".

aleham

I don't think the problem is with logging the housework as exercise, it's the overestimation of calories that I feel concerned about - like with any exercise.

As an active MFP member, I do my best to help my friends with honesty, feedback and encouragement and I do so in the most positive way that I can. It can take lot to burn 400 - 500 calories (my heart rate monitor indicates that, during Jillian Michael's workouts I only burn about 200 calories, and likewise with a 30 -40 minute run).

I realize that everybody is different, and everybody's bodies can function in different ways according to their gender, age, weight etc, which is why, when I see 30 minutes of "general housework, light effort" logged as 500 calories burned, I suggest the member invests in a heart rate monitor, or something similar that will give them an accurate reading of their calorie intake/calories burned ESPECIALLY if the individual has complained they're not losing weight even though they're burning x amount of calories a day.

You can turn absolutely everything and anything into an exercise, but you need to be honest with yourself about how many calories your exertions burn as well as how many calories you eat otherwise weight loss can be very difficult.

ItsCasey

I don't really care what other people do, so please do not take this as criticism. It's just my opinion. My personal view of the exercise diary function is that it should be used only for actual workouts. That is not to say you aren't burning calories when you clean or walk your kids to school. Obviously you are. But if those are regular parts of your routine, your body has already adjusted to compensate for them, so you're not getting the same benefit from them as someone who rarely does those things. Therefore, they should be included in your lifestyle assessment (i.e. sedentary, lightly active, etc.) rather than as exercise in your daily calories burned.

If you get a psychological boost from recording things like housework or your daily walk to and from the office, then go ahead. Makes no difference to me. But I do think it sort of misses the point of using an exercise journal to track your fitness progress.

FitLink

REALLY??? I see someone here who more than likely hasn't had the responsibility of keeping a house and keeping up with laundry. How many times have you gone running out to chase a toddler who sneaked out the back door while you were taking a moment to actually THINK you had time to go to the restroom while they were preoccupied? (and yes the door was locked, he had figured out how to open it). Or how many times you've gone up and down stairs to do laundry for your children who brought laundry home from college? OR how many times you've stressed over how clean your house was and gone on a rampage cleaning because your children were bringing guests home and you wanted to make the right impression. NOT to mention the mundane everyday chores of sweeping, mopping, keeping yards up, vacuuming, and I could go on and on and on. There are SO many strenuous chores you go through keeping up a house that YES you DO get a good workout doing them.

You are doing what people do in factories and restaurants all over the world, working for a living. Maybe you need to set your activity level to "Active" and no longer log the house cleaning as exercise. Or maybe factory workers should log their entire day as exercise and set their activity level to "Sedentary".

Or maybe you should MYOB. Some of us have radically different days in terms of activity level. If we set our activity level for more active than sedentary, on the sedentary days we'd have have to log "negative exercise."

I have Central Pain Syndrome. On a bad day, it's an accomplishment for me to get from the bed to the couch. On good days, I'm often quite active. I don't even have an "average week," let alone an "average day." So I list my activity level as sedentary, wear a FitBit, and log manually the things FitBit can't track well or at all, like swimming.

People whose days vary radically in activity level legitimately list themselves as sedentary and log all activity--even factory workers who veg on the couch all weekend. HOW YOU ARRIVE at the correct numbers isn't important. That they are reasonably accurate is all that matters.

BTW, now is when the "it's not exercise if you do it every day" crowd chimes in with "You obviously have CPS because you didn't take care of yourself." Because you can know all about a person without ever meeting them. So, go for it.

Kara_xxx

REALLY??? I see someone here who more than likely hasn't had the responsibility of keeping a house and keeping up with laundry.

Oh for pities sake, do you think other people don't wash their own clothes???

FitLink

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.

If you think Zumba is not an exercise then you have never taken a class before and you are merely speaking out of ignorance. The zumba classes I take get you heart rate up, make you sweat, and are definately not low impact. Zumba is not the same as house cleaning! And it's more than just weaving your arms about...get a clue and educate yourself!

Don't like it so much when you're in the position of defending YOUR exercise, do you? I'd say, "Point made."

MB_Positif

I agree that these things should be added if the MFP member has his/her activity level set at Sedentary. I do not log these things because I am set at Lightly Active because I hardly ever sit down all day. That is why I only log exercise and other strenuous activities because every day things like cleaning are included in my activity level.