Does anyone else count house work as exercise?

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Replies

  • ccburn5
    ccburn5 Posts: 473 Member
    I know I have replied to a similar topic but I sure do when it comes to an abnormal amount of cleaning (i.e. spring cleaning or moving furniture etc.) but not when its the light up keep (laundry, vaccumming, etc.) I worked for over three hours straight this last weekend all over the house and you're damn right I counted it!
  • RealWomenLovePitbulls
    RealWomenLovePitbulls Posts: 729 Member
    I only log anything that I do that is outside of my normal routine (like if it's some extreme cleaning, I will log it, but not the regular every day kind) also, if the walking and stair climbing is part of your daily routine - like the steps you walk while working or the stairs you go up and down at home every day, I don't count those either... if you don't do something different, outside of your normal routine, how do you expect anything to change??
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    When I'm running around a cleaning extra hard - like mucking out the attic - absolutely.

    Just like when I'm hedge trimming and raking and doing serious work in my vegetable garden I log gardening. But when I'm just wandering out to check the chickens and plucking tomatoes, I don't.
  • MetamorphosisMe
    MetamorphosisMe Posts: 69 Member
    Obviously you're expending energy (calories) and I have logged it once so far. I mean if I'm just being a cleaning fool for an hour or so - and I mean really cleaning (sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, scrubbing, washing vehicle, etc) yes I would log it. Otherwise, just small things, I just let it go. :smile:
  • TNTwedell
    TNTwedell Posts: 277 Member
    Sure, I clean. I do other activities. Heck, I even walk 4 miles a day to and from work when it doesn't rain (most days a week). I have sex. Good, raucous dirty fast paced sex too. I cook, I scrub floors, flip mattresses etc. I don't log any of it. Why? Because it's part of my lifestyle.

    You're only fooling yourself.

    I kinda LOVE this answer
    :drinker:
  • nascarbettie
    nascarbettie Posts: 69 Member
    I personally don't log much exercise outside of running or elliptical, etc. For instance, I walk at least a mile a day, to and from the subway, and yet I never log that because I set my activity level to account for that.

    I think it's better to underestimate and not log every little piece of activity, bc ultimately, iyou're just racking up a calorie deficit that may not necessarily be true. And then you might get tempted to eat back those calories which may work against your goals.

    Now that being said, if your goal is not weight loss, then maybe you want to log for different reasons, and that then is a different story.

    I'm with this ^^^^ ... I only log what I do at the gym. The rest I consider a bonus. If I were logging to try to gain weight tho.. I would want to log it so I could be sure to eat back the calories but if you are trying to lose then no.
  • McBully4
    McBully4 Posts: 1,270 Member
    If it didnt keep you from gaining weight, it wont help you lose weight.

    exactly what I was going to say.
  • tbetts23
    tbetts23 Posts: 303 Member
    I HATE house cleaning! If I am going to put in the effort of a good clean, you bet your @ss I'm going to log it! It is NOT something I do every day!
  • tbetts23
    tbetts23 Posts: 303 Member
    No. Not only is it everyday activity, but it's not cardio. It's physical movement, which is always a good thing...and you'll burn calories, but it's not part of cardiovascular conditioning, so therefore, I do not count it as exercise. I've seen people who put things like "food preparation" down for their daily "exercise." I kid you not.

    You obviously have never seen me cook or clean. Most of the time, I don't log it. When I do, it's because I earned it. There are plenty of weekends when I'll spend a whole day cooking and cleaning. I will make an entire week's worth of dinners and my house will be spotless. I will have 3 or more full pots of soup (cornish hen noodle, turkey chili, black bean soup and sometimes lentils), the floors will all be swept and mopped, blinds and baseboards clean, dogs clean, bathrooms clean, laundry done, dishes done, counters wiped down, refrigerator clean, etc. And if I'm feeling frisky, a batch of cookies done. I get sweaty and my heart rate goes up and I promise I'm burning a lot more calories than an average day spent at my desk. I may not count the entire 8 hours but I'm going to be honest with myself. A sports bra is not required to burn calories.
    [/quote
    Like intensely!
  • smtillman2
    smtillman2 Posts: 756 Member
    If it didnt keep you from gaining weight, it wont help you lose weight.

    exactly what I was going to say.

    My thoughts exactly.
  • jbbattles
    jbbattles Posts: 19
    I do if I'm cleaning for more than 30 minutes and have sweat dripping down my back. Otherwise I don't.
  • rumor23
    rumor23 Posts: 21 Member
    I would if I put some effort into it. Hate housework. It is just easier to raise dust bunnies than to clean them
  • chubbygirl253
    chubbygirl253 Posts: 1,309 Member
    I only did once when I was doing a spring cleaning sort of thing. Spent all day making my house shine like a new nickel so I missed my usual workout. My hunny counts yardwork. But he should because he's been taming blackberry bushes that were out of control. I once had a "friend" on here that entered 30 or 60 mins of house work every day. And since she always used every single one of those exercise calories I think she just did it so she didn't go over in her diary. I never saw her enter any other exercise. It was kinda hard to take her weightloss goals seriously and since she stopped logging on for over a week and never had contact with me much anyway I just deleted her. If your exercise is serious work and in addition to working out, I say go ahead and enter it. But on a daily basis? No. Doing laundry and dishes is not exercise.
  • MichelleLaree13
    MichelleLaree13 Posts: 865 Member
    If I cleaned like a house wife (scrubbing floors and tubs, vaccumming, sweeping, mobbing; hard work), I would. I clean a little here and there so I dont count it.
  • econut2000
    econut2000 Posts: 395 Member
    I log cleaning because I'm handicapped and unable to do a whole lot. What I do is not part of my normal routine and usually requires a buttload of energy! lol

    I think everyone needs to do what is best for them.
  • SRB8710
    SRB8710 Posts: 90
    I would not log it because if you think about it you weren't losing weight before so obviously its not enough to get your heart rate up. So I think of it as cheating.
  • restoreleanne
    restoreleanne Posts: 217 Member
    No, I count that as already part of my total daily activities.

    Im a stay at home mom that is part of my job, would would not log typing.
  • CuteAndCurvy83
    CuteAndCurvy83 Posts: 570 Member
    only if it's excessive. I don't log my normal cleaning but I will log it if I spent the day scrubbing floors and all that fun stuff.
  • jadesign19
    jadesign19 Posts: 512 Member
    I don't log normal housework, but I do log "the in-laws are coming for a visit" cleaning. They're allergic to cats and we have seven, so it's far above and beyond normal cleaning. If I have to move furniture and climb ladders, I'm logging it.

    I'll also log heavier yard work and shoveling snow.

    This exactly! When I'm doing the "in law cleaning" :noway: I wear my HRM too just to make it more worthwhile.
  • xLexa
    xLexa Posts: 482 Member
    I wear my HRM when i do the BIG weekly clean pulling out sofas and desks etc getting in under the beds, scrubbing tile in the bathroom that kinda of thing. My husband used to do this and I would take the kids out so he could get on with it, but now I do it I guess because I can add it as exercise? I actually want to raise my activity level and I put a lot more effort into cleaning than I did before. However I do not log the daily stuff. Just the big.
  • chubbygirl253
    chubbygirl253 Posts: 1,309 Member
    although I only count really vigorous cleaning or home projects (not doing dishes or laundry) I will admit I totally count sex calories. In my diary "low impact aerobics" = vigorous sex. (Not like slow old people sex)
  • EnchantedEvening
    EnchantedEvening Posts: 671 Member
    I log cleaning because I'm handicapped and unable to do a whole lot. What I do is not part of my normal routine and usually requires a buttload of energy! lol

    I think everyone needs to do what is best for them.
    Definitely. That's what I meant when I said some people use more energy to do tasks other people normally take for granted, like dusting or putting dishes away. So yeah... in your case, I'd log it for sure. But for my friends who are 150 pounds and jog twenty miles every week, I'm going to side-eye an entry for "folding towels". ;)
  • dewdrops4life
    dewdrops4life Posts: 17
    I log it only if it's a major cleaning day. (Sundays)

    Normal day cleaning, laundry, dishes, sweeping I don't because I always do it, but on Sundays I get down on my knees with a toothbrush and scrubber in the bathroom and kitchen, scrub walls, constantly going up and down stairs, moving toy boxes etc... then I log it, but only as light/moderate rather than vigorous, even though I am going nonstop and sweating like a beast :)
  • chrisyoung0422
    chrisyoung0422 Posts: 426 Member
    I do not count anything unless it is working out or some other physical activity like volleyball, baseball etc. I think if people count all the little stuff they do there will be too many calories on the table leading to possible over eating. I know this would be an issue you for me.
  • letha62
    letha62 Posts: 14
    I count all my cleaning time. I can burn 600 to 1000 cals a day in my job.
  • kellya009
    kellya009 Posts: 54 Member
    I do . I have my lifestyle set to sedentary, as I'm mostly sitting on my butt studying. So anything I do other than walking I log. Plus we are slobs so I have to clean a lot!!
  • emmalouc93
    emmalouc93 Posts: 328 Member
    Well, mine is set at sedentary so I will log if it's EXTREMELY more than usual. Not on a daily basis, no.
  • jesz124
    jesz124 Posts: 1,004 Member
    I wouldn't log it. For one, its just a part of life. There will be days you don't do much, and days where you go non stop. They tend to balance themselves out. It feels like cheating to me. I don't count all the steps I take pushing a shopping cart at Target, its just something I do on some days. I feel like the people who log every little thing they do are going to lose weight much slower and also, at times, want to have every single possible excuse to eat more. I'm not saying that includes you, but I do see the frequently. Recently someone even asked about logging calories burned while proctering an exam! I thought it was a joke!

    My thoughts exactly. It was like you were in my head but managed to phase it better than I could lol. I think it's strange to call something you do (or should be doing ;-) ) on a daily basis exercise. It's like logging toilet trips or walking to the sink to get water! Daily chores to me are just part of normal life, your body should be used to doing activities like this, if you start logging and eating cals burnt from this. thats and everything I think it might hinder your progress,
  • GrammaBonnie
    GrammaBonnie Posts: 232 Member
    If I'm going to do a big burst of heavy cleaning, I'll strap on the heart rate monitor. Sometimes I'll pause it, if the heart rate isn't there for the activity I'm doing. If it's enough of an effort, then I'll log it.
  • MouseTmom
    MouseTmom Posts: 201 Member
    I don't log normal everyday cleaning but if I do heavy cleaning then I do. You know like moving furniture to clean under it, scrubbing the floor by hand, etc.

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