house cleaning not exercise?

13

Replies

  • ChelseaSStevens
    ChelseaSStevens Posts: 2
    I count it when I plan beforehand on using it as exercise. On my typical day of cleaning house, I do it sporadically throughout the day...that, I don't count. If I'm planning on counting it, I hit it hard without taking any breaks for Facebook, phone calls, etc.
    I count mowing the lawn too, because typically it's my husbands job, I'm only doing it for the exercise. For me it's easier to stay active if I'm actually accomplishing something else at the same time.
  • jessykab74
    jessykab74 Posts: 167 Member
    I don't count it because every day housecleaning is usually included in your intake calculations. If you do an extra heavy cleaning, like really, really heavy, I suppose it would be ok, but I wouldn't do it regularly. I've seen people look at it this way, and it makes a lot of sense to me: Before you were losing weight, when you were overweight, was it an activity you were doing? If so, why count it now?

    This exactly! I don't count any of these because I did it when I was fat. This last weekend I painted all day on sat and part of sunday along with yard work. I look at it as a perk :)
  • k8blujay2
    k8blujay2 Posts: 4,941 Member
    I don't get the "I got fat while doing housework" argument. It just doesn't make sense... you (in general) got fat because you were taking in more calories than you were expending (not taking any medications or health problems into consideration here)... the point of logging chores isn't just to eat more... but to get a full picture of how many calories you burning (in estimate) and how many calories you are taking in.

    I can do Zumba/Run/Lift/whatever and still be fat, does that mean I shouldn't log supposedly legitimate exercises then too? Because that's what the logic of not counting house work calories suggests.
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
    It depends on your fitness level. Are you coming back from bed rest and two broken legs? Then anything using your legs is exercise because it's challenging your muscles to do something more difficult than you habitually do. Are you a fully-functional adult who walks around during the day? Then walking around your house is not exercise.
  • fakeuntilumakeit
    fakeuntilumakeit Posts: 77
    Ha ha thanks guys,. .. Loosing the pounds well. Down to 139 llbs yay (about 2llbs a week). Just always bloody hungry. I find 1200cals pre exercise hard to sustain and feel quite weak most of the day, so I guess I'm looking for ways to increase my food allowance without feeling so bloody guilty for eating. I find since being on this site you can get quite obsessive about the whole calorie intake thing. Have had some good advice to increase intake to 1500. My activity level is active as I work out regularly as well, and I do consider myself active. Big up to all you busy mums out there !
  • staceypunk
    staceypunk Posts: 924 Member
    no. you got fat when you were cleaning. cleaning isn't going to help you lose that weight!

    ^^ I don't think she meant YOU were fat, I think she meant it as a universal, like cleaning isn't going to help ONE lose that weight.

    I agree with others that have advised you to revisit your activity level and make sure that it is accurate. Since it's part of your normal day, then I would not log it as exercise. Also, even if you are busy doing lots of those chores you described you probably don't actually break a sweat for most of them.
  • jakkisr
    jakkisr Posts: 175 Member
    I don't log it if its my normal day to day stuff but I do if its a big clean that wears me out! This weekend it was cleaning all the interior windows including conservatory ... Big job!

    Other people have mentioned you should set your goals to Active - you're definitely not sedentary! I have a desk job and was set to sedentary but changed it this week to active as I've felt so tired and if I'm really honest, I do the day desk job then come home and do the running about and daily chores, it's rare for me to sit down before I tootle off up to bed! If you up it to active then you won't need to log the cleaning and general running around (I guess so anyway!)
  • dmw45
    dmw45 Posts: 73
    I clean houses for a living and I wear a bodymedia fit armband, so ill tell you yes it is exercise. But like any exercise, your calorie burn will vary based on intensity.. vacuuming burns more calories than sitting down polishing silverware. Laundry involves multiple trips up and down stairs. Decluttering the junk drawer is not as intensive. Folding laundry in front of the TV, forgetting about it and taking a phone call from your friend doesnt burn as many calories as folding it standing up and putting it away.

    I recommend the BMF especially if you spend a lot of your day doing these activities that pedometers snd heart rate monitors cant track accurately.
  • staceypunk
    staceypunk Posts: 924 Member
    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    Have you tried to calculate your TDEE and all that jazz?
  • ChantalD75
    ChantalD75 Posts: 680 Member
    I count it...:happy:
  • AdrianasMombieED
    AdrianasMombieED Posts: 117 Member
    I used to log it all the time when my daughter was only a couple months old. she needed constant attention since she was born or she'd get upset lol. I didnt have time to do extra workouts. When she did sleep, thats the only time I actually got any house work done. She'd be clingy until she was 4 months. I never ate those calories i burned from cleaning, though. And I alays broke a sweat with my heart rate up the whole time. As soon as she learned to play on her own in her play pen without me being there sitting right next to her, thats when i stopped logging in my housework and logging in actual workouts. Cleaning can be a workout if you're constantly moving and working fast. Still burning calories either way. I honestly dont care what people log in for their exercise; its not effecting my life or my weightloss. Its better than just sitting on your butt all day.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    House cleaning is exercise. Whether it's exercise you should log I think depends on what you set your activity level as, and how vigorous the cleaning was. If you are set as sedentary, I would log anything other very light cleaning. If, because you have a busy lift as mom to toddlers, you set it to active, then I wouldn't log anything except a major effort like cleaning out the garage or attic.
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,021 Member
    This is as diplomatic as I can be on this subject.

    If you are logging certain normal, everyday activities just so you can eat a candy bar later (or because you already ate a candy bar and you need to make it appear as though you were in a deficit when you really weren't) ... you are going to fail at this. Sorry I ruined the ending for you, but just because someone thought it was funny to add "laundry" to the exercise database doesn't mean that it's actually a form of exercise, especially for someone who claims to not even be overweight.
  • fakeuntilumakeit
    fakeuntilumakeit Posts: 77
    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    Have you tried to calculate your TDEE and all that jazz?

    Yeh, said I can eat like loads more. Hooray!
  • norcal_yogi
    norcal_yogi Posts: 675 Member
    Since I don't do any housework or yard work, I would classify as exercise.
    (my husband does all the cooking, cleaning and stuff....I know - lucky huh?)

    serious? congrats!
  • fakeuntilumakeit
    fakeuntilumakeit Posts: 77
    Guys Guys Guys, I'm loosing, I'm healthy, I'm active so I ain't gonna sweat this one (no pun intended),

    I just wondered peoples views that's all. Interesting that people see a workout on a machine/ running/ dvd or weights as the only way to stay fit. Have I logged it as exercise in the past YES , but only when I clean for an hour or more heavy duty. I have OCD so boy do I scrub, and re-scrub.

    Personally I think household chores do burn, as at my worst cleaning frenzies my weight used to drop significantly. I never used to exercise. Medication to help the OCD meant I saw an increase in weight, so whether this was due to a reduction in obsessive cleaning habits or medication in my system who knows. But I was most definitely slimmer cleaning continually.

    One thing is for sure, I sure ain't gonna let one obsession get roped into another. Happy weightloss all, just stay healthy and happy:wink:
  • melindasuefritz
    melindasuefritz Posts: 3,509 Member
    If you're sweating while cleaning your house, I'd consider that a nice workout.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    I'd just up your activity level to a more active one - no stay at home mum is sedentary.

    That's been my take. If it's way above and beyond normal cleaning, I'd log it. Like the kind of cleaning I'd do before the inlaws visited from out of state. But not normal scooping catboxes, scrubbing toilets, sweeping the floor kind of stuff.

    Personally, life has been so much simpler and happier since I calculated my TDEE, taken a deficit off that, and eat the same amount daily regardless of activity, rather than trying to figure out what's "exercise" and what's "activity" and what can and can't be counted. If I stop getting the progress I want, I know I need to either eat less or be more active. It's pretty simple. :smile:
  • fakeuntilumakeit
    fakeuntilumakeit Posts: 77
    I'd just up your activity level to a more active one - no stay at home mum is sedentary.

    That's been my take. If it's way above and beyond normal cleaning, I'd log it. Like the kind of cleaning I'd do before the inlaws visited from out of state. But not normal scooping catboxes, scrubbing toilets, sweeping the floor kind of stuff.

    Personally, life has been so much simpler and happier since I calculated my TDEE, taken a deficit off that, and eat the same amount daily regardless of activity, rather than trying to figure out what's "exercise" and what's "activity" and what can and can't be counted. If I stop getting the progress I want, I know I need to either eat less or be more active. It's pretty simple. :smile:


    YES YES YES, TDEE so much more pleasant and less obsessive.
  • limesublime
    limesublime Posts: 118 Member
    I used to clean houses for a living, and didn't have an HRM at the time, but after 8 hours of cleaning I was FAMISHED. When I got a desk job, I gained about 20 lbs (little to no change in diet) so I have to believe all that housecleaning burned some good calories.

    Now my rule of thumb is that if I'm sweating and my feet hurt after a good few hours of cleaning, then I count the calories - those two signs are my signals that I pushed beyond normal housecleaning stuff and probably worked into a calorie deficit.

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