Housework does it really burn calories?

laurayates1980
laurayates1980 Posts: 6
in Fitness and Exercise
Well i have spent this morning cleaning ( again lol). But my question is does it really count as part of my fitness/workout? does it really burn the amount of calories it statesit does on ere. I have done all the usual everyday stuff washing up, washing clothes etc but i have done the hoovering and mopping and window cleaning etc. i have also been a really good girl and been out and swept the drive and the back yard not that i wanted too but ive been asking my other half 2 do it for about 2 weeks now and i may as well bang my head against a wall lol. So i guess what im getting at is have i really burnt any calories?
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Replies

  • the_crazy_ninja
    the_crazy_ninja Posts: 136
    You even burn calories while sleeping....the question is...is it worth it for you to count it?
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
    If you're cleaning more vigorously than usual then it may be worth counting, especially if it's taken a fair bit of time. Obviously general everyday housework would already be accounted for in your NEAT.

    I'm a fitbit user so that would pick up when I've been more active than usual, be it from exercise, dancing round the lounge or housework. If I'm moving, I'm burning.
  • Machafin
    Machafin Posts: 2,988 Member
    When you put in your information, it gives you a calorie need based on your weigh, age, activity level, etc. This already takes into account the normal calorie burn of your everyday life. So adding calories burnt sleeping, or anything not usual for that matter is only hurting yourself. As for house cleaning, if you didn't originally use that in your activity level, then maybe you should use it, but I am unsure of how accurate it is estimating burnt calories but Im sure it does burn some.
  • verdemujer
    verdemujer Posts: 1,397 Member
    I wear a devise made by BodyMedia that measures my activity the entire time I wear it. I only take it off for showers and if I was to go swimming. Yesterday was a spring cleaning day - major hoovering, cleaning bathrooms, washing clothes, dishes - moved the fridge to clean behind it, moved the bed to clean under, moved chairs to clean under them. During that time, my Link Armband data says that my exercise amounted to 101 mintues of moderate activity. I walked a total of 7335 steps. I burned 1667 calories. I started house work at 10 am and went to 5 PM with a break for lunch and to log at this site. So yes, house work does burn calories. Now - for this site - I don't add that exercise in. This site is linked up to my Bodymedia data and it pulled in that the first half of the day at 554 calories burned when I Iogged in at Lunch. That was good enough for me here. I use my Bodymedia data for my doctor and to really look at the entire picture of my data. I've been stalled for a couple of years and haven't lost weight so I wanted data to take to my doctor. WIth data, we could look and see what was going on with me. This devise even tracks my sleep. I love the data as it's really helped me understand what's going on. My doctor loved the data too.
  • JennKoz529
    JennKoz529 Posts: 144 Member
    I agree with most ppl's posts. If it is everyday straightening up around the house...then no, I would not log it. But if it is a major cleaning then I log it. I vacuumed for about 35 mins yesterday and I worked up a sweat! So, I logged it! Some people will argue that it isn't truely working out. Well, no it's not, but if it gets your heart rate up then it is a form of exercise (IMO!)
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Stuff like that is just general living and really should be included in your activity level. Even if you do a spring cleaning, I wouldn't bother logging it as it is just an isolated event. You also burn calories just breathing....
  • yusineddy
    yusineddy Posts: 457 Member
    I agree with most ppl's posts. If it is everyday straightening up around the house...then no, I would not log it. But if it is a major cleaning then I log it. I vacuumed for about 35 mins yesterday and I worked up a sweat! So, I logged it! Some people will argue that it isn't truely working out. Well, no it's not, but if it gets your heart rate up then it is a form of exercise (IMO!)

    I agree! I dont log in my normal housework, however I do log in when I do major house cleaning which is once a week or every 2 weeks where I move furniture around and that sort of thing, and I wear my HRM to be accurate.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    I found it best to bump my activity setting from sedentary to lightly active (which gives about 130 calories extra) and NOT count all that normal stuff.

    If I go above and beyond normal (shoveling snow, heavy yard work, the kind of cleaning I do before the inlaws visit, etc) I'd log that as exercise, but not regular vacuuming, toilet scrubbing, cat box scooping, etc.
  • csuhar
    csuhar Posts: 779 Member
    I'm in the "it's better to use an HRM or a pedomiter" camp. Unlike traditional exercises, it's just too vague and general to log as an exercise. But the HRM / pedomiter will pick up extra exertion and be able to factor it into things.
  • hkmurphy83
    hkmurphy83 Posts: 262 Member
    I only log my cleaning calories when I really, REALLY clean the house. However, I have my activity level set as sedentary, and I wear my HRM. That way I have an accurate count. Like you said, I don't count things like laundry, making the bed, etc. Those activities didn't make me thin before so why should they now.
  • ndearing0501
    ndearing0501 Posts: 145 Member
    You even burn calories while sleeping....the question is...is it worth it for you to count it?

    Totally agree! I used to log it, but then again why wouldn't I log sleeping? Breathing? You don't log how many calories you burn while brushing teeth. In my opinion if you aren't vigorously challenging/pushing yourself, you won't make a change. I think a lot of people just log it so they can make excuses for eating more calories. Weightloss is about eating right and workig out hardcore! No one made a huge body change by doing the dishes or sweeping the floor.
  • laurayates1980
    laurayates1980 Posts: 6
    Thanks everyone for your advice. I do my general cleaning everyday and never log it but i have had a full day vigerously cleaning today.. moving furniture, turning matresses scrubbed the carpet on the stairs an i di work up quite a sweat so have logged just 40 mins of light housework duties even though it was more like 3-4 hours. i dont want to over eat calories thinking its ok cause i burnt them off.
  • Amberonamission
    Amberonamission Posts: 836 Member
    In the very beginning of trying to lose, I would count the deep cleaning days.. But, my friend (who has helped me greatly in this process) said to me.. did you deep clean while getting fat? I said yes. He then said to count nothing that I did while gaining. Shopping doesn't count, cleaning, walking a dog.. nope.
  • aj445
    aj445 Posts: 183 Member
    I would never count cleaning. It's part of life. You still need to workout even if you cleaned all day.
  • Ashley_Panda
    Ashley_Panda Posts: 1,404 Member
    I count the days I really, really clean. I don't clean every day because with two small children that's pointless. So when I get down to scrubbing the crayon off the walls and things of that sort, yeah, I count it.
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    In the very beginning of trying to lose, I would count the deep cleaning days.. But, my friend (who has helped me greatly in this process) said to me.. did you deep clean while getting fat? I said yes. He then said to count nothing that I did while gaining. Shopping doesn't count, cleaning, walking a dog.. nope.

    I ran, skated, swam, hiked, and biked while gaining weight. Does it not count as exercise?
  • bizco
    bizco Posts: 1,949 Member
    Of course you burned calories. Should you log it as exercise? No.
  • CharityGC
    CharityGC Posts: 499 Member
    In the very beginning of trying to lose, I would count the deep cleaning days.. But, my friend (who has helped me greatly in this process) said to me.. did you deep clean while getting fat? I said yes. He then said to count nothing that I did while gaining. Shopping doesn't count, cleaning, walking a dog.. nope.

    That's how I feel. But if counting the calories burned while cleaning motivates you then do it.
  • zephtalah
    zephtalah Posts: 327 Member
    For all of those who wonder how many calories house cleaning really burns, perhaps you should look up some recent studies about lack of physical housework and increased waist measurements. There is a strong correlation. Back to the OP, normal everyday, I wouldn't include as it would be accounted for in my activity level (along with breathing and sleeping and whatever else anyone who is feeling snarky wants to add.) However, for major cleaning it is exercise so why not? It's like saying I worked out at home and not the gym is it okay to count that. Exercise is exercise. Calories burnt are calories burnt. It really doesn't matter where or in what manner they were done.
  • carmieg3
    carmieg3 Posts: 36
    For me: I count it, I have my activity level set at "sedentary" as I have an office job where I sit all day, but last weekend I swept and mopped my entire home, and got sweaty doing so!
    If it is a part of your regular daily activity AND you have your actvity level set to reflect it, then I would not count those as burned calories
  • nashsheri33
    nashsheri33 Posts: 225 Member
    i don't count housework if it's something i would ordinarily do. tidying up, washing dishes, folding laundry, these kinds of things are contributing to my activity level, but i don't consider them to be 'exercise'.

    however, if it's something i don't ordinarily do (move furniture to clean behind/under), or something i really have to concentrate on because it makes me breathe hard and sweat (scrub floors on hands and knees as opposed to lightly swiffering) then i do count it. but if i sweat like that for 3 hours, i only count 2, just to be safe. and i eat back half my exercise calories.

    but really, if you do some extra work, and you don't feel hungry, don't eat. if you do feel hungrier (it might be the next day), have a little extra food. bu tmake sure it's healthy food, and make sure it's a real physical hunger.
  • KenosFeoh
    KenosFeoh Posts: 1,837 Member
    I set my activity level as sedentary, so when I house-clean - and I DO NOT mean standing in one place washing dishes or folding laundry - I log it. Sure, I was doing this stuff while I got fat, but I wasn't watching my calories then and I am now.
  • ecw3780
    ecw3780 Posts: 608 Member
    If you have your activity level set to sedentary, and you do more than sit on the couch or lay in bed, than you should log it. I can earn up 300 calories (I wear a tracker) on a good cleaning day. Logging actives like cleaning or shopping gets me to a number that is more in line with my TDEE. Although, to be honest, I don't actually log any exercise, I just let my tracker sync.
  • Amberonamission
    Amberonamission Posts: 836 Member
    In the very beginning of trying to lose, I would count the deep cleaning days.. But, my friend (who has helped me greatly in this process) said to me.. did you deep clean while getting fat? I said yes. He then said to count nothing that I did while gaining. Shopping doesn't count, cleaning, walking a dog.. nope.

    I ran, skated, swam, hiked, and biked while gaining weight. Does it not count as exercise?
    The point is that you should be going above what you always did. It isn't that it is not exercise. I am sure some of that really burned. But, is it still all you do now?

    And I was not talking about your success. I was talking about mine. I couldn't even imagine that biking and hiking and running would cause me to gain weight. You must be so pissed at your stupid metabolism.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    For all of those who wonder how many calories house cleaning really burns, perhaps you should look up some recent studies about lack of physical housework and increased waist measurements. There is a strong correlation. Back to the OP, normal everyday, I wouldn't include as it would be accounted for in my activity level (along with breathing and sleeping and whatever else anyone who is feeling snarky wants to add.) However, for major cleaning it is exercise so why not? It's like saying I worked out at home and not the gym is it okay to count that. Exercise is exercise. Calories burnt are calories burnt. It really doesn't matter where or in what manner they were done.

    What those studies don't account for is the way that we incorporate that activity into our overall eating/activity patterns. A substantial and "permanent" change can have an effect one way of the other, for example, going from living on college campus where you are walking from building to building and class to class to starting a full-time desk job. However, one day or several hours of increased activity done one time or occasionally will likely have little or no effect. Over a series of days, people tend to subconsciously increase food intake or decrease other activity to make up for the one-time bump.

    As human beings, we have very selective memories. We tend to vastly overestimate the "positive" things we do and ignore the negative ones that offset them.
  • jenniferrusso7393
    jenniferrusso7393 Posts: 189 Member
    I think that absolutely you should count it -- especially this time since you did extra of what you normally do, but either way, you are burning calories-- People who run every day log their calories, so your work that you do every day should be counted as well... Especially if you are running a vaccuum cleaner-- could they make those things any heavier!?
  • binknbaby
    binknbaby Posts: 207 Member
    I would say that if it gets your heart rate up, makes you sweat, or works some normally-unused muscles (ie. scrubbing the floors by hand, moving large furniture, hefting large boxes, etc), then go ahead and count it. But if it take very little effort (using a self-propelled vacuum, washing dishes, sweeping the floor), don't bother.

    Then again, a lot of this depends on how many of your cals you eat back... I mean, if you're counting every.little.thing, but only eating maybe 30% of your exercise cals back, it probably won't make a huge impact. But if you're eating back every single calorie from exercise AND counting the small stuff, you'll be overeating.

    But I know some people don't eat their cals back and just want to keep track of how many cals they are burning throughout the day, or how much activity they are getting--for whatever reason--and so they log everything.

    Also depends on what setting you have it on. If you're at sedentary, sure, count some of the small things. But if your activity level is already at moderate and you're counting the little things? You'll be hurting yourself in the end.
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    In the very beginning of trying to lose, I would count the deep cleaning days.. But, my friend (who has helped me greatly in this process) said to me.. did you deep clean while getting fat? I said yes. He then said to count nothing that I did while gaining. Shopping doesn't count, cleaning, walking a dog.. nope.

    I ran, skated, swam, hiked, and biked while gaining weight. Does it not count as exercise?
    The point is that you should be going above what you always did. It isn't that it is not exercise. I am sure some of that really burned. But, is it still all you do now?

    And I was not talking about your success. I was talking about mine. I couldn't even imagine that biking and hiking and running would cause me to gain weight. You must be so pissed at your stupid metabolism.

    I'm not pissed at my stupid metabolism. I ate too much, and when I was done eating, I drank enough calories to fuel a large man. For some people, at some times, yes, it makes sense to log cleaning, others it doesn't. How much effort someone puts into it also plays a part in whether they should log it. I don't think it is right to say that there is only one right way to do it. Was it heavy cleaning and the person has their settings at sedentary? Then they should probably log it. Does the person have their settings at active? Probably not a good idea to log any cleaning regardless of how hard they were working. Just because I did something before doesn't mean it stops burning calories now. When I first started on this site, I did log cleaning. Now, I don't. My heart rate doesn't get up as high, and I have my activity setting higher now.
  • stephdeeable
    stephdeeable Posts: 1,407 Member
    Yes, it does burn calories. But to me, logging normal housework as exercise is the same as masturbating and then telling your friends "Oh man, I got laid last night".
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    Yes, it burns calories. Sleeping burns calories too though. Logging it is ok for some people who are extremely sedentary and on a low calorie goal, but most people shouldn't bother.

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