Do you count house/yard work or shopping as exercising??

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  • Mcgrawhaha
    Mcgrawhaha Posts: 1,596 Member
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    NO! and i dont know why, but when i see it logged, it really bothers me... issues i guess... lol
  • mumtoonegirl
    mumtoonegirl Posts: 586 Member
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    no, not the day to day cleaning and I don't count the hours of walking I do with the kids because it is part of my day to day. Now if I am in the garden digging out crap and breaking into a serious sweat I might but unless I am working out I don't. I would be spending my day logging everything then.

    Now that being said if we bring our DD for a long very brisk walk at the pace it takes to keep up with her on her bike then I will log it just to assure I am getting enough calories to not be deficient.

    But my day to day is chasing 6 kids so I don't log all that.
  • zillah73
    zillah73 Posts: 505 Member
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    I don't count it. I only count workouts – be it gym, running, walking, biking or yoga. Sure, I can exert myself with house cleaning or lawn mowing but I don't want to get into the habit of letting myself off the hook with my focused workouts by crediting myself with chores. Those are just bonus calories burnt and, if they add up to extra pounds lost when I weigh in, then it's a pleasant surprise.
  • mariadreamer
    mariadreamer Posts: 13
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    No..It's kind of funny but I feel like "cheating" if I add it as exercising! :smile:
  • mitziku
    mitziku Posts: 22 Member
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    If I sweat from the activity, then yes; otherwise no. Spring and fall yard clean-up definitely count. Shoveling snow this winter has counted.
  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
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    It's not exercise. It does count as Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT). Exercise is sustained, deliberate activity that pushes your body to the limit.

    I count only exercise as exercise.
  • CM9178
    CM9178 Posts: 1,265 Member
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    if it doesn't make you sweat, it's not exercise.

    If I'm shoveling manure, digging holes for trees - yes. If I'm raking. no
    I disagree. You can go for a 2 hour walk, not sweat, and that is definitely still exercise because you would still have burned a large amount of calories.

    I think you would personally know if you should consider something as exercise or not.
    If I went to the grocery store and walked around for 20 minutes - no I wouldn't consider that exercise - just normal walking/daily activity.
    If I went to large mall and walked around for 2 to 3 hours, I would consider that exercise - because it is above and beyond the walking I would do in an average/normal day.
  • CM9178
    CM9178 Posts: 1,265 Member
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    It's not exercise. It does count as Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT). Exercise is sustained, deliberate activity that pushes your body to the limit.

    I count only exercise as exercise.
    Disagree - if you burned calories above your daily activity level, it is exercise.
  • majope
    majope Posts: 1,325 Member
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    When I spend 4 hours outside mowing and gardening, you better believe I'm going to count it. It takes the place of a "regular" workout. I sure don't have the strength, energy, or time to do both.
    This!
  • LoosingMyLast15
    LoosingMyLast15 Posts: 1,457 Member
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    shopping no never. basic every day /every saturday house cleaning no. spring cleaning yes (lots more involved than just basic everyday cleaning). yard work - i never do so if i did yes.

    when i was gaining weight i was still doing basic house cleaning and going shopping (for hours/full day - i love to shop) but i never saw a drop in my weight from it.
  • paintlisapurple
    paintlisapurple Posts: 982 Member
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    Only if its heavy work that gets me sweating!
  • bearkisses
    bearkisses Posts: 1,252 Member
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    no
  • heidiyf
    heidiyf Posts: 8 Member
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    I generally don't count house cleaning or shopping. I guess I could strap on my pedometer at Target and log the miles but nah. However, these last few days I've been uprooting some decrepit and unhealthy landscaping and it involved some serious use of the mattock removing tree stumps, and I did count that, although I was conservative as I logged in one hour of "gardening" when I was probably spending 3 hours doing it.

    Otherwise, I just count deliberate exercise. That way, I am in the clear when it comes to calories in and calories exerted. If I lose some extra weight that week then yay!
  • missymakayla
    missymakayla Posts: 309 Member
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    Yes I count it, Why not?
  • chasetwins
    chasetwins Posts: 702 Member
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    I do not count anything that is not an actual workout. If I do not wear my HRM...it doesn't get counted. I used to count yard work but no longer do that.
    I installed a pond set up including moving around heavy rock slates last week then Gardened etc - for most of last week and was sweating and exhausted..I prob. should of worn it just to see what the burn was! LOL

    Yard work is generally not an everyday / week thing so in theory it should be counted I guess. Shopping and house work is either a weekly or daily thing for me so I never count it.
  • LBNOakland
    LBNOakland Posts: 379 Member
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    cleaning the house, no. mowing the law, yes. my rule is that if i do something around the house, and should shower afterwards b/c of sweating so much, i count it. on my feed i see all types of stuff that people count...cleaning, food prep, stuff like that. to each his/her own, i guess. for me, if i should shower after, it counts.

    Not trying to be mean but... Deep cleaning a house is as MUCH work as mowing a yard. Might be even more if you are sitting on a riding mower like my hubby does! Vacuuming, dusting, washing floors and ceiling fans and baseboards. Scrubbing toilets. Lugging laundry baskets up and down basement stairs! That's alot of work! It takes me 5 good hours to really clean my house! :frown:

    That being said, I don't count all of it. If I have cleaned house or worked in the yard for 3+ hours, I will count half of it. Cleaning the kitchen after a meal doesn't count. Nor does pulling a few weeds out of a flowerbed. Heck, I walk 3 miles a day with the dogs and don't count that. But 5 hours of housework, I count at least a portion of! I deserve those calories!!! :laugh:
  • Rocknut53
    Rocknut53 Posts: 1,794 Member
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  • bearkisses
    bearkisses Posts: 1,252 Member
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    NO! and i dont know why, but when i see it logged, it really bothers me... issues i guess... lol

    same, i actually delete people. it really discourages me and is not motivating at all to see '35 minutes of cardio including mopping'...um, what?
  • Lyerin
    Lyerin Posts: 818 Member
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    I don't count anything but actual exercise as exercise. Boot Camp, Zumba, Walking for fitness, all of that I count as exercise. Taking the stairs at work (I'm on the 5th floor) - I don't count it as exercise. I figure all of the "extras" add up to a nice additional calorie burn, but I don't call it "exercise", per se.
  • RllyGudTweetr
    RllyGudTweetr Posts: 2,019 Member
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    Is it just me, or does the oft-cited distinction in this thread between housework not counting and yardwork counting (which, again, I don't agree with) feel vaguely sexist? "Stereotypical male" household jobs like mowing the lawn or pulling weeds seem to count for a lot of folks, while "stereotypical female" household jobs seem not to count for a lot of folks.

    Again, I'm not saying I agree with the sentiment, or that those jobs *should* be defined along gender roles. It just seems curious to me.

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