housework counting as legitimate exercise

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  • shannashannabobana
    shannashannabobana Posts: 625 Member
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    I log yardwork and painting, things that are odd and last for an extended period of time. I've never thought to log housework, definatley not piddly stuff like the dishes, light dusting, etc (although I will admit to logging guitar playing a few times just because it amused me that it was in there.). If I did something all day that was really intense I might log it if I thought of it, but I don't think of it as excercise specifically and that's really all I log.
  • ldstrange
    ldstrange Posts: 17
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    I would certainly log the calories burned, but I might want to check a couple of sources before taking fit bit's word for it.

    It seems to me that if you do something that is not part of your daily routine, say like cleaning the entire house, you should count it. Mowing the lawn counts, why wouldn't house work?

    To those that say "you were cleaning your house while you were gaining weight , therefore you shouldn't count it now," I offer this. Think about that proposition for a moment. What logical fallacy do you see in it?

    What I see is this; what you did while you were gaining weight is still exercise. The difference is you were likely also eating everything in sight (so to speak) at the same time. Now that you are restricting caloric intake and monitoring your "activity level" you should attempt to log activities you perform that are not part of your daily routine. Be careful though, it's easy to add exercise calories until your caloric budget is as big as you once were. :)

    Not to beat a dead horse, but as an example I just finished painting the inside of my garage. Not the most strenuous exercise ever but I did expend energy painting and I don't paint my garage every day. So I logged it.

    As a precaution, if I work 90 minutes mowing my lawn (no, not on a riding mower) or painting, I only take credit for about 2/3 of that time or 60 minutes. I want to be sure that I am not overvaluing the caloric expenditure in mowing.

    I find this approach works for me. Your mileage may vary. :)
  • bagge72
    bagge72 Posts: 1,377 Member
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    As long as you know you are buring more calories than you normally would in a day you can count them, but you have to remember to subtract the calories you would have normallu burned in that time frame, and also don't eat all of the calories back in case your HRM is not correct.
  • CLFrancois
    CLFrancois Posts: 472 Member
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    Dishes -> I don't log
    Pool cleaning -> log
    Toilet cleaning -> I don't log
    scrubbing like there is no tomorrow for 60 minutes, breaking a sweat, hating my life ->log
  • _SusieQ_
    _SusieQ_ Posts: 2,964 Member
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    Train insane or remain the same!

    8kABl7L.gif

    oh god i love Justin Bateman...i love him and want him....

    OjaLRLT.gif
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    I'm amazed that so many people are so flippin' sedentary in their day to day that they'd actually consider cleaning and the like exercise.

    Lots of people are sedentary. It should not be taken negatively all the time. I am sedentary yet I workout 6 times a week. There are reasons for people being sedentary, dont confuse that word with "lazy".

    Great response! Many people (myself included) work a full-time job that includes a day full of sitting at a computer or being otherwise sedentary. It is quite a quick judgement to label that as "lazy."

    I have a desk job as well...10-12 hours per day...I'm an accountant. I still have about 3 hours per day where I need to be taking care of my kids and doing various chores around the house...cooking dinner, cleaning, doing the dishes, etc. So...I gather then that you pretty much do your desk job (as I do)..go get some exercise (as I do) and then just sit on your *kitten*?

    The point I'm trying to make is that doing chores is not exercise for the vast majority of people. But whatevs...if you all want to log it an eat it I just don't wan to here about how you're "doing everything right" but it's not working.
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
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    My theory is that if it works for the person recording it as exercise (i.e. they're recording it and still reaching their goals) then yes. However, if they have a prolonged plateau then I'd question if it's still a good idea for them. An unfit person's body will have to burn more calories doing rigorous cleaning than a fit person. I painted last night, up and down, up and down, up and down the ladder for 3.5 hours. Reaching, stretching, climbing, etc. I didn't record that as exercise, but for someone else the same effort would be legitimate exercise.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    Have you ever asked someone how they lost weight and had them reply "by keeping my house clean"?

    QFT
  • anj1030
    anj1030 Posts: 153 Member
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    Train insane or remain the same!

    8kABl7L.gif

    oh god i love Justin Bateman...i love him and want him....

    you must love justin bateman a ton....





    but not enough to know his name is jason.


    I seriously just snorted so loud!!!
  • SkinnyMozza
    SkinnyMozza Posts: 66 Member
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    I wouldn't. That's normal day to day stuff.

    Exercise is just that, not chores.

    I know when I mow for an hour it's a workout, I'm not going to log it though.

    Why not??? the body doesnt know if it is at the gym or not?? If you feel a burn... its a work out!!! :flowerforyou:
  • SkinnyMozza
    SkinnyMozza Posts: 66 Member
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    Dishes -> I don't log
    Pool cleaning -> log
    Toilet cleaning -> I don't log
    scrubbing like there is no tomorrow for 60 minutes, breaking a sweat, hating my life ->log

    Agreed!! :flowerforyou:
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,711 Member
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    Hello everyone (: Just wondering today I put on my polar monitor while I worked around the house, ironed, etc and was surprised that after 2 1/2 hours I burned 615 CALORIES! Can I count these as calories burned eventhough it wasnt from a regime structured exercise ? It was done without even thinking and I feel like because I wasnt burning a sweat it wasnt REAL exercise. Please advise:huh:

    I don't count any of my non-exercise activities like housework or gardening, because I count those as a more active lifestyle.
    I do however count a stint ( 6:30 am to 6:00pm ) in a soup kitchen where I volunteer every Sunday and where I am in charge of 450 meals and carry sacks of produce, heavy pots, big heavy trays etc and often do not get more than two 15 minute breaks, which means I am on my feet almost all the time. I look at that as " compound " exercise, but don't count daily stuff.
  • shannashannabobana
    shannashannabobana Posts: 625 Member
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    I painted last night, up and down, up and down, up and down the ladder for 3.5 hours. Reaching, stretching, climbing, etc. I didn't record that as exercise
    If you are sore the next day, I figure it's excercise. Log or don't log, you still burned calories and I doubt you're doing that kind of activity every day, fit or not.

    I think where logging gets problematic is if you are logging random stuff just so you can eat more. If you are logging just to keep good records that might help you figure out why you lost one week and not another.

    I like the idea about putting stuff in notes, though. I may have to do that.
  • grandma0561
    grandma0561 Posts: 16 Member
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    Thanks everyone! I knew it was too good to be true :laugh:
  • grandma0561
    grandma0561 Posts: 16 Member
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    Thats a good idea! I'm gonna try it!
  • toridehaven
    toridehaven Posts: 95
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    Being that I am sitting all day at work, I do count calories burned doing chores. If I am up and moving thats different then my day to day of sitting!
  • 77tes
    77tes Posts: 8,039 Member
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    Is housework exercise? Probably not. Is it activity? Sure is! I get a little tired of exercise snobs who insist that exercise only counts if it is something insanely diffifult. For some people, that is not practical.

    Years ago, people didn't "exercise," they worked. That included housework and gardening. I love the fact that on the rare occasions that I do some real housework, I can eat a few more calories. I also count food prep when I'm really busy in the kitchen, batch cooking or preparing Thanksgiving dinner. My weightloss didn't stall. My house didn't suffer from me being too exhausted from my workout to clean it.
  • Queenbee8868
    Queenbee8868 Posts: 3
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    I say yes. it is in this app under exercise. I enter it and am losing weight! :)
  • Sandytoes71
    Sandytoes71 Posts: 463 Member
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    If you want to log it, put your HRM on while you sit and watch tv or read a book for 2.5 hours and see what it reads. Subtract that number from your active number and add that amount!

    excellent idea!!!
  • phyllisgehrke
    phyllisgehrke Posts: 238 Member
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    I disagree with the posts above.

    Why do they have light cleaning as exercise, if it does not count.
    I would definitely count it as your exercise.

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