So, is housework considered exercise or is it not?

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Replies

  • missmegan831
    missmegan831 Posts: 824 Member
    If you just started cleaning your house today log it.. but if you always kept a clean house then its part of your regular daily activites.. you wouldnt log taking a shower would you??? :laugh:
  • pinkpatron
    pinkpatron Posts: 154
    I only include cardio.

    Now that I think about it, I don't even count weight lifting when it comes to calories burned. Just cardio.
  • vienna_h
    vienna_h Posts: 428 Member
    Only when people decide to come over to my place later that day and I realize my place is a total mess and I'm sweating and rushing to clean and wash everything for a few hours straight, then yes. I've very particular about my place being SPOTLESS when people come over so I really do go all out, and it definitely feels like a workout! I don't have any fancy cleaning stuff, I sweep and scrub the floors by hand, move around furniture, etc.

    But then again I'm not here trying to lose weight, lol, just want to keep tabs on what I eat and do, and get fitness advice.

    I don't count everyday chores and cleaning though, or most walking that I do (I walk my dog 4 times per day, 20 minutes each), I only count really crazy cleaning or really long (2 hours or more) walks at a fast pace.
  • Isakizza
    Isakizza Posts: 754 Member
    I never count it.

    To me it's just another daily activity and no matter how hard or how long, I would never count it. Just like if at work I'm walking or running around more than usual, I won't count that either.

    I just feel I'd be cheating myself out of a real intentional workout.


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  • elkahallick
    elkahallick Posts: 1,138 Member
    I dont think it counts...... Atleast for me..... Its just house work..... My exercise is in the gym when I have an exercise mind set...
  • 3foldchord
    3foldchord Posts: 2,918 Member
    Nope. I don't count house work, playing at the park with my kids, or anything like that. I only count intentional exercise.

    Same Here. and I don't count strength training either.

    ( I might count half my time if it is a super BIG Spring Cleaning type work. maybe.)
  • xmeganxtarax
    xmeganxtarax Posts: 79
    I only include cardio.

    Now that I think about it, I don't even count weight lifting when it comes to calories burned. Just cardio.

    Same!!
  • clairedrose
    clairedrose Posts: 121 Member
    You know what, for some people getting off the couch is a change. Not for me, but I applaud anyone's efforts to become more active. If it not enough,they'll find out soon enough
  • jdayer
    jdayer Posts: 23 Member
    I've played around with logging all physical activity at SupreTracker.gov and I really don't see it as being very useful. If you are interested in how many calories housework burns you can check out the MET values at Cancer.gov,
    http://riskfactor.cancer.gov/tools/atus-met/met.php?major[]=02&keywords=&metval_min=&metval_max=#search_tables

    or wear a heart monitor with a calorie counter function. There are also other gadgets that do similar things and Fitness Pal has integrated applications with some of them if you check out apps. Not my Garmin or my Timex though :-)

    Just an FYI: I really don't put much faith in calorie counters. I wear my Garmin Forerunner 410, which includes a heart monitor and calorie counter, for just stuff around the house. I turn off the GPS and just let the watch record physical activity. I have a heart condition and I monitored one of what I call my bad days. According to my Garmin I burned over 6,000 calories in 11.5 hours that "bad" day. According to my Garmin, during a typical 1.5 hour workout I burn about 370 calories and sitting in my recliner watching the boob tube or reading I burn about 200 calories over 1.5 hours, again, according to the Garmin. That means sitting in my recliner I am running an MET of about 1.8, which is pretty wild. With those kind of activity numbers and my average calorie intake of 2400 calories a day I should weigh about 14 pounds :-)
  • jzammetti
    jzammetti Posts: 1,956 Member
    Housework is not really exercise - but it IS activity so it should be factored into your modifier (so, not sedentary)
  • sharleengc
    sharleengc Posts: 792 Member
    I never count housework unless it's like my once a year deep clean where I move all the furniture and steam clean, vacuum, mop and all that stuff

    but the daily/weekly housework like the quick vacuum and clean of the bathroom...no
  • danielsm26
    danielsm26 Posts: 1
    I'm a physician, and I hear this often. Many people believe that any activity in which they are moving about throughout the day serves as an alternate form of exercise. While housecleaning, chasing children and doing laundry all provide a modest expenditure of calories, it is not exercise unless the activity lasts at least 30 minutes during which time you have increased your heart rate to an aerobic level and maintained that level throughout the exercise, as you would if you were to walk, run, jog, or bike for that time period. The first few minutes of activity utilizes nutrients circulating the bloodstream, rather than mobilizing and burning fat-thus the need for sustained exercise. Daily chores does not provide this benefit. Count it as a bonus-if you use a few extra calories doing anything, it is better than doing nothing. I wish that the miles I travel up and down hallways during the 8-12 hours I see patients everyday meant that I didn't need to run the 4 miles I have to in order to achieve my fitness goals. Alas, it isn't so.
  • WaterBunnie
    WaterBunnie Posts: 1,371 Member
    Housework is not really exercise - but it IS activity so it should be factored into your modifier (so, not sedentary)

    Sedentary does already more than cover most housework - FitBit users can verify this!!
  • Jerrypeoples
    Jerrypeoples Posts: 1,541 Member
    only if your job title is maid
  • hungryhobbit1
    hungryhobbit1 Posts: 259 Member
    When I'm really in a "clean ALL the things!" snit (usually before we have guests over for a party or something significant) I wear my heart rate monitor and count it. I also count yard work because I hate it, and it's motivational. (I don't burn much anyway) Otherwise, no. I use the lightly active setting so daily housework and stuff with the kids is already accounted for. I never use the MFP numbers for the calorie burn because they are way over reality.
  • SexyTmar
    SexyTmar Posts: 23 Member
    It is my understanding that burning calories with 'exercise' requires getting your heart rate up. It is therefore very personal and depends on your current fitness level.

    Before I started mfp, I had become very lazy and did barely any exercise AT ALL. So as a beginner I listed myself as 'sedentary' and claimed light housework as exercise because at first it actually raised my heart rate and made me sweat just a little! I only claimed half the time I ever spent doing housework.

    After the first month housework a few times a week didn't get my heart rate up anymore so I stopped claiming it as exercise. I started using my treadmill and doing work out videos on my Wii to get my heart rate up.

    These are my thoughts on the subject. Some people may agree. Some may not.
  • ellepribro
    ellepribro Posts: 226 Member
    Only on MyFitnessPal have I seen people consider cleaning and food preparation to be "exercise."

    Right? Ridiculous.
  • faithsimmons526
    faithsimmons526 Posts: 162 Member
    Sometimes I log it when I've done a lot and need a little motivational 'boost', but I think the true calories burned are a lot less than it shows, so I don't eat them back. Guess I just do it to feel good about myself when I have a temptation to overeat ... and it works btw.
  • pheasant5
    pheasant5 Posts: 36 Member
    Day to day cleaning ...no. But cleaning windows all 20 of them..... I'm counting the big house cleaning~!
  • whitebalance
    whitebalance Posts: 1,654 Member
    If you just started cleaning your house today log it.. but if you always kept a clean house then its part of your regular daily activites.. you wouldnt log taking a shower would you??? :laugh:
    Hey now! Ever since I grew my hair out, it takes a LOT of extra work to shampoo and condition that stuff... and let's not even get started on shaving!
  • TallGlassOfQuirky
    TallGlassOfQuirky Posts: 282 Member
    90% of my extremely successful and intelligent friends on here will say that counting housework calories is stupid.

    Personally, I think that if you are very sedentary (and that's how your goals are calculated) and are doing housework that has you working up a sweat (not just doing a load of dishes), you are, in fact, burning calories. Not a lot, but some. I wouldn't recommend that you add them just to "round out" your numbers, but if you spend two hours scrubbing the house from top to bottom, you earned a few extra calories in my opinion.

    If you have your activity level set anything above sedentary, though, it's a part of your normal daily activity and already taken into account when setting your calorie goals.
  • whitebalance
    whitebalance Posts: 1,654 Member
    You know what, for some people getting off the couch is a change. Not for me, but I applaud anyone's efforts to become more active. If it not enough,they'll find out soon enough
    QFT, in all seriousness. I don't log stuff like that (although housework IS all too unusual in my case :embarassed:), but not gonna judge what other people consider a boost in their activity level.
  • Leeann1979
    Leeann1979 Posts: 1,090 Member
    Just in case you weren't aware of this feature, when you go to the message boards section, there is a button called search and you can type in a keyword/phrase (ex: cleaning exercise) and you can see the threads that have already been created on the topic. Good luck! :flowerforyou:


    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1041514-lots-of-anti-clean-eating-sentiment-on-the-boards-today?hl=cleaning#posts-15986965

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/702245-house-cleaning-exercise?hl=cleaning+exercise#posts-10298910

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1032915-does-house-cleaning-count-as-exercise?hl=cleaning+exercise&page=1#posts-15843048

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1032915-does-house-cleaning-count-as-exercise?hl=cleaning+exercise&page=2#posts-15905777

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1033292-does-house-work-count-as-exercise?hl=cleaning+exercise#posts-15848154

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1028251-legit-question-housework-exercise-or-no?hl=cleaning+exercise&page=6#posts-15781174

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1025696-confused-about-what-counts-as-exercise?hl=cleaning+exercise#posts-15744129

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1025992-house-work-cleaning?hl=cleaning+exercise#posts-15736716

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/319326-does-grocery-shopping-count-as-exercise?hl=cleaning+exercise&page=4#posts-15722407

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/966255-do-you-count-house-yard-work-or-shopping-as-exercising?hl=cleaning+exercise&page=6#posts-15685009

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1020622-logging-cleaning?hl=cleaning+exercise&page=2#posts-15646395

    Really? You actually took the time to do this. Who gives a giant rats *kitten* if people re-post topics??? There are millions of users on here. Perhaps you should just ignore the title instead of taking the time to read it.
  • jzammetti
    jzammetti Posts: 1,956 Member
    Housework is not really exercise - but it IS activity so it should be factored into your modifier (so, not sedentary)

    Sedentary does already more than cover most housework - FitBit users can verify this!!

    I use the BodyMedia Link and it is not true for it. It sets your baseline (mine was just about my estimated BMR) and adjusts based on our activity for the day.

    For example, MFP sets my calories for 1 pound loss per week at sedentary as 1200. By the time I am finished with everyday activities (cleaning, kids, running errands, cooking, etc) my calorie target jumps up to about 1700 - 1800 and still retains the 500 calorie deficit. Only when I actually exercise does it jump to over 2000.
  • harleygroomer
    harleygroomer Posts: 373 Member
    I don't but I have seen "several" people add it to theirs. Kinda don't see the point.
  • cherio256
    cherio256 Posts: 219
    I never count housework. And I do lots of it :) I do however count mowing. That's a workout! I see people count it and find it kinda funny, but that's their business.
  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
    Not if you're eating the calories back.
  • jfl5
    jfl5 Posts: 37
    What if it's outside the house work? Say, cutting with a pushmower for an hour in 95 degree heat and 90% humidity?
  • deb_137
    deb_137 Posts: 38 Member
    Hey, if it includes major lifting, the use of a shovel, or violence against those that caused the mess - then I say yes, most definitely!
  • pushyourself14
    pushyourself14 Posts: 275 Member
    I never log housework.

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