So, is housework considered exercise or is it not?

I count if sometimes, I have 3 levels to my house, so it's a lot of running up & down 3 flights of stairs. & my heart rate does get up there, I also have my activity level set to Sedentary, so activities I do I count. & I'm also losing weight doing it...so I'm happy

I clean 6 rat cages, take out all the bedding and put it two floors down in the garbage, put all the accessories in the tub to soak and scrub, vacuum afterwards, and usually that's also laundry day and litterbox clean day. Yes, I count it. But I also sweat my butt off and have myself marked as "sendentary" so I can.

yes i log it i log everything but i don't eat back my exercise calories so what's the problem? it's my diary and as such it says what i did for the day works for me

Only if you are using the sedentary lifestyle, and it is an extraordinary cleaning. If you are doing average daily chores, they don't count. But if you mow the lawn once or twice a month, that is not part of your regular routine and should be counted as extra.

But if you consider yourself active or fairly active, I would not add the chores in, as you probably already considered them when you considered your lifestyle.

I dont include everyday cleaning....but If I was to do a mega big spring clean then hell yeah why not......It's a work out and half lol

The usual daily housework I would not count. If you are doing some out of the ordinary housework that requires abnormal activity then count it. I sync my fitness pal with my fit bit and it helps to account for the activity. I would definitely suggest getting one.

I don't log housework, gardening, laundry, cooking/preparing food, etc. as exercise. What other people choose to do is their business, but I don't log those things because when I do them my heart rate doesn't increase much and I don't break a sweat.

Generally I wouldn't suggest it (depending on how dirty your house is ) cause exercise should be something that gets your heart rate up for a measurable/determined period of time, and unless you have some remarkably consistent-intense housework routine, counting it would probably just trick yourself into eating more net carbs. Exceptions might be gardening, mowing, building something, painting, etc., but not week to week stuff.

Now that's not to say you couldn't add or do week to week housework in a way that might burn some more calories or help build a little muscle (e.g. stand/jog in place with doing laundry, do some squats every time you put some dishes in the dishwasher, etc.). But, even then, I wouldn't suggest factoring that in to anything; just as good traits to do.

can i log BM's? i will guarantee you that i have used more effort with some than housecleaning or preparing food

and if so, do i create an infinity loop by eating back the calories?

I don't count anything other than 'intentional exercise' as activity. I've been cleaning my house for years, yet I'm still overweight, so now suddenly saying it's cardio work is a leap bigger than my short legs can take. Especially if you eat back your exercise calories. (I'm an adult of normal health who is generally active in life. If I'd been bound to a bed for the last year my answer would probably be different!)

I will sometimes get a few extra calories added because of the number of steps I took when my FitBit syncs if I burned more than my base - which could have been from cleaning, or walking all over airports, or whatever. But that logs automatically. Great if it's there - I just aim to not have negative calories from my FitBit.

I have a friend who gave herself 500 calories yesterday for knitting / sewing. I laughed (to myself) when I saw that in my timeline.

I do because I have my calorie intake at sedentary so my calories burned are not being over estimated , Im a SAHM of two very active small children one who turns 3 aug 10th and the other will be 17 months the day before, so Im active but not highly active , when I clean it can be washing dishes, moving furniture, scrubbing floors, hauling a 15lb of laundry down 2 flights of stairs and picking them up normal stuff and walking with them in a double stroller up hill and walking wherever I can inside or out so most of my exercise isn't workouts and no strength training no go for me ,unless I m at a gym and since I don't have the means for that this will do for now.

I have lost 28 lbs with just calorie restriction and some light exercise and no gains , started Jan 1st 2013.

Best choice I have made for myself feels great too:)

I eat my calories back because at 1200 I need too.


I'm 4ft 10 petite medium frame its working and I'm good yep I go over sometimes because not everyday are the same amount of hungry you are not a robot.

My rule:
Day to day chores, such as dishes and laundry-no.

Day to day chores that pile up, such as a mountain of laundry that takes all day and needs to be hauled back and forth for hours-yes.

Day to day chores that are more laborious, such as hoeing the garden, hiking with the dogs, or working in the chicken pen- yes

Any time i have to move furniture or carry large objects back and forth- yes.

Any time i am holding a shovel, hoe, garden rake, machete, or axe-yes.

It's considered exercise for me because I never do it. LOL

I don't count anything other than 'intentional exercise' as activity. I've been cleaning my house for years, yet I'm still overweight, so now suddenly saying it's cardio work is a leap bigger than my short legs can take. Especially if you eat back your exercise calories. (I'm an adult of normal health who is generally active in life. If I'd been bound to a bed for the last year my answer would probably be different!)

This. Unless you have been an invalid confined to your bed, then no.