A scientific answer to the "does housework count?" debate

Options
2

Replies

  • explosivedonut
    explosivedonut Posts: 419 Member
    Options
    I don't count cleaning. I got fat and I cleaned just as much as I do now. I won't get skinny cleaning my apartment. I won't even count mowing the lawn (which I sometimes help my dad with), and that's a rare activity nowadays.

    If I got fat doing it, I won't count it.
  • thebigcb
    thebigcb Posts: 2,210 Member
    Options
    Housework my backside

    Did you do housework before you started your journey on MFP? Yeah you did? Did you loose weigh doing it? No.
  • k8blujay2
    k8blujay2 Posts: 4,941 Member
    Options
    I wanna know where the highhorse is that all these housecleaning calorie nitpicky have so I can get on one too.
  • k8blujay2
    k8blujay2 Posts: 4,941 Member
    Options
    Housework my backside

    Did you do housework before you started your journey on MFP? Yeah you did? Did you loose weigh doing it? No.

    I'm gonna bet that they also didn't count their calories and watch any part of their caloric intakes and expenditures either. Again, why the frak does it matter to you and others like you that think the same way?
  • Alliwan
    Alliwan Posts: 1,245 Member
    Options
    If you set your activity level to "Sedentary" because you're normally at an office job or something... and you suddenly start cleaning the house, then I say you log it.

    It depends on your level of fitness. You are definitely burning calories but if you're a firefighter or farmer who is used to carrying heavy equipment around all day, then pushing a vacuum is barely going to raise your heart rate.

    If you want to be scientific about it, get a heart rate monitor. If cleaning the house raises your heart rate to the same level as going for a walk, then it counts. (assuming that you consider walking an exercise.... and some marathoners/athletes probably do not).

    think that should be the point. If you break a sweat for an extended period of time, count it. If its a 4x a year deep cleaning then yes. if its dishes that you do everyday, then no, because your body is already used to that activity level. Some people dont count walking the dog, but i take my dog, or did before i got sick this week, for 2-3 mile walks every night, push it as fast as i can move and sweat a lot, so its my exercise. If i walked him for 10 mins then i wouldnt count it.

    it all depends on your fitness level and how much you sweat
  • ninjakitty419
    ninjakitty419 Posts: 349 Member
    Options

    Now I don't count weekly laundry folding and putting away. But I count dishes when every dish in the house is dirty, no I don't have a dishwasher.

    But that's just me.
    I don't use my dishwasher, but I can't imagine you're burning that many calories washing dishes unless you're drying them and putting them away so you're walking around the kitchen a lot.

    This...Some things that people count, I can see it. But washing dishes. No. I dont care how many there are. That is not a workout except maybe in some etreme cases (like if you have a hand/arm injury and it counts as physical therapy or something).
  • tonybalony01
    tonybalony01 Posts: 613 Member
    Options
    What if you clean like this?
    tumblr_metseyY6ev1rjxfbno1_r1_500.gif
  • mem50
    mem50 Posts: 1,384 Member
    Options
    What if you clean like this?
    tumblr_metseyY6ev1rjxfbno1_r1_500.gif

    I would pry fall and break my other arm!

    I only log in spring and fall cleanings. That's when Everything in the house gets done. Walls, curtains, furniture moving, steam cleaning carpets...etc...etc.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    Options
    If I got fat doing it, I won't count it.
    Housework my backside

    Did you do housework before you started your journey on MFP? Yeah you did? Did you loose weigh doing it? No.
    I gained 25 pounds running 5 miles a day.

    I guess I shouldn't count that, either.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    Options
    oh lord...not this one again ...
  • sunnybear39
    sunnybear39 Posts: 60 Member
    Options
    Housework? What is that thing you are talking about? I guess I would have to DO it in order to log it (say she who walks around the house blindfolded and sidesteps the dust bunnies ) :)
  • AprilMae1975
    AprilMae1975 Posts: 726
    Options
    My house is 2,000sqft of mostly tile. I have three teenagers and two use power wheelchairs. We live in the desert and believe me when I say the floors get DIRTY!!! When I sweep and mop the whole house it usually takes about an hour or more. I sweat and my heart rate does go up. I don't care what any "study" says, I am working out!!!! Now it might not be like a regular workout but when I'm done, i feel like I just spent an hour on the treadmill. I don't track normal day to day cleaning even if I do bathrooms, but I do track my floor days. I think some people rely on "house cleaning" as their workout, I don't.
  • FrnkLft
    FrnkLft Posts: 1,821 Member
    Options
    The biggest issue with counting housework is doing it accurately. What did you do exactly, how long did you do it?

    I don't know about anyone else, but I can't think of any regular cleaning/house work outside of making large repairs or heavy outdoor work that would make me feel spent or sweat, controlling for the temperature inside/outside.

    And if you do, straight up you're just out of shape!

    When I'm in the gym on the other hand, I'm consistently spent, sweating... I did work worth counting. Maybe that clears it up a bit?

    If you do it on a regular basis as part of work, it's much better to just use the daily activity modifiers in the calorie suggestion tool.

    Also, once you have a few months under your belt, you can go back and look at your weight loss v. weekly calories consumed, and just fiure out your TDEE from there. Much easier than dealing with the dialy minutia.

    Remeber, with weight loss and with weight training/exercise, the effects are cumulative, and most of the time the minutia doesn't matter at all in the long run.
  • k8blujay2
    k8blujay2 Posts: 4,941 Member
    Options
    So as long as a person sweats than that is the only time they are working out? What about people who just don't sweat. I know a woman who power walked a 5k in the middle of the summer with a high humidity... I was sweating fairly profusely, but they weren't sweating at all... guess they shouldn't be counting that as exercise either as they weren't sweating...

    I don't sweat when I'm at my home town because I'm in a semi-arid to arid environment...

    As long as people are moving rather than sitting on their butts all day, who cares and why does it matter what they log and how?

    I know people that log cooking and cleaning and have lost a considerable amount of weight... why? Because they are being diligent in watching what they eat and getting off their butts. While a bit simplistic, it works for them so why degrade their efforts because it doesn't live up to your (in general) ideal of how someone should lose weight.
  • JUDDDing
    JUDDDing Posts: 1,367 Member
    Options
    But we found that housework was inversely related to leanness

    My wife better not see this...
  • FrnkLft
    FrnkLft Posts: 1,821 Member
    Options
    So as long as a person sweats than that is the only time they are working out? What about people who just don't sweat. I know a woman who power walked a 5k in the middle of the summer with a high humidity... I was sweating fairly profusely, but they weren't sweating at all... guess they shouldn't be counting that as exercise either as they weren't sweating...

    I don't sweat when I'm at my home town because I'm in a semi-arid to arid environment...

    As long as people are moving rather than sitting on their butts all day, who cares and why does it matter what they log and how?

    I know people that log cooking and cleaning and have lost a considerable amount of weight... why? Because they are being diligent in watching what they eat and getting off their butts. While a bit simplistic, it works for them so why degrade their efforts because it doesn't live up to your (in general) ideal of how someone should lose weight.

    Seriously? Semi-arid to arid... omg... fine, then you should log sleeping and eating too. Like, calories burned moving your jaw and add typing as well. I stand by what I said.

    Also, why get on someone for counting cooking?? Seriously?! Because it's nonsense, and they are lucky that they are still eating at enough of a deficit to counter act their lack of bearing on what really matters when trying to loose weight.

    Counting cooking as calories burned is like counting lettuce when entering a salad.

    I know that there is way too much noise out there about how to effectively loose weight.. "tips and tricks" about how to do it better.. but the bottom line is simple. Create a deficit, and you'll loose. Counting miniscule things like cooking is just looking for shortcuts.

    Keep it simple and logical, geez.
  • Domane1963
    Domane1963 Posts: 85 Member
    Options
    Once again it all comes down to common sense, people! It all depends on the "housework" you are doing at the time..... if you are doing something strenuous enough to raise your heart rate to a significant level and produce a sweat (for those of us that DO!) then sure, you are going to burn off a few more calories than if you are flitting around with a feather duster! All standing and movement will burn off something over and above your BMR, but it's the effort that you put in that counts.... Like I said... common sense.....
  • k8blujay2
    k8blujay2 Posts: 4,941 Member
    Options
    So as long as a person sweats than that is the only time they are working out? What about people who just don't sweat. I know a woman who power walked a 5k in the middle of the summer with a high humidity... I was sweating fairly profusely, but they weren't sweating at all... guess they shouldn't be counting that as exercise either as they weren't sweating...

    I don't sweat when I'm at my home town because I'm in a semi-arid to arid environment...

    As long as people are moving rather than sitting on their butts all day, who cares and why does it matter what they log and how?

    I know people that log cooking and cleaning and have lost a considerable amount of weight... why? Because they are being diligent in watching what they eat and getting off their butts. While a bit simplistic, it works for them so why degrade their efforts because it doesn't live up to your (in general) ideal of how someone should lose weight.

    Seriously? Semi-arid to arid... omg... fine, then you should log sleeping and eating too. Like, calories burned moving your jaw and add typing as well. I stand by what I said.

    Also, why get on someone for counting cooking?? Seriously?! Because it's nonsense, and they are lucky that they are still eating at enough of a deficit to counter act their lack of bearing on what really matters when trying to loose weight.

    Counting cooking as calories burned is like counting lettuce when entering a salad.

    I know that there is way too much noise out there about how to effectively loose weight.. "tips and tricks" about how to do it better.. but the bottom line is simple. Create a deficit, and you'll loose. Counting miniscule things like cooking is just looking for shortcuts.

    Keep it simple and logical, geez.

    Sure why not... my point is why does it matter what someone else does? Particularly if it works for them? So what if they are creating "shortcuts" if it works for them? I don't personally count cooking, cleaning, and whatnot unless I am using my fitbit and it counts it for me... even if I am working my *kitten* off... but that's just me. But it doesn't bother me one iota that I have a friend that does (and has lost weight doing so) or another that counts her 10 minute walk to work (and again has lost weight doing so)... I don't see why the group of you "knowitall's whose way is obviously the correct way because you don't cease to say so" have to keep bringing this up even though it works for some people... just like IIFYM works for some people while Paleo works for others. Just give it a rest. Just because it's not how you think it should be done or how you would do it doesn't make it absolutely incorrect... again, people who are counting cleaning in their diaries now, even though they got fat while cleaning before, were most likely not paying any attention to their calories in and out.
  • FrauHaas2013
    FrauHaas2013 Posts: 615 Member
    Options
    umm, when I do housework its mopping, vacumming, folding laundry, dusting, flipping the matress and changing the bedding, dishes, prepping for dinner, windows, bathrooms, cleaning the cat area (litter box, food they throw everywhere) etc, I put on some music and dance around while getting it done like every two days. I sure work up a sweat so you bet I count it. I don't care what some study says. Now of course, if its only straighten up and do the dishes and run a vacuum for only like ten minutes which is what I do on the days I don't truly clean, then of course that isn't to be counted but if you have to put on your workout clothes to clean so the sweat don't run off you then yes: its exercise. Sorry I am a debater, had to reply to this. I get sick of people saying cleaning doesn't count.

    I completely agree!!! I do my housework every Sunday and it is definitely a workout!!! And it's non-stop for at least 3-4 hours...sweeping, mopping, carrying laundry loads, wiping down countertops, cabinets, scrubbing toilets and tubs, etc. Of course it counts!

    If you're just straightening up here and there or putting one load of dishes away, then probably not.
  • alimay66
    alimay66 Posts: 10 Member
    Options
    I log housework.
    I work as a house cleaner, and do 1 or 2 houses a day.
    It is a complete clean, entire house, upstairs and down. Beds, bathrooms, windows Hoover, mop , dust etc.
    No flitting ;)
    When I'm done I'm drenched and knackered. I have worn a heart rate monitor and it showed between 250 and 300 calories burned for 3 hours.
    I don't log housework etc I do at home, but always log my "work" housework. I only log it as 2 hours though not 3, as mfp shows 466 cals for 3 hours, and I don't think anyone can clean that madly ;)
    If you are loosing weight logging cleaning (which luckily i am) then it's obviously working, so keep it up :)

Categories