How do you count housework / yard work?

jcas211
jcas211 Posts: 5 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Having a debate with someone on what constitutes light versus heavy cleaning. When I vacuum I move the couch, chairs, throw rugs, etc. My friend says I am crazy to count that as light housecleaning. If I am washing windows (yeah - right - like I am climbing a ladder outside) I would count that as serious cleaning. Same for when I wash walls. Those are things I do not do on a weekly or daily basis. What do you count as light housework? I count sweeping, vacuuming, making beds, doing dishes and laundry and cleaning the bathroom as general, light cleaning. Washing windows, walls, water-blasting the siding and deck are major tasks. Mowing the yard is also rather light duty to me since we use a riding mower. I do not do the weed eating.

Replies

  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
    I don't. That pretty much plays into just general calories for me. The only time I would record anything is if my heart rate is up around 120 BPM for more that 15 minutes.

    My .02
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    I don't count cleaning or yard work, only real exercise!! Like walking/running, weight lifting, etc.!!
  • korrissa
    korrissa Posts: 1
    I would say depending on how fast you are moving and how heavy your furniture is it could be counted as heavy. I know I would count that as heavy because I have very heavy couches and I don't usually clean that way so I would be working hard! I count what I usually do (laundry vacuum and dishes) as light because I'm use to that and it's not very strenuous for me.
  • kikityme
    kikityme Posts: 472 Member
    Personally I don't count it unless I've worked up a serious sweat. Most of the time cleaning, I don't do that.

    Same as I don't count a day spent shopping, even if I am walking for 3 or 4 hours. :flowerforyou:
  • astrampe
    astrampe Posts: 2,169 Member
    I don't....It is not exercise, just part of daily living...If it does not push your heart rate up to at least 120 and keep it there for a while, it does not count....
  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
    Only if vigorous

    :laugh: :wink:
  • dmpizza
    dmpizza Posts: 3,321 Member
    Yard work yes.
  • shmerek
    shmerek Posts: 963 Member
    I wouldn't count it at all.
  • StraubreyR
    StraubreyR Posts: 631 Member
    I count mowing the lawn with the reel mower, and things like digging new garden beds. I wear my HRM for those. The rest I just figure is daily activity.
  • zeal26
    zeal26 Posts: 602 Member
    If I spent a few hours pushing a lawnmower I would probably count it. But other than that, I just file it under Living. It would never cross my mind to count cleaning the house, I feel like I'd only be cheating myself.
  • hnsr1021
    hnsr1021 Posts: 58 Member
    I clean a 2500-3000 sq ft house by myself in 3 hrs once a week. Including sweeping, mopping, cleaning tubs/showers, dusting, cleaning toilets, beating rugs, everything. I count one hour of my cleaning as light and log it. I have my activity level on Mfp set to sedentary so, when I work that hard for that long, I feel like I need a few extra calories for that day. So I can understand wanting to log cleaning especially if its more activity than your normal. Do I log cleaning my own house? No. Because that is my norm.
  • Spreyton22K
    Spreyton22K Posts: 323 Member
    I personally don't count housework as an exercise....but if what you do makes you feel pooped and that bit extra hungry then maybe it's the right thing for you, especially seeing that you are moving furniture etc.

    As for the mowing....I definitely couldn't justify for myself to log it as burning any appreciable calories because of using a ride-on....kinda seems like logging the act of driving a car as exercise.....just be aware that MFP us very generous in it's allocation of calories burnt.

    Cheers (and much respect to the dedication to your house....can I get you over to give my place the once over). :drinker:
  • amightymanofgod
    amightymanofgod Posts: 8 Member
    I count any extra activity , some light house work I don't log but as far as vacuuming and windows and sweeping it counts. Yardwork counts. Anything beyond the regular burn of calories counts even if its 5 minutes. Each person is different and what is counted as a burn for some does not mean it is a burn for another. For instance , a well fit person may burn 100 calories doing 10 minutes of yard work and a person not as fit may burn 50. So a burn is a burn and any extra activity counts for that individual is what I think.
  • iorahkwano
    iorahkwano Posts: 709 Member
    Only if I've worked up a sweat while doing it. That usually means mopping, weeding, pushing a lawn mower, trimming trees & shovelling snow.

    I wouldn't count dishes, laundry, making beds or sweeping as exercise even though some of those things do make me tired.
  • iorahkwano
    iorahkwano Posts: 709 Member
    Only if I've worked up a sweat while doing it. That usually means mopping, weeding, pushing a lawn mower, trimming trees & shovelling snow. Even then, I check the calorie count on MFP & estimate on the lower side.

    I wouldn't count dishes, laundry, making beds or sweeping as exercise even though some of those things do make me tired.
  • Just_Sha
    Just_Sha Posts: 61 Member
    I don't cloud cleaning unless it is one of those times I am on my hands and knees scrubbing or deep cleaning. I count yardwork because it does work up a sweat.
  • bethlaf
    bethlaf Posts: 954 Member
    if i sweep the floors or pull a few weeds, thats life , and is my basal rate,
    mow my lawn with a weedeater, (noise ordinances /and the time i have to do it , mines electric and quiet)
    it takes about 2 hours total, that whole time i am walking bending, etc, i count it as a half hour, because 2 things, i most likely would have been walking anyhow, and 2 the weedeater is only like 6lbs, so i dont think its nearly as vigorous burn as MFP gives us ...and if it is , so what. its only one day every 2 weeks

    for my sweeping we have tile floors, i move all the couches at least once a week, again , i count that as part of my basal rate, cuase , i would normally do it anyhow, if i felt really pooped after i might count half the time, but that would be about it ..

    vigorous, i think vigrous cleaning, i think , house keeping for money where youre really moving, or washing walls windows, packing a house to move... etc.. i mean sweating huffing puffing , thats vigorous...

    ETA - i also have watched my fit bit , i spent an hour in the kitchen this morning , making lunches , kids breakfasts coffee, etc , it counted 300 steps had i been exercising for that hour i would have had 2500-3000 steps, so nope , its not a "workout"
  • GreenIceFloes
    GreenIceFloes Posts: 1,491 Member
    I only count it when I'm doing serious cleaning, and cleaning the whole house - scrubbing the bathroom down on my hands and knees till it's shiny, scrubbing the floor and walls, cleaning the ceiling, ceiling fans and light fixtures, washing all cushion and sofa covers (taking them off and putting them back on), beating the dust out of all the mattresses, scrubbing the kitchen and everything in it, dusting off every object in the house etc. I live in a very dusty place in a very dusty country so it is hard work getting rid of all the grime that settles in such a short time. It takes me a couple of hours to do all this, and I count it as light cleaning, but it has me sweating and panting within a few minutes and I'm pretty much as exhausted afterwards as after a regular workout.
  • ew_david
    ew_david Posts: 3,473 Member
    I don't count it
  • Anonycatgirl
    Anonycatgirl Posts: 502 Member
    I don't count housework--that's figured into daily activities. I do count some yard work at this time of year because we have huge vegetable gardens and getting them prepped and planted is a lot of sweaty physical work. I'm still debating whether to raise my base calories a bit (like 75 calories/day) to account for the increased activity level of summer garden maintenance; once the gardens are in, the daily maintenance is less strenuous, but it's still activity I'm not getting the rest of the year..
  • Pamela_in_Progress
    Pamela_in_Progress Posts: 197 Member
    I never count housework because it's part of my day to day routine. I don't have a yard, so not sure about that one. I have done gardening in the past and know that it can be quite strenuous, especially if it's for a long duration.
  • MyRummyHens
    MyRummyHens Posts: 141 Member
    I don't count housework or gardening, and whilst I do minimal amounts of housework I do enormous amounts of gardening.

    I wear a pedometer and I set my activity level count in MFP according to how many steps I've done.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    Why not count everything. Even breathing...inhaling burns five calories an hour when exhaling burns three. Still trying to figure out how to log that.
  • yogicarl
    yogicarl Posts: 1,260 Member
    I don't....It is not exercise, just part of daily living...If it does not push your heart rate up to at least 120 and keep it there for a while, it does not count....

    sorry but - with respect - no. Your heart rate doesn't have to be significantly elevated to be burning a significant amount of calories.

    I can run regularly and not lose weight but as soon as the warm months come around and I'm pottering around the yard, gardening, potting on plants, doing a bit of digging etc, I lose weight at around 1lb per week and that's without the running.
  • rm33064
    rm33064 Posts: 270 Member
    People be hatin. It depends on how you have MFP set. If it's set to sedentary then yes you should be logging cleaning because mfp sets your goal right about your bmr. You should log all activity if it's set to sedentary. This is why fitbits are great. It takes all the guess work out of your day to day activities and gives you calories for how active you really are not how active you think you are. Get a fitbit, set your mfp to sedentary, and all you have to do is log any non step based exercises you do. That way you won't get yelled at by all the Massengills on here telling you to log your breathing...
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    That kind of stuff is just included in my activity level as part of my NEAT (Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) as I do some form or another of cleaning, cooking, yard work, etc on pretty much a daily basis. If I happen to have a big day in the yard or something I just chalk that up to bonus activity and/or maybe have an extra beer or two or something...at any rate, it all seems to come out in the wash. I lost steadily when I was losing and I've been maintaining for 12+ months now.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
    I do not count any cleaning. I only count things that I put on a sports bra to do. Our house is 3,300some sq feet and with dogs, I am constantly cleaning. I see that as part of daily life. I am not raising my heart rate that much for that long doing such tasks.

    Once a year I do put on a sports bra and turn my raised bed garden, remove soil, move mulch, dig, trim scrubs, etc. It's grueling, long, and exhausting between the lifting and carrying. I usually log it as about 200 calories burned as a conservative estimate.
  • yogicarl
    yogicarl Posts: 1,260 Member
    Why not count everything. Even breathing...inhaling burns five calories an hour when exhaling burns three. Still trying to figure out how to log that.

    You can set up your own exercises in MFP. Just key in the exercise description and a calorie burn per hour and then the time you spent doing the activity. Quite easy really.
  • elliej
    elliej Posts: 466 Member
    It's not a perfect rule but I pretty much don't count anything I did when I was fat - as clearly it wasn't helping me lose weight.

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