Housework as an activity

stevew_68
Posts: 126 Member
Someone told me how to work out the calories burned doing housework. I don't do any proper exercise so the housework takes it out of me physically.
Tonight I went mad with our new steam cleaner for about 1.5 hours. Was knackered after it.
Any advice is welcome. I know some people dont log housework, and some do. I think its one of those grey areas. How do I work out the cals burned on activity. Housework wasnt listed there.
Tonight I went mad with our new steam cleaner for about 1.5 hours. Was knackered after it.
Any advice is welcome. I know some people dont log housework, and some do. I think its one of those grey areas. How do I work out the cals burned on activity. Housework wasnt listed there.
0
Replies
-
I don't track housework0
-
No.0
-
It's under "cleaning."
Personally, I don't track my regular housework, like laundry and cleaning bathrooms and stuff because that's already included in my calorie goal, but if I've done something very strenuous that happens to be housework, I might log it. I've done it after an entire afternoon spent vigorously scrubbing floors. Also, I have friends with limited mobility and energy. They log cleaning simply because it is a physical victory for them some days.
Log it if you like. Just know that it probably doesn't burn as many calories as you think and adjust your calories accordingly.0 -
I don't track housework. However, I live in a small house and I don't have children, so it only takes me few minutes. If I had a big house and garden, children, pets, etc. I will keep track of the housework.0
-
It's not clear to me how the burn for any housework activity, however vigorous, was determined and by whom. My confidence in its approximation is about the same as closing my eyes and picking any exercises' calorie burn at random.0
-
I track the serious housework I do.
It's under cleaning. I think you can choose llight or vigorous.0 -
I only log housework (cleaning) when it's out of my routine. Things I do daily, like cooking (there is a food prep option) or whatever, I don't log.0
-
All work (including housework, yard work and child care) is part of your activity level—not exercise.
Work = activity level. Workouts = exercise.0 -
So does that mean I put it down as an activity?0
-
it depends - if you have put yourself down as sedentry then the housework may be enough to give you a few extra calories. However if you included that type of thing when you set your activity level then no.0
-
Personally I don't track housework as its part of my usual routine, the house still needed cleaning when I was bigger and nothings changed!
But saying you really felt you worked hard, of course feel free to log it, cleaning is there in the exercise section. Its a personal decision. If I logged it I would feel I could eat more, and believe me I don't NEED to eat any more than I do already lol
what settings are you set at on MFP? sedentary? lightly active? if its the latter then the housework would pretty much be included in that and you will have more allotted calories per day anyway. Hope this helps0 -
So does that mean I put it down as an activity?
The log is your personal reminder on what you consume and what you burn. Many people do not bother logging housework because the calorie burn isnt accurate and could vary wildly. I might log it if it was over and above what I normally do and my heart rate was raised considerably. Its your choice, but if you log exercise that overestimates what you burn and eat the calories back then you are really just tricking yourself into believing you are burning more than you are. If you find your weight loss stalls, then consider the logging of the housework as one area to check. You will get what benefit there is to it, whether you log it or not. Its up o you.0 -
I think what she means is that you probably originally calculated an activity level (e.g. sedentary, lightly active, whatever) and regular housework is assumed in that. But I'd think you could log 1.5 hours of going mad with the steam cleaner as exercise, because presumably you don't go mad with the steam cleaner every day.
In terms of logging housework, I do what I gather a lot of people do -- namely, I don't log regular everyday stuff that's just part of life (like cooking or putting away dishes or walking to the corner store for eggs), but if I do a sustained amount of out-of-the-ordinary work, like a day I spent shifting boxes and re-arranging the spare room, I'll log it under "cleaning" or something else that makes sense. (Scroll through the options. It's weirdly fun to see what's been "calculated.")
I logged some holiday cooking because I was darned well on my feet for hours on end, kneading and mixing and so on. Which is not at all my everyday cooking! But I didn't count every single minute because c'mon.
So it's a judgment call. But I'd say you could log it as exercise.
0 -
If you classified your activity as "sedentary," then your calorie goal was calculated without expecting any activity save being awake and minimal movement. You clearly should include housework in your log in that case.
If you classified your activity as "lightly active," then it's more of an iffy area. Some activity is factored into your TDEE because you're a bit more naturally busy. To be on the safe side, I probably wouldn't add housework or other non-fitness activities if you're in as "lightly active."0 -
Nope mine is sedentary0
-
I wouldnt stick doing the dishes or filling washing mashine and stuff like that. I was meaning 'out of the ordinary stuff' and stuff where I work unusually hard, maybes even break into a sweat doing it.
I had to put my lifestyle as sedentary as I have a chronic back issue that severly limits what I can and cannot do at present, so stuff that some people find normal, could potentailly be a huge deal for me. Thats the only reason I am asking. Thanks for everyones advice though. I know everyone will have different opinions on this, which I appreciate.0 -
I wouldnt stick doing the dishes or filling washing mashine and stuff like that. I was meaning 'out of the ordinary stuff' and stuff where I work unusually hard, maybes even break into a sweat doing it.
I had to put my lifestyle as sedentary as I have a chronic back issue that severly limits what I can and cannot do at present, so stuff that some people find normal, could potentailly be a huge deal for me. Thats the only reason I am asking. Thanks for everyones advice though. I know everyone will have different opinions on this, which I appreciate.
I do think then you should log your heavy duty cleaning...its nice to know you've earned those caloriessorry to hear you have back issues
hope that improves for you!
0 -
I don't bother tracking laundry, dishes or day-to-day cooking, but when I've spent a few hours doing heavy housework and lots of cooking, I track that, because it's not every day. Or even every week. I hate housework.0
-
You can log it or not. The problem that I see with it is the reason you want to log it is so you can feel justified in eating more (i.e. eat back the calories). If you are chronically miscalculating (and I don't see how anyone could not) and you eat back all those alleged calories, you are going to gain weight, not lose it. If you are not going to eat them back, why bother logging them and just have the satisfaction you are most likely in deficit (assuming you are logging your intake correctly).0
-
Well I can certainly say I am not going to log so that I can more calories to eat. Its just to record doing the activity as a record, as, like I say, for me, doing normal stuff that others take for granted, is tough. I try to log everything as accurately as I possibly can. I'm not trying to cheat at this, I'm just starting out and wondering what peoples thoughts are on the subject, and what they do or dont do. I always try to stay under my calorie goal, and not use the extra calories I might of earned doing stuff. Its literally just for the recording of stuff.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 389.6K Introduce Yourself
- 43K Getting Started
- 259.2K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.3K Food and Nutrition
- 47.2K Recipes
- 232.1K Fitness and Exercise
- 359 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.4K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.4K Motivation and Support
- 7.7K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 2.8K MyFitnessPal Information
- 22 News and Announcements
- 746 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions