Housework as an activity

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.

I track the serious housework I do.
It's under cleaning. I think you can choose llight or vigorous.

All work (including housework, yard work and child care) is part of your activity level—not exercise.

Work = activity level. Workouts = exercise.

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.

stevew_68 wrote: »

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.

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."

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.

I don't log anything that doesn't get my heart rate up to 70-95% max. I use my activity log to track cardio (walk/runs with the dogs, dance, elliptical, treadmill) and strength (powerlifting).

My line is- did I put on a sportsbra to do it? Did I get my heart rate up? If yes to both, I count the exercise.

LoneWolfRunner wrote: »

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 not going to eat them back, why bother logging them

I agree that the crux of the question is "why do you want to log it"? But I don't see any reason to assume it's just to eat calories back. It seems to me that one reason to have lots of different activities available for logging is that it gets you thinking about how to be more active.

Not many people are really going to go to the gym every day. Not everyone likes to run. But what ELSE can be done to be more physically active? Like walking instead of driving. Or, I dunno, whatever fits your life ... spending the whole day on yard work ... painting the kitchen ... going out dancing ... anything that bumps up your ordinary activity level.

And whether or not it gets your heartbeat up or you're sweating doesn't need to be the point. Of course that'd be a good benchmark if you're focusing on heart health. But strength training, for instance, wouldn't have you exhausted afterwards. (Or shouldn't, I assume!) And plain old calorie loss can be a long leisurely stroll (and then not eating it back LOL).

So, yeah, if the point of logging something is to apply it to a Snickers bar, then of course that's fooling yourself and it'll have the expected non-results. And I'm skeptical of the number of calories listed for some non-gym activities (and for a lot of gym activities, actually.) But I definitely don't see that as the only reason to log activities that wouldn't take place in a gym or with workout clothes on!

It becomes more important when you are trying to maintain. If you keep loosing faster than your goal, or if you dip below the goal, then you may want to adjust.
As a farmer, I disagree with the person who stated that the only real workout you can get only happens with a gym membership. Come and carry bales of hay into my barn with me anytime. No charge.

KatieHall77 wrote: »

It becomes more important when you are trying to maintain. If you keep loosing faster than your goal, or if you dip below the goal, then you may want to adjust.
As a farmer, I disagree with the person who stated that the only real workout you can get only happens with a gym membership. Come and carry bales of hay into my barn with me anytime. No charge.

LOL, hear hear! I think of a lot of what I do at the gym as an effort to duplicate, at least to a small degree, what my rural family members (like most humans throughout history) achieve naturally every day One of my goals is to have upper arms that are as wonderfully toned as my sister-in-law. Her "exercise equipment" includes cows, hay, etc!