Doing house work

I assume you managed to gain weight while still cleaning your house? In that case it's status quo, rather than exercise. "Sedentary" will include basic home keeping.

it depends... I wouldn't log something dumb like vacuuming, but i log cleaning the shower, and bathing the dog, because i usually sweat like a pig while doing them, and generally wind up with sore arms, legs, etc the next day... Pet groomers must be the fittest people on the planet.

I don't think anyone should ever log cleaning or other activities that the even with an activity level set at "sedentary' MFP would assume is part of your daily routine along with showering, cooking, etc.

My suggestion is to get a fitbit to track your walking and/or heart rate, and set MFP to sedentary. Having a blanket "I assume you cleaned the house before this" attitude is not necessarily the right thing. When I CLEAN the house its a heavy deep cleaning, we have 5 large dogs and for me CLEANING the house is not a simple dust and vacuum, with a light mop, its a considerable amount of work and I'm looking at 4-5 hours if I'm scrubbing grout. And it NOT a daily activity and its NOT a "basic" activity.

While I may not eat back house cleaning calories, I do find it motivating to see what I burned.

Unless I'm doing a major housecleaning effort that involves moving furniture, lots of walking, lifting and carrying for several hours in a day ... I don't count housecleaning as an exercise activity. If I burn a few more calories running a vacuum around the place, they're bonus calories.

I have done a major housecleaning effort once in the last year, and it involved unpacking after a move. So I was on my feet walking, lifting, carrying, moving for about 4 hours that evening. If I recall correctly, I counted it as 1 hour of housecleaning.

I clean my flat once a week so I guess I could class it as a workout as it's a deep clean.

So people don't think im a scruff and like to live in mess. I work 7 days a week + have 3 horses to look after so on my shortest working day I have time to clean.

successgal1 wrote: »

My suggestion is to get a fitbit to track your walking and/or heart rate, and set MFP to sedentary. Having a blanket "I assume you cleaned the house before this" attitude is not necessarily the right thing. When I CLEAN the house its a heavy deep cleaning, we have 5 large dogs and for me CLEANING the house is not a simple dust and vacuum, with a light mop, its a considerable amount of work and I'm looking at 4-5 hours if I'm scrubbing grout. And it NOT a daily activity and its NOT a "basic" activity.

While I may not eat back house cleaning calories, I do find it motivating to see what I burned.

I'm the same way. I log my cleaning only because on those days that I don't get a chance to do a real workout, that shows me that I am still moving my muscles. That keeps my motivation higher. I know my basic 60 minutes of cleaning daily isn't going to shed any pounds, but it reminds me that any movement is better than none. Most days I get a little bit of exercise in at least, but I also have 6 kids, 4 cats, and a dog to care for on my own. Some days my exercise routine consists of walking up and down the hall repeatedly.

anewstart1 wrote: »

How many calories do I burn cleaning the house?

Not enough information. Depends on your weight, what you are doing and how long. If you weigh 500 lbs you will burn more calories sweeping for 15 minutes than someone who weighs 120 lbs.
Cleaning your house should be accounted for in your activity level already though even if you chose sedentary so don't worry about figuring it out and logging it.