Do you count housework as tidying?

alanamullen
alanamullen Posts: 25
edited October 3 in Fitness and Exercise
As a mother to two small children, most of my time is spent tidying up but would this count as exercise? It definitely gets my heart rate up for one!

Replies

  • DannyMussels
    DannyMussels Posts: 1,842 Member
    I've seen many girls on here input it as housework, so I'd say ya.
  • alanamullen
    alanamullen Posts: 25
    Arg meant to say exercising, glad you got what I meant. Haha.
  • elimay59
    elimay59 Posts: 471
    I count housework I found a site that counted calorie according to weigh so the one on here I added and I weighed 215 I clean for my job I only count 1 hr no matter how many hrs i clean.
  • MissFit0101
    MissFit0101 Posts: 2,382
    I don't count it but to each their own... I would not replace cardio workouts with housework though.
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
    It depends on where you set your normal daily activity. If you're set at sedentary but actually spend a lot of time on your feet you'll need to log all your activity, including cleaning. However, if you set your activity level at lightly active you shouldn't log your cleaning.

    I'm a stay at home mom and I set my activity level at lightly sedentary so that I get the extra calories I need but I don't have to log every little thing.
  • cloneme_losehalf
    cloneme_losehalf Posts: 356 Member
    I do not count anything that is my normal everyday routine. That is accounted for already in my activity level. I change my activity level as needed. Like last week I hurt my ankle and knew I would be moving less than normal so I changed it to the lowest setting.
  • limismith
    limismith Posts: 156 Member
    When you join MFP it asks about your daily activity level, so I only count things that are above and beyond normal. Example: I do dishes and cook dinner every day, so that does not count. But when I blitz the house, moving couches to vacumn and scrubbing behind toilets and rearranging cupboards, I throw a little exercise on my log.

    At the end of the day, you are responsible for your own change. Just be honest with yourself... remember, it might feel good to see "60 minute of cardio uncluding cleaning-moderate" on your stats, but if you are stretching the truth you will see the results, or lack there of, later...

    Its all about personal goals, and personal accountability. I would check out what you put for your activity level when you joined and see if it's accurate for what your daily life. :)
  • cheri868
    cheri868 Posts: 77
    I don't count it either, but to each his own
  • toniRAD
    toniRAD Posts: 196 Member
    I don't except when I do some heavy duty cleaning. But you can! .
  • bms34b
    bms34b Posts: 401 Member
    It depends. I'd say if your intake is low, around 1200, count some of your housework, especially if you're feeling like it's tiring you out. But if you have an intake closer to 1400, I'd say just don't log it. Go by how you feel and if you really think you need those extra calories for energy.
  • Athena413
    Athena413 Posts: 1,709 Member
    I personally don't count it because it falls within my normal realm of daily activities. If I go all bat-**** crazy and mop and scrub the bathtub and all that then I might log it, but if it's just dishes and laundry and the normal cleaning up, I don't think it counts.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    I don't count normal housework, but if I'm doing MAJOR cleaning, like if someone who's allergic to animals visits us, our dog and seven cats, and I have to move furniture and stuff to get all the little furry tumbleweeds... I'll count that.
  • CMmrsfloyd
    CMmrsfloyd Posts: 2,380 Member
    I have my activity level set at 'sedentary' so I do count cleaning. I actually wear my hrm vacuuming so I have a fairly accurate number to put in. If I had my activity level set higher, I probably wouldn't count it.
  • alanamullen
    alanamullen Posts: 25
    Thanks for all the responses, gonna stick with not logging it unless its a cleaning spree. I put my level at lightly active so it wouldn't be fair on myself to count it.
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