Logging Housework as Exercise??

*sigh* who cares what OTHERS are doing....

i was meerly asking a question as i wondered if i should log as had seen others logging it when it came up on my feed.... it doesnt bother me what other people do or why.

i WANT to lose weight but i know that if im not eating enough i wont...so if i think ive eaten the 1200 cals that im meant to have for that day but have actually burnt of 2100 my body could go in starvation mode couldnt it.... just going by what ive read on here!

I thought this forum was about helping each other!

Exercise is exercise! I log extra calories burned when I do extra housework. My setting for "lightly active" doesn't include house work because I do not do it regularly. Exercise can actually accomplish something. I love my workouts, but I should clean my house better than I do. The other day my husband came in after washing and waxing cars for two hours as I was about to leave for my boot camp class. He jokingly asked if I would burn more calories than he had just done, so I figured it out, and yes he had burned more calories than I. I guess that explains why he is fit and slim and NEVER exercises.

I only log things that are outside my "normal" activity. I clean every day / once a week so I will only log it if I am doing something extra vigorous like idk, scrubbing down all the walls or something weird.

I will log "shopping" as I so rarely do it and my activity level is set on "sedentary" because of my desk job - so walking around for 4 hours couts as exercise to me since it's outside the norm.


I would say do what you like. If it's some seriously physical cleaning you are doing and it's outside the norm for you, log it if you want.

A definition of exercise is: regular or repeated use of a faculty or bodily organ. So if you are cleaning house and are constantly moving and have your heart rate elevated...why not log it. I wear my MFP when I clean house and it shows that my heart rate is elevated. Folding clothes..your arms are in constant use. Sweeping and mopping floors...you use your entire body. Cleaning a child's room you are constantly bending over and picking up things. As long as you are up and moving and your heart rate is elevated why not consider it a light exercise?


Check this out: http://www.drdaveanddee.com/housework.html

I only log it If I am doing HEAVY cleaning..mopping, vac..etc....(which I do not do everyday)..lol

I personally think you should use your own discretion on this one. It's really about how you feel afterward, whether you feel that you've exercised or not. That's just my personal opinion though

I don't personally log cleaning house in my exercise diary. However, that is probably because I do not have children. Between my husband and I the apartment stays clean. That being said, Self has a fitness calculator on their website and it does include cleaning house. This is my view - if you are active, you are burning calories. Why not track them? Don't let exercise snobs tell you what to put in your exercise diary.

Here is the link in case you are interested in seeing how many calories you are burning cleaning house:

http://www.self.com/calculatorsprograms/calculators/caloriesburned/cleaning_house

The whole point of MFP is to become more aware of what you are eating and what you are burning so that you can get to where you are going on your personal journey.

Good luck to you. :bigsmile:

lol i love these threads!!!! i posted one like year ago! and i got ripped apart about 10% agreeed that its not excersise n 90% ripped me apart, now its about 60% agree and 40% still want to log it and argue it

we are making progress people!!! :P

Sadly, some will do just about anything to avoid real exercise.
I should log in my next trip to the bathroom.

I want credit for all that effort
Anyway, what you end up doing, good luck to you.

wow some of you guys really need to check your attitude there. seriously you do not know the level of fitness of everyone here and your condescending posts are not only unhelpful, they sure seem to have a chauvinistic undercurrent. guess you've never had to clean a house for hours non-stop until you're dripping sweat or maybe you would reconsider if anyone has the right to log housework as exercise here w/o being judged.

personally when i joined MFP my activity level actually WAS my BRM after being in hospital/bed/wheelchair. for 2.5 years. walking to the bathroom was a major undertaking. when 3 months later i do housework like i was doing today, non-stop for 3 hours and sweating, and just sat down to bring pain levels back down and this is the first thread i saw, i sure don't think i should have to second guess if i'm going to be snickered at by someone that played a few rounds of tennis when i log it.

the holier than thou posting that seems to be a constant thing by some (often the same group of ppl from what i've noticed) around here really needs to stop. please. you do not know whom you might be hurting. remember you are not better than the next person simply because you have reached your weight loss/fitness goals. really imho that matters very little~ if at all ~ when adding up the sum of positives one has contributed during our time here (here being on this planet not on MFP). like if the repeat posts by newbies or rehashed subjects bother some so much that you find yourself unable to contribute nicely then maybe it is time to move on- there is a whole www out there to explore. in this era of non FTF communication it is still important to be thoughtful of others. everyone was once the newbie at some point.
thank you.

As you see there are alot of opnions and here is mine. I have physical limitations and have my settings as seditary ( or whatever that is) I clean 3 times a week. Breaking my ruotine in to diffrerent areas. When I clean I am usually moving beds, sofas, tables... and to me yes that is moving and hard work so I say yes, even when I am doing some cleaning of bathrooms and stuff. I am on my hands and knees reaching and streaching.

I agree with those who said cleaning is not exercise. Sure, it burns a little more than doing nothing, but to me, exercise is when your heart rate is really up. If my heart rate is not in my calorie burning zone (like 130-160), which it is not when I'm cleaning, then I wouldn't log it! I try to be as active as possible & move around, but I only log purposeful exercise where my heart rate is up there. The only house activity I have logged is mowing the grass, because our backyard is a giant hill, it takes me an hour, & I get out of breath!

Hi all! This is my first post so please go easy on me :-)

I have two children (age 4 and 2) and I recently gave up work to become a SAHM. I am finding that instead of having a quick clean around every evening now I am pretty much on my feet from the minute the kids get up until I go to bed. I spend about 6 - 8 hours a day doing some kind of housework and I would say for about 1-2 hours a day I am working hard and definately feel my heart rate rising.

I've debated with myself over whether to log housework or not but I feel out of the 6-8 hours a day I'm on my feet it must be worth something! I've started logging 60 mins of light housework per day now. If I take it easier one day I don't log anything.

I've also wondered whether I should just change my activity level from Lightly Active to Active and just not log any of it?

I clean houses for a living, i work 4 hrs a day cleaning with no break, vacuuming, moving furniture, mopping, dusting ,scrubbing, toilets, tubs, walk in showers, kitchens, up & down, most house's are like vacuuming and mopping a basketball court, these are by no means small., they are houses of the rich and famous, lol. I can tell you when i get home i am pooped out, and i take a nap, with a heat pad on my back,so if you think cleaning your home light to moderate, for a continuous amount of time is a work out, i have to say yes, LOG IT! Ladies, you underestimate just how hard cleaning your house is. If it were easy and people loved it, i would be out of a job.

BTW Cogratulations on your weight loss, keep up the good (house) work!

Wow I thought this site was for support. When I clean house I have music and I dance around while I clean close to a Zumba class so I just add it as cleaning because I am dancing and cleaning.

I don't record any cleaning that I do.

Fri 01/06/12 07:05 AM

Also...

Oh. This again.

Why do you care what other people log? If it works for them leave em alone!