Logging Housework as Exercise??

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  • krazyforyou
    krazyforyou Posts: 1,428 Member
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    *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!
  • engineman312
    engineman312 Posts: 3,450 Member
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    Any thing that gets your heart rate up is consider as a forum of a work out.

    man, when i was in junior high, i was working out like, three or four times a day. sometimes, i'd even sneak in a work out in the morning.
  • 77tes
    77tes Posts: 7,945 Member
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    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.
  • meli_mel25
    meli_mel25 Posts: 17 Member
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    I only log housework in if it's one of those cleaning days when I spend more than an hour cleaning every room in the house.
    I think it's okay. I use myfitnesspal to count the calories I'm taking in and if I'm burning calories while cleaning then why not count it? I don't see it as an excuse to not work out though.
  • PixelTreason
    PixelTreason Posts: 226 Member
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    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.
  • krazyforyou
    krazyforyou Posts: 1,428 Member
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    This forum is about us helping each other out and being there as suport, however, there are some people out there who are simply going to be negative. You asked a simple and I think very good question and most of your answers were on target as to what they thought. Do not let anyone yank your chain or upset you, just let them make themselves look bad. I personally do list any unscheduled activity as exercise, even though housekeeping is activity. I have to actually plan out my cardio in order to make myself do it.
  • adjones_21
    adjones_21 Posts: 234 Member
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    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
  • BeckyAnneGreenGables
    BeckyAnneGreenGables Posts: 40
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    I'm with the majority of the responders here. I don't clean every day (I do pick up, clean bathrooms sinks, etc. on a daily basis.) If I do housework, and I'm breathing harder and I'm dripping sweat, I log the activity as cardio exercise.
  • hwjssc
    hwjssc Posts: 194 Member
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    I only log it If I am doing HEAVY cleaning..mopping, vac..etc....(which I do not do everyday)..lol
  • Debbe2
    Debbe2 Posts: 2,071 Member
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    Think it's fine and not my concern. I have a friend in particular who has lost about 175 lbs and he often lists hours of cleaning as his activity. He's obviously doing something and is successful at it! Today I have been boxing and moving heavy stock for a major booth in a few short days. This will definitely be showing up in my exercise log and there's no guilt about it... working hard over here.
  • KatSparkles1
    KatSparkles1 Posts: 6 Member
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    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 :)
  • erin0250
    erin0250 Posts: 2
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    holy crap, cleaning a teernager's room should count for like 18 hours of intense excercise.....and a bottle of wine:)
  • foxxm
    foxxm Posts: 19 Member
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    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:
  • MaximalLife
    MaximalLife Posts: 2,447 Member
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    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:angry:
    Anyway, what you end up doing, good luck to you.
  • anyonebutmehaha
    anyonebutmehaha Posts: 174
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    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:angry:
    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.
  • RedBullLiz
    RedBullLiz Posts: 469 Member
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    Best advice::

    If you break a sweat, log it in.

    If no sweat, no log.
  • countingitall
    countingitall Posts: 59 Member
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    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.
  • mandylooo
    mandylooo Posts: 456 Member
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    I logged housework when I was trying to lose weight. Just the weekly clean, but I will again if I need to lose more. And I logged the 3 miles walking I do to work and back 5 days a week. Worked for me as part of the calorie balance
  • HeatherR930
    HeatherR930 Posts: 214 Member
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    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! :)
  • sarchar77
    sarchar77 Posts: 5
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    I think that as long as it is not a regular activity you should log it. I do lite cleaning around the house everyday. I would not log that. But on days I am scrubbing walls and scrubbing floors I would log it.

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