Logging housework?

bbear
bbear Posts: 96 Member
edited September 19 in Fitness and Exercise
So I was browsing the exercise database looking for some new ideas and noticed that everyday activites like cleaning, cooking, and gardening are listed as exercises. Is everyone else out there logging this as true activity each day or is it just to make us feel a little better about those days that go by without a ton of cardio?

I could easily log a few hundred extra burned calories each day if I added all my housework, but is this cheating? Thanks in advance for the help.

Replies

  • blackmamba886
    blackmamba886 Posts: 177 Member
    The only thing I've logged is shoveling snow. Although I've thought aboug logging gardening but it hasn't been nice enough outside for me to do anything.
  • steph54
    steph54 Posts: 28
    I log 1/2 of that time, just to be on the safe side. But it is activity and you do burn calories doing it!
  • Euphonasia
    Euphonasia Posts: 136
    If it takes me over two hours to clean, I usually log it. I'm not just talking about picking up, but scrubbing, vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, dusting, ironing, etc. If it takes any less than that, I usually figure that I didn't burn enough calories.

    If cleaning hardcore is something that you do every day, then it should affect your activity level (say from sedentary to light). But if you're one of those spring-cleaning types (like me) and prefer to do the bulk of it in a day, I'd log it. But that's just me and there are a whole bunch of different opinions out there. I could be wrong.
  • Lil_Leah
    Lil_Leah Posts: 376 Member
    i wont log anything but physical activity that i mean to do as exercise. because i know if i logged everything i did that day, i'll eat more, thinking "hey i burned the cals, right?!" but i feel like its the lazy way to do it.:huh:

    just my personal opinion. :wink:
  • MrBinkerton
    MrBinkerton Posts: 109
    I don't really think its worth logging, but that is just my opinion. Of course things such as shoveling or something that really gets your heartrate up would count. :):):) Its a personal thing though, if you want to and it gets your heart pumping def go for it! :):):)
  • adopt4
    adopt4 Posts: 970 Member
    It depends, if it's part of your daily activity - then you don't log it. But I don't clean that often, so once a week I'm scrubbing and cleaning like mad, and that I would log. Same with gardening, if you are doing it every day, then your body is used to it and you're not burning as many calories as you would if you do it only once in a while, or a few times a week.

    Make sure your lifestyle is set appropriately, so that you're not set as sedentary and are always on your feet all day.
  • CaGinger
    CaGinger Posts: 180 Member
    I clean on Sundays, and when its a deep clean (all of the hardwood floors, kitchen, bathroom plus floors etc) I log it. You can tell when you are "working out" or just moving your body around in normal activity. If my face is red and I am puffing from doing the floors I log! If not.... No way. :flowerforyou:

    (I stay aware of my heart rate and breathing... I try to maintain vs starting and stopping an activity so I don't feel bad about logging.)

    On a side note... mowing the lawn I totally log! What a workout! Let me tell you having a goal besides just burning really helps. 2+ hours to mow the lawn and its tons of cals! Maybe we should give our S/Os the week off mowing once and awhile. My hunny loved it and I got a workout in my arms legs etc! :heart:
  • jaydeangel
    jaydeangel Posts: 31
    I log when I mow the grass. I have a very heavy pushmower and my yard is very hilly. I never thought about snow shoveling. I do log some of the heavy house cleaning like carrying boxes up to the attic from the basement or sometimes I do log Scrubbing the floors.
  • vickim26
    vickim26 Posts: 685 Member
    I dont log every day things like picking up, sweeping, folding clothes etc. but I do log when I do good cleaning, like bathroom, mopping etc which is not every day.
  • vickim26
    vickim26 Posts: 685 Member
    I also log when I mow the lawn and other yard work because this is a lot of calories that I do not do each day.
  • BrenNew
    BrenNew Posts: 3,420 Member
    I also log when I mow the lawn and other yard work because this is a lot of calories that I do not do each day.


    I'm with Vicki, I log when I mow, it DOES burn A LOT of calories! I also log my weekly cleaning, since it's NOT an every day thing. :smile:
  • hasiangirl
    hasiangirl Posts: 1,613
    I do log when i clean lol...i choose the light/moderate cleaning but i also only do half of what i actually do... like if i do an hour i only log 30mins
  • amymeenieminymo
    amymeenieminymo Posts: 2,394 Member
    I wouldn't log everyday cleaning....but a major cleaning, like when expecting company, or for example when I get my new house and the place needs to be cleaned from top to bottom, I will definitely log. Though I think what's in the database for housework is too high, so I usually do half. But now that I am an HRM, I can see what it really burns.
  • hasiangirl
    hasiangirl Posts: 1,613
    With 2 kids its like cleaning from top to bottom everyday :laugh: :laugh: ...my 3 yr old knows how to make a mess and my 8th month old is deff starting to make messes :sad: :sad:
  • chrissyh
    chrissyh Posts: 8,235 Member
    If its something I did normally (before I started exercising) I don't count it

    Now if it's like down and dirty sweatin spring cleaning - I count 1/2 too.
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