House work as exercise

I need more lemon pledge

*stands up... slow claps* thanks for reminding me how amazing family guy is.

I think you should log what you want how you want and don't worry about if other people approve. Weird, I know.

What she said

I sugar-soaped my kitchen door at the weekend and it was a great work-out for my bingo-wings!

I'm tired of this debate and don't really care what people log, but I really want to know what sugar-soaping is! Come to think of it, I also want to know what bingo-wings are? Is this Brit slang I haven't heard before?

It's not exercise. It's the basic rudimentary functions of the 21st century human being in a first world society.

:drinker:

:drinker:

I have read a few threads recently which criticiseMFP members for adding housework (cleaning) to their cardiovascular exercise. I find this quite bizarre as my understanding is that MFP works out the number of net calories you need to eat using the number of calories you would burn if you stayed in bed all day, your weight goal and the number of pounds you want to lose per week.

It depends on what you set as your activity level. If you put sedentary, it means you sit around and do (pretty much) nothing all day. Then yes, add in housework as exercise. If you put anything other than sedentary, then housework is already included in your calorie count and should not be added as exercise. That is what most people don't understand.

I put myself as sedentary but I only add in housework as exercise if I'm doing deep cleaning, spring cleaning, or any cleaning that is out of the ordinary for my usual day.

I don't report mine because I don't include things I did while I was getting myself into a fat condition (housework, cooking) as exercise. However, I don't begrudge those who do. I can see how it could be completely valid. Especially for those who were so sedentary that someone else was keeping house for them and they start doing it for themselves.

For me, though, I don't do it...

I call mine Grammie Bye-Bye's :laugh:

I totally agree with you, have seen some comments (nasty ones too) about critising housework efforts and walking kids to school.

Someone I know regulary walks 2 hrs a day and of course you need to claim that. Has to be better than catching the bus !
Window washing, scrubbing floors, mowing the lawn must all be counted.

Yeh I stopped logging my situps and dumbell exercises because MFP didn't allow any calories for the strength training. For a moment I thought I wasted money on my bench !

MFP don't class it as a cardio workout, well my heart races when I do 100 situps I can assure you.

Just log it under cardio.

Yeah, I do about 40 minutes of strength-training every day (well, almost every day; some days I just have no motivation going to the gym.) and I log it under cardio as "strength-training" then list what I did in the strength-training section so I have a record of it. You definitely burn calories lifting weights, I think about 8 calories per minute? Something like that.

<sarcasm>But for Zumba you put on special clothes and go to a class/watch a dvd/use a Wii so it's REAL exercise. You can wear any old thing to clean and you have to do it anyway, so that's obviously NOT exercise.</sarcasm>

My wife has a one piece PVC catsuit and high heels does that count as "special clothes"

:smokin: It does indeed! In fact, when she wears it, I'd say it counts as exercise for BOTH of you! :bigsmile:

I normally wear my elephant thong and cowboy boots

Please tell me you help her out and don't just sit and watch her do all that by herself? :happy:

I'm either helping her or in the garden or on the allotment, or doing the car, or any one of the hundred things that couples have to do to keep a house that is 112 years old working

Good to hear :happy: :bigsmile:

I sugar-soaped my kitchen door at the weekend and it was a great work-out for my bingo-wings!

I'm tired of this debate and don't really care what people log, but I really want to know what sugar-soaping is! Come to think of it, I also want to know what bingo-wings are? Is this Brit slang I haven't heard before?

I agree with you. I don't really care what other people log - that is their business and if it is working for them that's all that matters.

Oh, and "bingo wings" are the wobbly bits of loose muscle/skin on the backs of the upper arms. So called by us Brits because they flap about like wings when middle aged ladies wave their arms above their heads with their winnning card when they win at a game called bingo. Do you play bingo in the States - my husband says you might call it something else? Do your winners wave their cards above their heads when they win and flap their "bingo wings" too?

BUT WHAT IS SUGAR SOAPING! ARGH!

I sugar-soaped my kitchen door at the weekend and it was a great work-out for my bingo-wings!

I'm tired of this debate and don't really care what people log, but I really want to know what sugar-soaping is! Come to think of it, I also want to know what bingo-wings are? Is this Brit slang I haven't heard before?

I agree with you. I don't really care what other people log - that is their business and if it is working for them that's all that matters.

Oh, and "bingo wings" are the wobbly bits of loose muscle/skin on the backs of the upper arms. So called by us Brits because they flap about like wings when middle aged ladies wave their arms above their heads with their winnning card when they win at a game called bingo. Do you play bingo in the States - my husband says you might call it something else? Do your winners wave their cards above their heads when they win and flap their "bingo wings" too?

BUT WHAT IS SUGAR SOAPING! ARGH!

LMAO! :laugh:
Sugar Soap is a cleaning product that really cuts through grease and tars (i.e. nicotine stains). It's used on paintwork before re-painting to make sure the surface is totally grease free.
Do you not have it in the US then, along with Bingo Wings? :happy:

Or maybe you should MYOB.

Excuse me but who do you think you are to elevate yourself to a position where you can tell other members to "MYOB"?

A thread was started on an OPEN PUBLIC forum which encourages debate on a subject and encourages people with a range of different opinions to participate.

If you disagree with his opinion then argue your case, but don't go round telling people to mind their own business.

I am the person who is telling you to MYOB. That's who I am. What other people log as exercise is NOT your business, so you need to mind your business, not theirs.

***FACEPALM***

:laugh: another charm school drop out.

I sugar-soaped my kitchen door at the weekend and it was a great work-out for my bingo-wings!

I'm tired of this debate and don't really care what people log, but I really want to know what sugar-soaping is! Come to think of it, I also want to know what bingo-wings are? Is this Brit slang I haven't heard before?

I agree with you. I don't really care what other people log - that is their business and if it is working for them that's all that matters.

Oh, and "bingo wings" are the wobbly bits of loose muscle/skin on the backs of the upper arms. So called by us Brits because they flap about like wings when middle aged ladies wave their arms above their heads with their winnning card when they win at a game called bingo. Do you play bingo in the States - my husband says you might call it something else? Do your winners wave their cards above their heads when they win and flap their "bingo wings" too?

BUT WHAT IS SUGAR SOAPING! ARGH!

LMAO! :laugh:
Sugar Soap is a cleaning product that really cuts through grease and tars (i.e. nicotine stains). It's used on paintwork before re-painting to make sure the surface is totally grease free.
Do you not have it in the US then, along with Bingo Wings? :happy:

Thank you Jane and Annya for clearing up this mystery!!! *applause*

I do not think we have Sugar Soap here in the States, but I'm not exactly an expert on cleaning supplies so I could be mistaken.....as for bingo wings - yes, we have bingo here and yes, we therefore have our fair share of bingo wings too! LOL

The weird thing is I don't play Bingo and yet have a fair set of Wings........... :huh:

I totally log housework that isn't done on a daily basis for me. Yesterday I cleaned for 6 hours! How could I not log that? I didn't sit down once during my cleaning spree and I had to go up and down stairs several times. THAT is exercise! That burned more calories than had I gone to kickboxing for an hour.

Okay see but an average person rarely needs to clean for six hours, unless you are a maid in Daddy Warbuck's manor or you are cleaning up after an epic Charlie Sheen sex and coke party. Nobody is saying it cannot be a decent amount of activity however GENERALLY it is something people do every day. Based on that, its more accurate/sensible to adjust your activity level depending on that.

Do you clean your home top to bottom every day? Really?

Nope, I don't really have to. Generally unless I really slack, I rarely have to take a day of doing cleaning more than an hour. As I stated earlier though I live alone, and I have just a decently sized 2 bedroom apartment.

When I shower in the morning, shave etc, I wipe down the sink and counters with a towel or the shirt I slept in if I wore one. I'll wipe it down with disinfectant once a week at least but this at least keeps it tidy and free of water spots/crud. Shower gets sprayed with a rinse-free cleaner after every use.

I spent the money for a badass Dyson vaccum which I run twice a week, takes maybe 15 minutes tops.

Kitchen counters get wiped down if anything splatters, and I cook almost daily.

I use parchment paper over anything I heat in the microwave, rarely have to clean it.

Couches/office get dusted as needed and wiped down with polish. Doesn't take more than 5 minutes.

Toilets? Wiped down quickly after almost every use.

Non carpet floors get a quick wet mop once a week, takes 5 minutes there too.

Cieling fan blades take all of two minutes to hop ontop of my bed or stand on a chair and wipe down with a moist cloth.

Base boards are even wiped down.

Maybe on the very odd ocassion if I am utterly swamped with work I end up having to take a couple hours and give my apartment a once over, but since I'm not a messy person I rarely have to worry about it.

Only things I am lazy about are laundry and dishes, and the latter is just a matter of loading up the dishwasher once or twice a week and hand washing any cookware I use. I promise my heartrate doesn't budge.

My activity level? Sedentary, I still work and spend most of the day at my desk or on the couch. I like the feeling of my own *kitten* beneath me. I'm hispanic so I have booty.

Do I log cleaning? Nope.

U go girl.....
it is not right to criticise ..we all have to start somewhere !!
best thing is to just make a start..
housework is exercise to those of us that do it !!!!
depends on your start weight and age,too
....first day and I already have an opinion lol