Weight Loss

15 Amazing Ways To Lose Weight While Doing Household Chores

13. Vacuuming Vacuuming your home is one of the jobs that most people try to avoid as much as possible. It’s not everyone who enjoys moving… Simi - January 23, 2018

It is always difficult to implement weight loss program if you don’t have clear goals. The very first thing you need to do is to define your goal in very clear terms. You should be aware of what exactly you want to achieve. There are some people who go for a fitness assessment in order for them to have realistic goals. This helps them to have goals that they can set their sights on.

It is possible to administer your very own fitness assessment from the comfort of your home. This involves getting on a scale and take note of your weight. Then strap a tape measure around your gut, right at your belly button. Take note of the circumference reading. After that drop the tape to your hips around the hip bones and right around your derriere. Take note of that measurement as well.

You are then required to divide the circumference of your waist by that of your hips. This should give you a figure that represents your waist-to-hip ratio. This number normally should not exceed 0.8 for women and 0.9 for men. It is ideal for women to aspire to maintain a waist circumference below 35 inches and men below 40 inches.

There are several ways that you can do to get the right weight that you want. Most people go to the gym while others do their own outdoor exercises. However, there are some activities that you can do at your home to lose weight. At the end of the day, it is important to note that every exercise will help you lose weight. Here are the 15 chores that aid weight loss.

1. Sweeping and Mopping the Floor

Sweeping and mopping the floor is a necessity that has to be done in every home. The house requires being clean and tidy to prevent the parasites from occupying it. This doesn’t matter how much neat the house is, if the floor is not clean, it lacks something. However, sweeping and mopping is a tiresome job. It will take a lot of energy to make it clean. This is important as it will strengthen your arms and legs as well. The work involves burning some calories.

If you cannot go to the gym due to various reasons, then sweeping and mopping is a better alternative. The muscles in your arms and legs will get stronger. Furthermore, your waistline will benefit from the work as it involves different body movements. Bending and stretching are involved when you sweep and mop. The activity turns into a significant aerobic workout. You will notice that the activities will form a circuit that helps the whole body.

Sweeping and mopping for one hour can do wonders for your body. It only requires to move the sweep across the floor and then mop it. Mopping should consider also moving it across the floor and wringing it out in a bucket. This will enable you to shed off the extra kilos that you want to get rid of. Importantly, the floor will be sparkling clean and neat. There will be no place for harmful microorganisms such as bacteria to stay on.

This activity should be included as part of your routine exercise. You will end up toning your legs, shoulders, and arms. It is important to also stand with your legs slightly wider and hold the broom or mop at chest level. Move the broom or mop across the floor in a fast and precise way. The faster you move them the more calories you are going to burn. Alternatively, squat down and push the broom and mop straight up overhead. Then lower the broom and return to standing.

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2. Tidying and Cleaning the House

Tidying and maintaining your house is an exercise that involves removing some calories from your body. It needs a few hours to tidy your home by making the beds and taking care of the cabinets. In addition, you may have to clean all the areas which are dirty. This requires bending and straightening as you pick up items on the floor and put them back in their places. All these activities will strengthen your muscles and get you into shape.

If you want to tone your upper and lower arm muscles, consider dusting your house. It will only take you about 10 minutes of daily work to get into shape. If you can clean your windows and doors once a week, it can help your muscles. Ensure that you use both your left and right hands when cleaning them. Don’t hesitate to reach up as high as you are able when cleaning. This will help your abs, glutes, and lower back muscles.

It is ideal to run a finger over the glass to determine how much dirt has collected on it. This will help you to come up with a plan on how many times to clean them. Reaching high areas of the windows and doors stretches your body. Squatting when evaluating the areas you may have missed while cleaning is also good. It helps your hips, thighs, and calves. Actually, when scrubbing away the dirt will give your arms some tone and strength.

The tops of cabinets are one of the areas mostly ignored by many people. As a result, dirt always accumulates in such areas. This should present you with an opportunity to tone your quads and glutes. Take a chair and put it in front of a dirty item. You can with one movement step up on the chair and reach your opposite arm up high. Ensure that your glute is contracted and lift your back leg. Hold it while you dust the cabinet.

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3. Doing the Laundry

Most people don’t want to do laundry but this activity can burn some serious amount of calories from your body. Washing clothes, drying them up, folding, lifting, and ironing them can be exhausting work. It is even worse when you are not motivated. However, if you have weight problems, this should be motivating enough as you can lose some kilos while working. Consider doing hand washing instead of using the washing machine. This can be more effective for your body.

If you can do hand washing every week, then expect to shed some calories. This can be done by filling a bathtub with water, laundry detergent, and dirty clothes. Rub the clothes against each other for at least 20 minutes. After that, rinse the clothes with fresh water and squeeze out the excess water. The clothes can be hung out in the sun to dry. All these activities will involve working with your arms, hands, and legs.

When the clothes have dried in the sun, you can iron them. Ensure that you stand up straight when ironing and press down the iron hard. The muscles of your upper body and arms will be toned. There is no better way of having a simple workout than performing these activities. The weekend is the best time to do this. This is the only time that you can finish all these activities in a day. It is important to finish the tasks once they are started.

If you feel that you cannot do without the washing machine, then use it. You can put your dirty clothes into the washing machine, fold, lift, and iron them. Putting the clothes into the washing machine and dryer is an exercise on its own. Then take them out and dry them. This should be followed by ironing and folding. This is a great workout that will ensure that your body muscles are well-toned.

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4. Gardening

Most people prefer to use gardening services for their gardens because the work is too involving. A nice-looking garden with beautiful flowers, fruits, and vegetables can be attractive to most individuals. However, using the services of companies to take care of your garden is not ideal if you have weight problems. Your garden can be used as a fitness area. It can help you to reduce the extra kilos that you may be struggling to take off.

Light gardening and yard work go a long way in removing some of the calories from your body. A study done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that gardening work is ideal. They discovered that you can burn up to 330 calories in one hour of doing light gardening and yard work. This means that this work is even better than most of the exercises that you can do. Even better, you will eventually, have a healthy weight and a nice garden.

There are various things that you can do in your garden. For instance, you can dig in the soil, mix compost, and water the plants. While performing these activities, you will be using both your upper and lower body. There will be frequent standing and be squatting which can be tiresome to most individuals. However, this is good because it indicates that you are burning calories. Keep drinking some water to keep your body hydrated.

The gardening and yard work helps tone the muscles of your calves as well. A recent study in the Netherlands suggests that gardening can fight stress even better than other relaxing leisure activities. Furthermore, the muscles in your thighs, arms, and shoulders will be toned. Importantly, the work will raise your heart rate and strengthen your cardiovascular muscles. A study published in the America Journal of Public Health in 2013 had results on the gardening work. They found that the community gardeners had less low body mass than those who were not in the community gardening program.

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5. Rake Your Yard

The fallen leaves and other dirt can make the garden look unappealing. It is for this reason that most individuals prefer to use the leaf blower to remove the leaves. In most cases, people hire gardening services companies to take care of this problem. If you are struggling with a weight problem then you are losing a golden chance of managing your health issues. Raking your yard burns calories while enjoying outdoor nature.

Raking leaves may look like not ideal work for you. But, having 30 minutes of raking can assist you to burn more than 200 calories. To make sure that it is part of your exercise, do it rigorously and continuously at each stage. This will help you sweat and breathe a bit heavier. Once you achieve this status, you are assured that you are removing the unwanted extra kilos from your body. It works as well as going to the gym.

When raking ensure that you should have your back straight. This will prevent you from getting lower back strains. This work involves using most of your body muscles. Therefore, all the major muscles in your body will be well-toned. Actually, if you have a good big yard, it will be a bonus to achieve your weight loss targets. But, if the yard is smaller, then you can go around and repeat the raking even if there aren’t enough leaves.

You can also mow the garden with a push lawn mower. The activity is as tiresome as the raking itself. Consider raking once every weekend as this will provide you with enough time to finish the job. This work can be dehydrating as you will be sweating as you do your tasks. It is advisable to have a bottle of cold water nearby so that you can be drinking it.

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6. Car Washing

For most people, a car is more than just a machine that takes you from one place to another. For many, it is like a second home. Therefore, its exterior and interior, just like your home should conform to your personal taste and standards. There are many people who take their cars to car washing services. However, if you have weight problems you may be missing a good chance to use it to your advantage. You can lose weight by washing your car.

It has been determined that a standard and manual car wash can burn close to 150 calories. This is for every 30 minutes of car washing that you do. If you are living with your partner who has another car, it means that washing both cars will burn 300 calories in just one hour. This activity is as good as having some intensive exercises in the gym. If you are struggling with weight problems, consider washing your car every weekend.

There are several activities that are involved when washing your car. Some of them include rinsing the car with water, rubbing its surface to remove dirt, and scrubbing with a sponge. Furthermore, you will be required to rinse it away from the soap and dirt. All these activities are very involving and will take a lot of your time and energy. When using the water, ensure that you use a bucket rather than a hosepipe to get water.

The work needs to be done by using your arms, legs, and abdominal muscles. There are several body movements. For instance, there are sweeping movements, lunges, and squats that will be involved. All these form part of the work and are exercises on their own. The muscles in your legs and arms will be toned. In addition, you can wax your car to burn even more calories.

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7. Chopping Firewood

There are some people who have lots of trees growing in their yards. There are some dead trees which are dry enough to be burned in the fireplace. The firewood comes in handy during winter period when you need it for your fireplace. Unfortunately, most people buy the already prepared firewood. Chopping the wood that is in your yard will help you remove some calories. If you are up to it, then start chopping it yourself rather than buying it.

There is even no need to hire someone to do it for you. This will only prevent you from losing some weight if you had to do it yourself. It has been determined that chopping the wood can burn 300 calories in every 30 minutes. This can be strenuous work and should be done continuously for 30 minutes it is better for you. It is effective when it’s done non-stop because that’s when the body reaches its peak rhythm while working.

When chopping the wood, you will involve the whole body. It involves arranging the wood, picking, pulling and splitting it. This means that you will tone the muscles of your back, shoulders, arms, and legs. Importantly, chopping and splitting help to improve your cardiovascular endurance and your general body strength. While you are targeting removing the extra fats, you will also benefit from having a healthy body.

Chopping wood can be dangerous if it’s not done properly. Therefore, ensure that all the safety precautions are in place. You will need to have a good ax that is well-sharpened. It is important to have a good grip on it so that it can not slip away from your hands while working. It is also ideal to wear protective gear such as safety glasses, gloves, and heavy boots.

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8. Shoveling Snow

There is no doubt that shoveling is hard work and can be a challenge to most people. This presents a good opportunity to lose some calories when you spend most of your time indoors. Shoveling snow is one of the best workouts that can be done in your home. However, this work should not be done by those who have health problems. Health issues such as back problems and allergy to cold weather should be considered.

The cold weather during winter means that you spend most of your time indoors. This is not good for your health because you will be accumulating lots of calories. If you cannot go to the gym for a workout, then consider snow shoveling as a workout. The activity works in the same way as any physical activity that you usually do. The general health benefits that you get from working in cold weather cannot be ignored.

By shoveling snow, you can burn between 300 to 500 calories for every hour that you work. This is as good as doing any intense exercise. The good part of this is that you will continue to maintain your fitness throughout the year despite the weather conditions. Furthermore, it can help your heart to be strong and assist aerobic fitness. Shoveling involves several muscles and this means that you will improve your muscle endurance.

It is significant to use your legs to assist you to lift the snow. This means that the leg muscles will be toned. Keep your abdominal muscles tight so that your lower back is protected. Always wear the proper clothes such as a hat and gloves to protect the exposed parts from the harsh weather. To make it fun, you can do the snow shoveling with some friends. This will help you have fun and get motivated while working together.

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9. Paint a Room

There is a lot of fun and fulfillment when painting your own room. If you are creative and do-it-yourself kind of a person when it comes to fixing your home, consider doing the painting. You can burn a lot of calories by painting. It was found that painting a room for an hour can get rid of 306 calories. This is the same as laying a carpet or putting furniture in your home. What makes painting your room even better is the fulfillment which comes with it.

Painting involves a lot of body movements. It can be intensive and tiresome. It will require you to move around a lot as you paint your house. You should be ready to keep on standing, reaching, climbing, squatting, and sitting. You will have to bend over and carry around heavy buckets of paint. Actually, your whole body will be involved in all these movements. This means that almost the whole body will get toned.

When painting indoors, you will need to move some furniture away from the walls. This will create enough space for you to effective paint the walls. The brushes and rollers will be used in painting. All these activities mean that your body will benefit from and involves the muscles working. It’s a good idea to paint during the weekend as you will have enough time to complete it.

Painting for one hour is a good enough workout. It will tone the muscles in your arms, tighten your abs, and strengthen your core muscles. If your entire house needs painting then do it in stages. You can start by painting each room at a time. When the work is completed, then consider going outdoors. The exterior walls and roof can be painted as well if they need that.

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10. Start Cooking

There are several ways of managing your calories in your body. The first step starts with the diet that you take. Eating healthy foods will help you lose weight. It is important to cook and eat only the food that will help you achieve your weight loss goals. Cooking also involves a lot of activities. Collecting the cooking utensils, food and walking require energy to spend. This means that cooking is another activity that can turn into a workout session.

There are different cooking types that depend on what you want to cook. For instance, it can involve peeling, chopping, stirring, whisking, and beating. All these activities will burn calories from your body. However, there are some cooking preparations that are intense and you will spend more energy. Making your own bread starts with kneading the dough. This is hard work that will burn more calories.

Where there is any cooking activity, you will need to wash the dishes. Most people don’t like washing their dishes by hand. But, this activity, actually, is better than using the dishwasher machine. Washing the dishes by hand will help you tone your muscles in arms. If there are more plates to wash, then it’s better for your health because you will lose more calories. Whatever the case, ensure that you do the dish-washing yourself.

If you have to go to a grocery to buy food for cooking, take a walk instead of using a car. Walking will help you lose more calories and is good exercise. Carrying shopping bags is another good workout. You can carry them for 30 minutes and the number of calories that you will lose will be substantial. However, make sure that you distribute the weight evenly between the two hands.

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11. Childcare

Babysitting is one of the toughest jobs that you can ever take. This is the reason most parents put their children into childcare services for the day. The children are more active than the parents and to keep up with their activities can be strenuous work. Babysitting your own child has many benefits for both you and the kid. This involves emotional and physical aspects. If you are struggling with weight gain then try babysitting to remove some calories from your body.

Taking care of a child requires several activities to be done. It involves lots of playing which requires energy to be spent. Apart from losing these calories, you will also have lots of fun playing with your child. This will help both of you get connected emotionally. One thing for sure is that you will lose weight but it has to be done consistently and with high intensity. Activities such as pushing the pram can help you lose weight.

It has been found that you can lose 300 calories per hour by pushing a pram and 400 calories per hour by carrying your kid. Furthermore, you can lose 500 calories per hour by playing with your children. Playing with the children requires patience and creativity on your part. Children are persistent and relentless and you will need to keep up with their levels. The more time you spend with your child, the more kilos you will get rid of.

There are several activities that you can do with your child for you to lose weight. Some of them include playing hide and seek, singing songs, walking and making some bubbles. The others such as swimming, walking the dog, and playing a game will also help in your weight loss. Always ensure that you keep up with the energy levels of your child.

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12. Mowing the lawn

Mowing the lawn is tedious work that requires a lot of patience and determination. It is also a great way of having a workout. If you are using a push lawnmower to mow your lawn, you will use your cardiovascular system. The legs, the muscles that are in your back, shoulders, and arms, all these muscles will be toned when working with your lawnmower. It is ideal to do lawn mowing during the weekend as you will have enough time.

When mowing, try to do it at a fast pace to keep your heart rate up. Try to walk as quickly as you can even when mowing in the wet grass. Wet grass can sometimes slow you down. Most of the lawn mowers have bags that fill up as you mow. Let the bags get heavier until the mower finds it difficult to easily move. Emptying heavier bags will burn more calories as you walk and shake it. This will have your heart pumping hard.

Have a proper posture when mowing. Try to adjust your lawnmower handle so that it has a comfortable height. Keep an upright posture when mowing. Use your legs and hips to move the lawnmower forward. Avoid putting your body weight into the lawnmower as this can be dangerous. Your back can get affected and you will burn fewer calories. Always have a bottle of cold water at hand because you will need to hydrate yourself frequently.

It is important to have weight loss target when you are mowing. This can be done by calculating the time you want to spend mowing and total calories you want to burn. The size of your lawn will determine the amount of time that you will spend mowing it. If the lawn is small, then consider doing it several times a week like twice a week.

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13. Vacuuming

Vacuuming your home is one of the jobs that most people try to avoid as much as possible. It’s not everyone who enjoys moving around the home while carrying and pushing a heavy vacuum cleaner. It’s worse for those who have stairs in the house because they have to carry it up and down. However, if you have weight problems, this is one of the best workouts that you can possibly have. Its heavy weight is a bonus for you to lose some kilos.

Vacuuming is an intense workout that involves using your arms, hips, and legs. It needs a lot of time to ensure that your house is clean. This means that you can lose more calories by vacuuming your home. There is a lot of walking and this helps your leg muscles to be toned. Since it’s an activity that requires more energy, your heartbeat will always be beating fast. It helps your cardiovascular system as you do the chore.

It is important to vacuum your whole house every few days. It also helps keep the rooms nice and clean. When vacuuming, you can perform forward lunges as you push the vacuum forward. By doing 15 to 20 minutes of lunges, your thigh and hip muscles will be toned. Furthermore, if you want a strong toned lower body, lunges are an absolute necessity. In a short while, when vacuuming, you will feel tired. This is good as it means the calories are getting burned.

You can turn vacuuming into an exercise routine. Perform forward lunges every time you push the vacuum clear forward. Have at least 15 to 20 minutes of lunges every time you are vacuuming. This will help your thigh and hip muscles to be toned. You can burn more calories by doing fast-paced lunging and vacuuming. This will also help you finish your work to be done faster.

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14. Caring your pet

Caring for pets can be a good way to lose some weight. Feeding, bathing, and walking them can be physically involved. There are many people who have reached their fitness goals by using their pets. Dogs have specifically been recognized as good companions during weight loss programs. Carrying a pet like a dog requires to use of the muscles in your arms. During bathing, time carry your dog. This activity ensures that the muscles will be toned.

Researchers at Michigan State University found that dog owners reach their fitness goals faster than those who don’t have them. The study determined that dog owners are 34% more likely to get fit. This is after 150 minutes of walking per week with their dogs. Furthermore, the study established that dog owners have good health and fitness levels. This applied to those who had puppies. Taking a puppy for a walk increased physical activity by 69%.

In another related study at the University of Michigan, they also found that puppies are good companions when walking. Walking with a puppy led to a 28% increase in walking speed. There was only a 4% increase in speed when walking with a fellow human being. Speed is important when walking. When you have more speed, you can lose more calories. You can reach the optimum level of exercise quicker as well.

Apart from speed, distance covered is also important. If you cover more distance, it means you will burn more calories. This will help you achieve your fitness plans. In addition, dog owners are most likely to stick to their fitness plans. Dog-owning families have been known to have fitness plans for the whole family. If there are children in the family, they are bound to take the dogs for a walk. This enables them to lose calories. They become fit in that process.

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15. General maintenance of the house items

The home needs to have general maintenance work to be done frequently. There are several maintenance jobs that can keep your heart pumping. Doing swimming pool maintenance needs a lot of energy. Carrying chemicals such as tins of chlorine can test your arm muscles. When applying chlorine make sure that you carry that heavy tin of chemicals around the swimming pool. This will help your muscles to become physically fit.

Cleaning a swimming pool also needs to brush the inside of the pool. It will mean using your hands and arms when brushing. This activity helps your muscles in the arms to get strong. There are other activities that can be done such as scraping off the old paint in the swimming pool. This is good for the triceps muscles and you will burn more calories. After scraping off, you will need to repaint. The more work you do helps in reducing weight.

Gutter cleaning is another home maintenance work that you can do. Carrying the heavy ladder for the cleaning job will help your arm muscles get toned. Climbing up the ladder will involve the legs. This will help you burn calories and work your legs. Scraping out the dirty and old paint in the gutter means more calories will be burned. Even carrying the trash pile will mean using your energy which is good for weight loss.

Home appliances such as fans, cookers, and broken doors require being fixed sometimes. This work needs to use your muscles to unscrew and screw the bolts. It may seem like simple work but you will be using a lot of energy to achieve this. The biceps muscles can be taken to task by these small maintenance work. It will mean losing calories while performing these minor tasks.

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