Everyday Household Chores Burn Calories and Help Weightloss - Better Than Going to the Gym?

Why go to the gym when there are plenty of effective weight loss options at home? Doing one's household chores not only saves a lot of money on procuring help but also improves one's feelings of self-worth, gives satisfaction and cleaner looking house. It also improves one's relationship with the spouse/partner I am sure if one is in a relationship! Oh, it saves on the gym costs too. 

Here's what you can expect to lose in calories if you start doing some basic chores

• Vacuuming: Vacuuming your carpets and floors for an hour can burn roughly 100-200 calories1. The more rooms you tackle, the more calories you’ll burn.

• Laundry: Loading and unloading the washer and dryer, putting away clothes, and transporting loads around the house can burn about 50-100 calories per hour1.

• Mopping: Mopping your floors can burn 100-200 calories in an hour.

• Scrubbing the Bathroom: An hour of scrubbing the bathroom can burn 180-300 calories.

• Rearranging Furniture: This activity can burn 400-500 calories per hour.

• Changing the Beds: Stripping and remaking beds for 30 minutes torches 180 - 300 calories. 

• Dusting High Fixtures: Dusting can burn about 180 calories per hour.

• Reorganizing the Pantry or Fridge: This task can use 50-200 calories.

• Cleaning Up After a Meal: Don’t just hit the sofa after a home-cooked meal. Spend 30 minutes washing dishes by hand and cleaning up the kitchen with moderate intensity to get rid of 180-300 calories depending on your weight and metabolism!

Outdoor chores also provide an opportunity to burn calories:

• Mowing the Lawn: Using a push mower for 30 minutes burns about 135 calories (for a 125-pound person) to 200 calories (for a 185-pound person)2.

• Gardening: An hour of gardening burns the same as mowing the lawn—350-500 calories2.

• Cleaning the Pool: Cleaning the pool can require anywhere from 300 to 500 calories1.

• Pressure-Washing: This activity burns 250-300 calories per hour1.

• Painting the Outside of the Home: Painting can use between 250 and 300 calories in an hour1.

• Washing the Car: Skip the drive-thru car wash and give your ride’s exterior and windows a thorough cleaning by hand. Washing the car for 30 minutes burns about 135 - 200 calories.

Remember, these estimates are general guidelines, and individual variations apply. The key is to stay active and incorporate movement into your daily routine.

#savingmoney #householdchores #effectiveweightloss

References

https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/ss/slideshow-calories-burned-by-household-chores

https://www.fitandwell.com/news/lose-weight-household-chores

https://www.eatingwell.com/article/7832851/household-chores-calorie-burn/

https://www.wrenkitchens.com/blog/revealed-the-number-of-calories-household-chores-burn

Top 5 Breakfast Options by Nutrition Expert

Dr. Uma Naidoo, a Harvard-trained psychiatrist and nutrition expert, has shared her top 5 breakfast options that are not only healthy but also beneficial for mental fitness. Here’s a summary of her recommendations:

Chia Pudding: A homemade chia seed pudding is one of her go-to breakfasts. It’s high in fiber, which supports a healthy gut microbiome and brain communication, and contains omega-3 fatty acids that have anti-inflammatory effects on the brain¹. 

Scramble, Omelet, or Baked Frittata: Eggs are a great source of healthy fats, proteins, and vitamins. The yolks are rich in vitamin D and serotonin, which help regulate mood. Dr. Naidoo suggests choosing eggs from pasture-raised, cage-free chickens for the best quality¹.

Savory Tofu Scramble: For those who prefer a plant-based option, a savory tofu scramble is an excellent choice. Tofu is rich in tryptophan and soy isoflavones, which are associated with reduced symptoms of depression¹.

Green Smoothie: A blend of leafy greens, berries, clean protein powder or silken tofu, and a bit of fat from hemp seeds or almond butter makes for a nutritious smoothie that’s easy to take on the go¹.

Nuts and Berries: Topping your breakfast with nuts and berries adds essential nutrients and functional compounds that promote better energy, clarity, and mental health¹.

These options are designed to provide key nutrients and functional compounds that enhance energy, clarity, and overall mental health. Enjoy your nutritious breakfast! 

1. https://www.msn.com/en-in/foodanddrink/other/harvard-expert-uma-naidoo-studied-brain-foods-for-over-20-years-heres-her-top-5-breakfast-options/ar-BB1lBbFV

Belfast Blog - Day 2

From the archives from sometime in August 2014 from a solo trip to UK. Coming across these scraps from my files!

Day 2

Day 2 in Belfast started with the Mc Combs tour. The hotel front office lady had informed me that the tour  would be over at 5. But the tour guys confirmed that we wont be back any time before 7. Thus began a long, entertaining, fun journey starting with the Carricferedge Norman castle, the Carricka Rede Rope Bridge, the Bushmill’s whiskey distillery, the Ballycastle, a long drive over the Antrim coast with many little interesting bits of history. The drive was beautiful and the Driver Dan, was entertaining. So many interesting little tidbits he shared with us – like the smallest little village on the coast, a village which has the Queen’s crown specially made for her Golden Jubilee, their rivalry with Scotland across the sea, a far glimpse of their icon Rory Mcllroy's home (or its vicinity!) It is definitely a trip I would like to do again, if only to treasure and understand those small moments of history!

After seeing the Norman castle, the next stop was the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. The bridge is actually a disappointment from what the brochures make it out to be! It is a small and steady rope bridge, not a long rickety structure that threatens your appetite for adventure! As all along the coast – the views are amazing and it does feel like an adventure in the end. I was so glad I had good walking shoes!

An interesting episode happened at the next stop which was the Bushmill’s Whisky tour. Two episodes actually. First, ran into Flintoff as the guide mentioned an English cricketer in the vicinity. I ran to find him and there he was, with a small team!  Andrew Flintoff, imagine! What a hunk! He kindly obliged for a pic. Then I took the Whisky tour – after advising the driver that I was going on it. The understanding was – if the tour was late, the bus would go to the next point and return for the tourists taking the whisky tour. As it happened I was the only one taking the tour from our bus – a couple of others having quit it halfway as they had friends back on the bus and I was oblivious of that fact. So I sat down to taste the sample whiskies with a bowl of Irish stew. Imagine my chagrin when Dan came in to inform me that the bus was waiting. It was already 15 minutes past the leaving time and here I was with two glasses of whiskies and a bowl full of Irish stew – with 50 passengers waiting in the bus for me for 15 minutes! I could gladly have disappeared into a hole. But Dan was very understanding. We realized it was a miscommunication. I assured him I would leave behind my untasted whiskies and stew and he assured me it was not a problem – he would drop off the passengers at the next call and return for me (as I had originally presumed to be the plan!) So all went well. I didn’t have to go back to face 50 indignant co-passengers.

Dan returned on time and took me to the Giants Causeway. Here I was so determined to stick to my time that I made the long mile walk to the causeway and back in record time. Then I realized I had an hour in hand and walked back again to the Giants Causeway to take in the splendor at more leisure!

 Now that is called tasting the best of everything!

Ended the day at the Hotel and slept away the tiredness.

Distance walked - 15 kms or more!