Lose weight with house work !!

I am sure you must have seen a lot of mothers who are TV or film actors; and wondered how they manage to stay so slim?? I am sure you are already thinking of all the available 'facilities' that they have and we do not...well let me give you a good news...

According to the American Journal of Occupational Therapy, washing the bathroom can be as much a workout as a moderate aerobic session at a gym !! sounds great na....read on !!!

Chores & Calories

An Australian research was equally unequivocal about housework as "moderate" exercise. They concluded that except for vacuuming, most other chores "have the potential to confer health benefits when performed for adequate duration & frequency".

Well if you are a SAHM (stay at home mom) you are probably sniggering that it should take a research to establish that housework should qualify as exercise. Why else would the chores leave you with a sore back? But research also says that these chores will not tone your body, wear off that tummy, get those lovely cuts on your limbs if done in a bored, irritated or lethargic manner.

A study done in Bangalore found that the overall pattern of activity for Indians was rather low while they were in their teens, particularly for girls. Again, the activity level dipped after fifties, showing the link between the high rate of degenerative diseases like blood pressure, diabetes or arteriosclerosis which afflicts this section of our population.

Unlocking Benefits

There are several keys to unlocking the health benefits of housework.

• Keeping your posture aligned & moving quickly from one chore to another will raise your heart beat & tone up those muscles


• Tucking in the tummy muscles consciously will act as a great belly-cruncher & prevent later disasters like the dowager's hump,love handles that ruin your silhouette


• Keeping the knees bent slightly, while vacuuming, will work out the lower limbs


• Tucking in the tummy while lifting & placing objects, warming up before & cooling down after the chores will de-stress you, making you feel less exploited, and also wear off the lactic acid build up (that is a metabolic waste from any activity) which will later manifest as irritability


• Cleaning windows & cars works out the upper body. To determine the intensity of your activity try to talk someone while engaged in the chore. If you can hold a conversation you are not burning up calories!!


• Exaggerating the arm movements while arranging dishes or drying clothes. can help tone flabby arms

Half an hour of - Burns

Decorating or Painting - 160 cals

Ironing - 70 cals

Laundry service - 71 cals

Playing actively with children - 90 cals

Power cleaning (dusting or vacuuming) - 201 cals

Active gardening - 104 cals

Car washing - 143 cals

Scrubbing floors - 100 cals

Cooking - 40 cals

Washing windows - 75 cals

Washing dishes - 30 cals

Rearranging furniture - 100 cals

These are as per the American Association of Cancer Research

How to work out at home while doing your chores

• Wear workout clothes while cleaning


• Turn on some spiffy music to infuse energy in your slackening steps


• While waiting for the cooker whistle to go off or the vegetables to fry just right, do a few lunges, squats or full body stretches


• Place back each dish individually on the rack, so that you walk that extra mile


• Strap on a pedometer to gauge how many steps you have actually taken while doing the chores


• Do bicep curls with anything you are holding; shopping bags, fridge bottles or even milk cartons


• Always warm up & cool down so you never lose focus of the chores as providing you that powerful workout

This post has inputs from a news paper article authored by well known yoga acharya Shameem Akhtar