7 Household Chores That Burn Calories and Fat | Health

While housework is no substitute for regular exercise, it helps avoid the negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle and helps you lose weight. Some activities are mild to moderate and others can be full-on physical activity. In this day and age, washing machines, dishwashers and vacuum cleaners have made people’s lives easier but also reduced the opportunities to burn calories. However, with the scorching heat in many parts of the country, housework is a convenient way to get active. (Also read | Summer Fat-Burning Exercises: 5 Fun Exercises to Lose Excess Fat in Hot Weather)

Short bursts of exercise can do wonders for your fitness levels. Household chores like dusting, walking the dog and preparing meals will keep you from being sedentary and encourage you to move more often, so try doing these chores yourself, like doing the laundry or cleaning the bathroom, and see the difference it makes to your fitness levels.

“Maintaining a healthy weight is important to avoid diseases like diabetes, heart diseases and arthritis. Physical activity improves blood circulation and regulates your metabolism, which is essential for overall health. While going to the gym or playing sports are popular options, everyday household chores also help in staying fit and losing fat,” said Shloka Joshi, classical hatha yoga teacher and lifestyle expert, in an interview with HT Digital.

Housework that helps burn calories

Joshi shares some common household chores that can help you burn calories.

1. Vacuuming: Pushing or pulling a vacuum can burn between 150 and 300 calories per hour, depending on your weight and strength.

2. Mopping/Washing Floors: This activity builds core muscles and burns 150-250 calories per hour.

3. Window washing: Actions like reaching, stretching and wiping use multiple muscle groups and burn 100-200 calories per hour.

4. Gardening/Yard work: Activities like raking leaves, pulling weeds and pushing a lawnmower can burn 200-400 calories per hour. Getting in contact with the soil while gardening has additional benefits: When your hands and bare feet are in contact with the soil, it harmonizes physiological processes in the body, helping with weight management and mood regulation.

5. Washing and drying clothes: Bending, lifting and moving around while doing laundry can burn 100-200 calories per hour.

6. Cleaning the bathroom: Washing, wiping, and disinfecting a bathroom is a full-body workout that burns 150-300 calories per hour.

7. Dust and organize: Light cleaning tasks like dusting and clearing clutter can burn 100-200 calories per hour.

These activities are classified as NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis), which refers to calories burned through everyday movements and activities outside of planned exercise.

Incorporating more household chores into your daily routine will increase your NEAT and increase your overall daily calorie burn.

Benefits of Housework for Weight Management

Shlloka Joshi explains the many benefits of doing household chores for weight management and overall health.

1. Burn caloriesMany household chores, such as vacuuming, mopping, gardening and scrubbing, burn large amounts of calories and contribute to a healthy energy balance for weight loss and maintenance.

2. Strengthening your physical fitnessHeavy lifting, pushing, and carrying activities help you build and maintain muscle mass, which in turn increases your resting metabolic rate, allowing you to burn more calories at rest.

3. Incidental Movement: Household chores often require moving around the house, climbing stairs, and a variety of other activities. Getting these incidental movements throughout the day contributes to an active lifestyle and overall health.

4. Mindfulness: Staying focused on the task at hand and attending to household chores can help reduce mindless snacking and overeating, which often happens when you’re bored or distracted.

5. Stress relief: Completing chores gives you a sense of accomplishment and reduces stress, which is important for weight management, as chronic stress can lead to unhealthy coping behaviors.

Tips to maximize your benefits:

• Complete tasks at a fast and challenging pace.
• Incorporate strength-building movements.
• Use household chores as a break from sedentary activities.
• Consistency is key: aim to incorporate household chores into your daily routine as part of a balanced, sustainable weight management strategy.