Cleaning the house, washing windows, cooking and more: how many calories do you spend?

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Food rules. How to develop healthy eating habits

If humanity as a species does not stop getting fat in the coming years, then soon neither diets nor the use of environmentally friendly products will help to lose the pounds that homo sapiens gained during the process of evolution. The current generation of people is undergoing the same changes that occurred 200 years ago, when the height of Europeans increased by 30 cm. Only now we are increasing in volume: if in 1980 the average weight of men was 73.7 kg, women - 62.2, then in at the beginning of the new millennium, these figures were 81.6 and 68.8 kg, respectively.

Typically, evolution is a slow process, changes in the body occur insignificantly. However, now humanity has changed the environment within one or two generations, and this has entailed a restructuring of metabolism, which for millennia was aimed at combating hunger. We are indomitably gaining weight not only due to the abundance of high-calorie foods. Extra pounds are a consequence of a sedentary lifestyle that a person allows himself thanks to a car and household appliances.

So don't sigh and feel sorry for yourself when you have to do housework.

In 10 minutes you will spend:

30 kcal – if you peel vegetables with a knife;
50 kcal – if you wash the dishes by hand after lunch;
70 kcal – if you wash the floors with a mop;
120 kcal – if you do the same on your knees;
120 kcal – if you wash the tiles in the bathroom;
110 kcal – if you scrub the bathtub and sink to a shine;
60-80 kcal – if you wipe dust from furniture;
60 kcal – if you clean carpets and furniture with a vacuum cleaner;
35 kcal – if you change the bed linen and make a double bed;
60 kcal – if you hand wash your tights and underwear;
110 kcal – if you wash the curtains by hand.

Moreover, large washes and general cleaning are good, because only after 20 minutes of work the muscles reach working capacity and burn the maximum amount of fat per unit of time. If you want to burn as many calories as possible, stay on the cleanliness enthusiasm for about an hour, two or three. Clean at a good pace while listening to rhythmic music.

And when you, completely exhausted, take a shower and wash your hair (another minus 20 kcal), blow-dry your hair (30 kcal), you can consider that the day has not been lived in vain! True, after unprecedented feats at home, I really want to sit down and pamper myself, selfless and hardworking, with cake, candy, ice cream... Stop, stop! Do you really want to start cleaning all over again?

A piece of cake (370 kcal) - 1 hour of continuous vacuuming, or 35 minutes of cleaning the bathtub, or 1 hour 15 minutes of brisk walking to the shops, savings bank, dry cleaning and picking up the child in kindergarten.

A serving of ice cream (280 kcal) – 55 minutes of hand washing dishes or 25 minutes of hand washing curtains.

A small bar of chocolate (400 kcal) - 1 hour of continuous dusting or 40 minutes of mopping the floors.

How many calories are burned when cleaning the house, washing the car and other routine work?

Our publication regularly talks about original fitness techniques with which you can quickly lose weight and keep yourself in good shape. But there is an even more accessible way: do nothing.

How so, you ask?

Do your daily housework and lose weight at the same time. The whirlwind of the kitchen, ironing, washing, cleaning - constant and very difficult, we note, physical labor. What if you treat it like fitness? During which you burn calories.

Turn routine into advantage. Each type of load is calculated. We present average figures; the specifics depend on many factors: age, gender, weight, etc.

Laughter

Laughing for 10 minutes helps you get rid of 20-40 calories. Laughter from the heart burns 550 for half an hour; 1 minute of laughter has the same effect on the body as 10 minutes of fitness. In addition, there is a common belief that women who care about their appearance should not laugh a lot, as this will cause wrinkles. In fact, everything is exactly the opposite - laughter tones and forces the facial muscles to work. It turns out to be a kind of gymnastics, done without any special effort, which improves your appearance.

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Cleaning the bathroom and restroom

It would seem that the dimensions of the two most important rooms in the house are small, but how much work it takes to put them in order.
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Wiping dust and polishing furniture

This “exercise” uses the muscles of the arms, shoulders and abs. When wiping dust, do not be lazy to rinse the rag more often - this way you will take more steps. And push it harder - this will put a strain on the pectoral muscles. You can get extra weight by dusting the bottom shelves in a squat—a great workout for your quads and glutes. When polishing furniture, use wax - rubbing it requires more energy than using a spray. This burns about 130 calories per hour (even more with additional squats).

Washing dishes

If you use a dishwasher, the result will be 105 calories in half an hour. Washing by hand may not be as comfortable, but it is quite effective from a fitness perspective: 280 calories in the same amount of time.

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Shopping

Pushing a shopping cart for 30 minutes burns 100 calories. The heavier the cart, the more calories you burn. In England, they even developed a new Trim Trolley in supermarkets, which trains muscles. First of all, it makes sense to pay attention to the additional wheel of the cart, which makes pushing the cart much harder. Another innovation is the dashboard with a screen, indicators and buttons. In addition to a timer, speedometer and heart rate monitor, the cart's interface shows shoppers how many calories they've burned moving around the store and offers an arm workout. It follows that during a 40-minute shopping trip, a consumer with Trim Trolley will burn 160 kilocalories. Their number can increase to 280 if the wheel resistance level is increased.

Going to the store is an element of strength training

When shopping in large supermarkets, where you have to walk for a long time from shelf to shelf with a loaded cart, you can burn from 200 to 260 kcal per hour.

The more you buy, the more calories you will burn. It is important to calculate your strength: you will still need to transport your purchases home! For best results, try to load the heaviest items into the cart or basket first: you will get additional stress on your arms, legs and back muscles.

If you need to buy a lot of products at once, go to the store 2-3 times. The effect of cardio training with weights is guaranteed. Walk home to and from the store at an above-average pace.

It has been experimentally proven that half an hour of carrying bags, the contents of which can feed a family of three three times a day, burns 190 kcal.

By the way

Pear or apple? In the world, only 38% of people have normal weight, the remaining 62%, alas, cannot boast of this. Women often gain weight in a pear-shaped manner, gaining excess fat in the hips, while men gain weight in an apple-shaped manner, growing a solid abdomen. If we talk about health, then it’s better to be a “pear”. Fat accumulated in the abdomen can disrupt the normal functioning of the thoracic and abdominal organs and, as a result, metabolic processes. Excess weight is often the cause of sexual dysfunction.

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Interesting Facts

Research shows that humans as a species should stop gaining weight in the coming years. Otherwise, no diet or proper nutrition will be able to help you shed unnecessary pounds gained by a person in the process of his evolution.

According to current statistics, the current generation has undergone identical changes that occurred two hundred years ago. Then the height increased by thirty centimeters, and now we are growing in volume. For example, in 1980, a man could weigh on average 74 kg, and a woman - 61 kg. At the beginning of this millennium, everything changed, these parameters reached 82 and 69 kg.

Evolution is a slow process during which minor changes occur in the body.

Due to the current state of the environment, the metabolism, which has always struggled with hunger, has been restructured. That's why humanity continues to get fat. This also happens due to a sedentary lifestyle, because there are household appliances.

Don't cut yourself some slack when it comes to doing household chores. When cleaning your apartment, you can burn a sufficient amount of calories, saving your own time on training without harming your figure and health.

Cleaning is a leader in burning calories at home

By properly distributing the load, you can successfully lose extra pounds, strengthen the muscles of your legs, arms, back and abdomen, and as a bonus, get a clean apartment.

According to studies conducted by American scientists, regular tidying up allows you to lose 50 thousand kcal per year. You can get rid of this amount of calories by running for about 80 hours straight or cycling at an average pace for 2,500 kilometers!

Washing floors

If you do decide to use a mop, pull in your stomach and tighten your abdominal muscles. The amplitude of hand movements should be maximum.

On average, 245 kcal per hour is spent on wet cleaning. Compare: 30 minutes of step aerobics eliminates 200 kcal.

Trying to wash the floor in hard-to-reach places, moving furniture to do this (to the best of your ability, of course), in 30 minutes you can additionally spend 150-200 kcal.

Washing windows with proper intensity of movement will help burn from 250 to 450 kcal. Active rotational movements of the arms involve the biceps and triceps. Cardio exercise strengthens the cardiovascular system.
A vacuum cleaner is an effective home exercise machine, provided that you do not just sluggishly move the brush across the floor, but vigorously bend, squat and move your arms. While pulling the brush, squeeze your shoulder blades: this will help work your back muscles. Vacuuming burns about 120 kcal in half an hour.
Wiping off dust most often takes 15-20 minutes, which allows you to spend 20-25 kcal. Alternate between dusting surfaces near the floor and cleaning the top shelves, reaching to the far corners, this way you will get a good workout and work on stretching your back and spine.
Cleaning mirrors, tiles and bathroom fixtures will save you 260 kcal in an hour. To strengthen the work of your hands, increase the pressure on the surface and the range of movements.
Washing dishes puts stress on your back. After holidays or a visit from guests, this type of activity is of maximum benefit. After washing a mountain of dishes for an hour, reassure yourself that you can spend more than 200 kcal at a time.

Helpful advice: To pick things up from the floor or from lower shelves, do not bend over, but squat. Holding a squat for 15 seconds will significantly increase the load. By cleaning the nursery, where there are many toys scattered on the floor, you will quietly strengthen the muscles of your legs and buttocks, and also increase your overall endurance.

General cleaning after a move or renovation is more efficient. In terms of the amount of energy expended, it is comparable to a moderate-intensity aerobics class or a three-kilometer walk.

If desired, calorie consumption can be increased by 15% by wearing weights on your arms or legs, sold in sports stores. At first it will be unusual and difficult, but gradually you will get used to it. Be careful, this is only suitable for those people who do not have problems with joints and spine!

Vacuum carpets

Calories burned per hour: 238

Having a vacuum cleaner makes the cleaning process much easier for housewives. Instead of taking your carpets outside and beating them, you can vacuum them. But even this seemingly not hard work will allow you to get rid of the calories gained from a whole piece of chocolate cake. Of course, this will only happen if you vacuum not just one room, but clean your entire house. Don’t be lazy, because by putting your home in order, you are simultaneously working on your figure, burning the accumulated calories.

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How many calories does it cost to wash windows?

Recently, many diets are based on calculating calories burned and received. Oddly enough, cleaning the apartment is one of the activities that allows you to spend a large amount of energy, physical and emotional strength, and therefore lose weight.

Housework takes up a lot of energy

Let's look at the simplest household tasks, for example, washing windows or washing dishes from the point of view of a nutritionist, how much such work helps to burn calories.