Normal had been deleted out of our vocabulary with the current situation we are in that the things we wanted to do, games we wanted to play or watch in-person had been put on hold because we are forced to stay at home.
Most had found creative and productive ways to get occupied while locked down. TV-cising or exercising in front of the TV made sense than going out to gyms or playing courts. Most of my close relations and acquaintances found other means to burn calories and they had pictures posted on social media to prove their efforts, with matching choreography.
In studies separately made by the American Council on Exercise, the American Cancer Society, the Harvard Medical School, the National Center for Health Research and three other organizations, it was revealed that 30 minutes of simple household chores burn calories for people of three different weights. Health and fitness experts call this as “non-exercise activity thermogenics” or NEAT, the energy we burn doing anything except exercise, eating or sleeping.
Not only will our spouses be happy and our surroundings clean when we do housework and yardwork but it boosts our metabolism, helps keep us fit and controls our weights. Serious calories are burned when we do the following:
Vaccum cleaning - 30 minutes of pushing the vacuum cleaner around the house melts 99 calories for people weighing 120 pounds, 124 calories if you weigh 150 pounds and 166 calories for 200 pounders. Adding some dance moves to the push adds to the burn. The old-school lampaso and silhig definitely burns twice more.
Mowing the lawn - if you have a nice yard, a non-powered push mower burns 175 cals for a 120 pound person, 240 cals for a 185 pound guy for 30 minutes. If what you have is a power mower you burn 40 cals less.
Washing the car - not only will we save on carwash fees and tips but we also lose those calories. Skip the hose but instead fill a bucket with water and do the cleaning by hand. Hand washing the car for 30 minutes burns 135 cals for 125-pound guys and 200 cals if we weigh 185 pounds.
Changing sheets on the beds - the simple task of changing and making the beds burns surprisingly high calories, probably because we have to do some lifting of the matresses. If we have three rooms in our houses, it would certainly take at least 30 minutes to do them and we burn 187 cals if we weigh 125 pounds and 300 cals if we hit the scales at 200 pounds.
Washing the dishes - this could be a boring chore that we would rather recline on the sofa and watch TV after eating but hand washing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen zaps the same calories as doing the sheets on the beds. More calories can be burned if you drop the dishes as you have to pick the broken ceramics and get sermons from the wifey.
Gardening - many households had turned to planting and growing vegetables during this time. This humble chore if done regularly builds and strengthens our muscles too. Tending the garden and pulling weeds burns 139 cals for 125 pound guys, 205 cals for 200-pounders. Landscaping work and planting ornamentals burns 10 to 20 calories more.
Walking the dog - a leisurely stroll with our four-legged best friend benefits both. 30 minutes melts 135 cals if we’re 125 pounds and 200 cals if 200 pounds.
Being NEAT not only improves our environs but it also keeps us trim and healthy.