Busy mums burning calories!

The following information supplied by Curves shows you that being a mum can burn some major calories.

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Great news ladies! Even if you don’t get the thanks you deserve for all your hard work you do at home, at least you’re burning calories. The human body requires energy, measured in calories, just to maintain life, like digest food or sleep, but the more active a person is the more energy their body uses. Whether it’s taking care of the kids or taking care of the house, the things you need to get done burn calories and help manage weight.

Taking care of the kids

Getting little-ones dressed and fed throughout the day can wear you out. Sitting and kneeling while you’re getting kids into clothes and feeding them burns 211 calories. If you’re standing while you’re doing this then you’d burn 246 calories.  Cooking and preparing meals is another thing on a mums’ to-do list. For each hour of cooking, 176 calories are burned.

Once the kids are satisfied, pushing them in their strollers burns 176 calories, while carrying an infant requires 246 calories. Children love to be active so get involved in their games.  If they’re little and it’s only a moderate activity then you’ll burn 281 calories, or if you’re having fun during vigorous activity you’ll use 352 calories.

Maintaining order in the house

Cleaning can definitely make you break a sweat! It may not be the most enjoyable thing you do, but you can burn 176 calories for light effort, 246 calories for moderate effort, and 317 calories for vigorous cleaning. When you really get things done, such as scrubbing the floors on your hands and knees, you’re burning 387 calories.

If you decide to rearrange your furniture or do some spring cleaning, then you’ll be burning more calories than just average cleaning. Moving furniture burns 422 calories, carrying boxes around the house burns 492 calories, and carrying boxes upstairs burns 633 hours. Might be good motivation to finally get your house in order!

Keeping the yard tidy

Yard work doesn’t have to be reserved for dads. Many people enjoy gardening, which burns 352 calories, and doing the things you love are the best activities to participate in. Raking uses 281 calories, sweeping burns 281 calories, and mowing with a push mower expends 387 calories.

Convenient ways to increase activity

Try to find endeavors that sound exciting to keep active in ways you’ll enjoy. Used to really enjoy playing sports? It’s never too late to get back to playing them and most can be done in or around your home. Biking at a moderate effort burns 563 calories, dancing uses 317 calories, jogging requires 493 calories, running at an easy pace utilizes 563 calories, swimming leisurely burns 422 calories, and playing tennis uses up 493 calories. Walking is another way to enjoy the outdoors and the company of someone to walk with you while burning 246 calories at dog-walking pace. One last way to get engaged in a sport is to coach, and you’ll be burning 281

calories while helping out.

*End note: Calories estimates are for a 68 kg individual doing 1 hour of activity. Differences in calories burned for individuals can be due to weight, muscle mass, gender, and age.