Whistle and Burn Calories While You Work

How engaging in common summer chores can really help you stay fit and burn excess calories.

After having surgery for weight loss, there’s something about starting the summer off with a total-home cleanout that makes relaxing on the weekends that much more worth it. You feel refreshed, you’ve de-cluttered your home and there’s no chore left undone to worry about as you spend the warm North Miami and Ft. Lauderdale days staying fit in the gym and cool by the pool. Of course, before you can be worry-free you have to actually muster up the energy and get to cleaning.

If you need a little extra motivation, look at your total-home cleanout as one big opportunity to get fit. That’s right—just engaging in some simple household chores is an excellent way to burn calories this summer after your weight surgery.

Here are some common household summer chores and how many calories you can burn doing them!

Out with the warm and in with the cool. The first thing you may want to do to prepare for summer is rearrange your closet and pack your winter wardrobe away. Since you’re sorting through clothes, this may also be a good time to get rid of all of those clothes you can no longer wear since you’ve lost weight. Give them away to a charity or just ditch them altogether to make room for your lighter and brighter summer wares. While you’re working up a sweat in the closet you can burn up to 240 calories per hour.

Clear off the deck and bring out the patio furniture. Warm nights in Florida are perfect for relaxing on the patio but first you need to clear off the deck and unpack the furniture from storage. If you’re furniture has been stored for the months of winter, it may be quite dusty and need a good cleaning. Go the extra mile by detailing every piece and you could burn up to 187 calories in just 30 minutes. Add this to the 200 calories you will burn moving and setting the furniture up on the deck and that’s nearly 400 calories zapped in just one hour for this summer chore.

Spruce up your yard with bright summer plants. Whether you’re gardening, trimming the shrubs or mowing the lawn—working in your yard can really get your heart rate going. Just spending as little as an hour doing some of these typical lawn chores can help you burn between 320 and 330 calories. However, remember to stay hydrated as the hot summer sun can really take its toll.

Wash and detail the family’s cars. Give your cars a nice new shine and spend some time cooling off in the water while washing any vehicles you may own. Washing the car can really work your arm and abdominal muscles as you reach over the car and scrub down its sides. For every 30 minutes of car washing, you could be burning nearly 143 calories. So the more cars you have, the longer it may take which means more calories burned for you!

Chores may seem like the last thing you want to do in order to kick off your summer, but if they can help you stay fit and burn some extra calories, then why not? If you’re working outside make sure to drink plenty of water and wear protective sunscreen, and always consult your weight loss doctor before engaging in new strenuous activities if you’ve recently had weight surgery. Otherwise, happy calorie burning!