Normal Activities That Help You Lose Weight

Losing weight does not necessarily need to include expensive gym memberships or fancy equipment. Any physical activity that you do is a benefit to your weight loss plan as long as it causes your body to burn calories and activate your metabolism.

We often associate weight loss exercise with hours of running, walking, or stair climbing machines, but this is not true. The most routine activities, such as cleaning your home, can burn just as many calories as running for an hour. Here are a few examples...

1) Mopping the Floors

If you have tile or laminate flooring, it requires some extra care to remove accumulated dirt. Whether you use a mop and bucket or the all-in-one wet sheet mops, pushing that mop across your floors in a gentle scrubbing manner, causes you to use your arm, chest, and back muscles to burn calories.

When you are actively moving over a period of time, you can burn up to 90 calories in 30 minutes. The faster you mop, you can even elevate your heart rate, thus burning more calories.

2) Vacuuming

Get out your vacuum and begin burning calories and losing weight right away. Vacuums carry some weight, and pushing these machines throughout your home can cause you to not only break into a sweat, but increase your metabolism.

In just 30 minutes of vacuuming your home, you can burn up to 90 calories. Of course the calories burned depends upon your weight, height, body type, and ratio of muscle to fat, but regardless of the exact number of calories being burned, the fact remains that you ARE burning calories.

3) Cleaning the Bathrooms

Depending on how many bathrooms you have in your home, you can definitely be burning up to 200 calories in just 30 minutes. All the scrubbing of the sinks, bathtubs, toilets, counter tops, and floors uses your muscles more than any other household chore.

4) Washing Windows and Screens

This is one household activity, depending upon the number of windows in your home, which can give you a cardio and strength training workout in one! The scrubbing and lifting of the screens, along with the cleaning of the windows and window sills is a job that can last for a couple hours burning hundreds of calories.

5) Washing Linens and Making Beds

You may not necessarily think that washing the linens and making beds burns calories and can help you lose weight, but it does. Lifting the mattresses, removing the linens, and replacing with clean linens take the use of your upper body muscles. When muscles are activated, calories are burned.

This activity alone can be equal to 15 minutes on a treadmill. That is the minimum cardio requirement for beginning an exercise routine.

Performing household activities is a great way to get your exercise and cleaning done in one task. One day of house cleaning can equal an entire workout day. So if you are planning on cleaning the house on a particular day, there is no need to do extra exercise. You have already burned enough calories to lose weight.

Backyard barbeques are great for summer fun, and coupling that with outdoor party games can make that experience even more enjoyable. To help work off those greasy burgers and extra slice of pie, here are 5 ideas for active, outdoor party games great for children and adults.

Daytime Games:

Fly Swatter 'Volley Ball': Each team member is equipped with a fly swatter and the ball is a large inflated balloon. Same rules apply as regular volley ball, except if you pop the balloon it is also a point for the other team. If there is not traditional net available, a string or crepe paper can be used.

Relay Races: The great thing about relay races is that you don't have to have a lot of space. Split the groups up into teams, say 5 people each and invent 5 activities each team will have to complete. Not all have to be physical, you can combine things like jumping jacks, eating an apple, braiding someone's hair, carrying another person a certain distance and which person can hold a scream the longest. Once the activities have been decided upon and the order they will be done, line up the team members in the order in which each person will do their task. Then it's only ready, set, go!

Sardines: Sardines is like reverse hide and go seek. One person is It and hides while everyone counts. Next everyone goes to look for that person, and if they find them, they also hide with that person. Every time a new person finds them, they pack in like sardines. The last person to find the group loses.

Night Time Games:

Flashlight or Laser light Tag: One person is 'it' and holds the flashlight or laserlight (note: if using a laser make sure it is one that will not damage eyesight). They turn their back to the group and count to 10 while everyone scatters. If the light touches you, you are now 'it'. You can also play that if the light touches you, you are now 'out' and the last person standing will then be 'it'.

Hide and Go Seek in the Dark: Each person much have a small flashlight. The person who is IT, counts while everyone hides outside and then must go and look for everyone. Once someone is found, they also continue to help IT find the others, the last person found wins.