FEELING GREAT: Keeping your house clean can help to reduce your waistline

Doing housework has the ability to delight, frustrate or anger you and as well as all of those feelings, it can even cause physical injury.

Yes, some simple injuries that we see at the Paul Gough Physio Rooms occur as a result of someone trying relentlessly to maintain a clean and tidy house.

Did you ever think that housework might be a legitimate addition to your exercise routine? Is a vigorous spring clean (where you really have a go at the house) capable of reducing your waistline, if you were looking to trim it?

I’ve heard it said by many people that housework is their best form of exercise.

But as the years have progressed, it seems housework and waistlines are heading in opposite directions and doing the housework isn’t quite as good for you as it once was.

That’s because things like lighter vacuum cleaners, and advanced cleaning products make the work easier.

Less elbow grease means you’re not likely to be burning as many calories as you might have previously.

The experts predict that you can burn up to 200 calories with a typical hour-long clean of an average-sized house.

To put that into context, if you see somebody out jogging, that person running is going to have to keep going for 20-25 minutes just to match the same calorie burn as you’ll be getting from doing your house clean.

So, as you look to keep active, bear in mind there’s an alternative to the gym.

Keeping your house clean and tidy can provide the very strong incentive of reducing your waistline at the same time.

It can still produce the feel-good chemicals that you experience after a power walk or run.

Those 200 calories burned might sound great - and yes it is - but picture yourself after finishing your cleaning with your feet up (shoes off!), on your clean couch with a hard-earned glass of wine and watching TV….. well you’ve just put all those 200 calories back on in an instant!

For more tips and advice, please get in touch for a free copy of my book The Healthy Habit. Call 01429 866771 or visit paulgoughphysio.com.