One of the biggest misconceptions among women and men is that you need to join an expensive gym or embark on a complicated exercise schedule in order to lose weight. This is simply not true. You can burn a substantial amount of calories simply by performing every day tasks. The key is to perform them with "determination" which means that you are performing the activity continually and with some vim and vigor.

Given that housework is a way of exercising that has a payoff for you it is surprising that more people don't do more of it to lose weight.

Mainly this is because most women appreciate the social aspects of going to the gym, meeting other people and showing off their work out gear.

If all of that is too expensive and a tad too shallow for you, keeping up with your yard maintenance and housework might be the answer to losing more weight without you having to spend a dime on just the right gym membership and fashionable work out clothing!

Here is a breakdown of how many calories you can burn by performing some simple every day task. These calculations are based on an individual that weighs 160 pounds.

The more you weigh the more calories you will burn an hour, unless you have to move slowly because of your weight. Using one of the many calorie calculators that are available free online can help you determine exactly how many calories you personally will burn doing a particular activity.

For a person who weighs 160 pounds, participating in any of the following activities for thirty minutes will cause the following expenditures in calories

Chopping and splitting wood 288 calories
Cooking dinner 96 calories
Digging in the garden 240 calories
Dusting 120 calories
Grocery shopping 190 calories
Ironing clothes 190 calories
Making a bed 94 calories
Moving furniture 288 calories
Playing with the kids 192 calories
Raking the lawn 206 calories
Shoveling snow 288 calories
Taking out the trash 120 calories
Trimming bushes 168 calories
Washing dishes 144 calories
Washing Windows 144 calories
Watering outdoor plants 120 calories
Vacuuming 196 calories

Keep in mind that the above figures represent a half an hour of activity.

For instance if you decided to vacuum for an hour, and have a very clean house you would burn close to 400 calories which is roughly the same as doing an hour of aqua aerobics or an hour of playing table tennis.

Vacuuming for half an hour is also equal to doing fifteen minutes on a step stair machine or fifteen minutes of circuit training.

The benefits of doing housework and chores to lose weight are obvious. Not only will you achieve a slimmer, sleeker body you will have a super clean and well organized house!

If you have kids you are even more blessed in the weight loss department. There is nothing more aerobic or that gets your heart pumping than having to chase a bad kid around the house.