Motherhood can definitely lead to weight gain, but by eating right and exercising, this doesn’t have to be the case. In fact, did you know that with all the running around and cleaning, moms burn tons of calories. Here’s a little chart I found on FitSugar.com that I thought would be fun to share…
| Activity | Calorie Burned |
| Running after/playing with kids (20 min.) | 78 |
| Playing outdoor games like hopscotch or dodgeball (30 min.) | 104 |
| Carrying your infant on a walk (30 min.) | 109 |
| Walking while pushing a stroller (30 min.) | 78 |
| Picking up toys (10 min.) | 29 |
| Vacuuming up the plant, food, sand or whatever else your toddler dumped over (10 min.) | 29 |
| Mopping up milk, maple syrup, and other spills (10 min.) | 44 |
| Washing dishes (10 min.) | 22 |
| Sleeping while they nap (45 min.) | 41 |
| Putting away groceries (10 min.) | 26 |
| Dance party to The Wiggles in the living room (15 min.) | 88 |
| Reading stories before bed (10 min.) | 10 |
Tips of the Day…
To stay active, you have to enjoy it. The see maximum results you have to incorporate both cardio and strength training.
Cardio – Any form of exercise that moves large muscles over a sustained period of time, thus raising your heart rate and burning calories. Did you know??? Once you stop your cardio workout, your body will continue to burn calories for another couple of hours? Impressive…huh?
Strength Training – Any form of exercise that increases strength by using free weights, machines, or a person’s own body weight to create resistance against muscle contractions. If an increase in metabolism is impressive with cardio workouts…check this out…after you complete a strength training session, your body can continue to burn calories for an additional 48 hours!