Welcome to the Get Fit Guys' quick and dirty tips to slim down and shape up.

My name is Ben Greenfield, and I'm the Get Fit Guy.

Recently, a publication called Science Daily publish an article with the following disappointing headline.

Housework isn't as healthy as most people think.

In a nutshell, the article says that based on results from a recent study,

claiming housework as part of an exercise program could actually be a mistake.

The professor who led the study said,

We found that housework was inversely related to leanness,

which suggests that either people are overestimating the amount of

moderate intensity, physical activity they do through housework, or they're eating too much to

compensate for the amount of activity they've undertaken. What do you think? Could it be that doing

housework might not burn many calories and could actually make you fatter? Well, in this episode,

you'll discover whether or not you can actually burn fat while doing

housework, plus ways that you could boost your metabolism with simple activities, like

cleaning, gardening, and even watching TV.

Let's start by asking the question, does housework count as exercise?

And I'll admit, I've done some pretty darn easy housework.

It can actually be hard to break a sweat when you're folding laundry and wiping down the kitchen counter.

So when articles and popular fitness magazines claim that you can count housework as exercise, or can count gardening or standing well eating or cleaning the garage, I tend to take this advice with a grain of salt.

The fact is, the study I was just talking about has a shred of truth to it. The average housework

isn't really all that tough and doesn't get to the necessary intensity to categorize it as exercise.

Furthermore, if you've been led to believe that it actually is exercise, maybe you would be more

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