Young House Love

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How Many Calories Does Painting Burn?

I just read in an old Health magazine (thanks to the waiting room at the dentist) that “rolling on a new coat of paint burns 204 calories an hour.”

Nursery Paint Blue Painted

This may explain why my hubby (the designated roller – I’m usually the trim painter/cutter-inner) is tall and skinny even though he eats ice cream nearly every night while I sip tea. Because by Health magazine’s math, a 3-4 hour paint job can burn 600-800 calories for him. That’s a lot, right? I’ve never been a gym goer, but I have distinct memories of clinging to the treadmill on the highest incline at a pretty brisk pace and hoping desperately to get to 250 calories before hitting the showers (or the jacuzzi – I’m just not cut out for those machines). My experiences in the gym were few and far between – I went a few times when a friend who had a gym membership in college would take me with her for “fun”) so I’m admittedly not a calorie/workout expert. And I’m sure cutting in is somehow a bit less of a full body workout than rolling (although when I’m up on my step ladder to paint the top of the room, my calves are always sore the next day). I know painting is hardly a Biggest Loser worthy workout. But I’ll take it.

And speaking of painting, I’m doing it. I’ve started a project that can only be described as long. So it might be a few days before I have afters for ya. In the interest of not teasing you guys, I’ll just spill what it is. It’s the beams in the living room (see a brief mention of our plans for them here). I’m trying a few things (a graywashed look, a stain-ish look, a more opaque/matte look) and we’ll see what we like and take it from there. Actually I’ll probably take it from there while John Clara-sits and blog-sits. So that’s what’s on the agenda on this fine Friday morning (and afternoon, and evening, and all of Saturday, and all of Sunday).I’ll probably be so skinny by the end of this that you won’t even recognize me. Har har. Anyway here are some preliminary pics for ya. I’ll explain more soon, you know, when I get a bit further along in the process:

Beams Project

Beams Project 1

Beams Project2

But since I’m probably not burning that many calories with the ol’ paint brush, what about my other favorite job: demo. I wonder how may cals a good session with a sledgehammer or crowbar burns (obviously not done in flip flops- there was a shoe switcheroo before I helped demolished this medallian in our old backyard a few years back)?

Dscn4765

I’m thinking it’s a lot more than painting. Now that would be a gym class I would totally take every week: Sledghammer Aerobics. Who’s in?

Comments

  1. PJ@Home and Garden Decor says

    Painting wood? Don’t worry, you’ll burn plenty of calories doing that. LOL
    Besides of that, what are you, a gal in a perfect shape, worrying about burning calories at all?

    Have a wonderful weekend guys and don’t work too hard.
    Paula Jo

    Reply

  3. Jaime says

    ooh girl, a little worried about that last pic. last time i checked, sledgehammers and flip-flops were not a good combo. ;)

    Reply

  7. Ofelia says

    Congrats! You are the winner for best home design blog from Apartment therapy. Yeah! good job. Saludos desde México

    Reply

  8. Harinee says

    Hey – Just dropped by Apartment Therapy and saw the news!
    Congratulations! You more than deserve it, of course!

    Reply

  11. Laura says

    Can I ask a completely non-house-related question? I swear I usually ask a lot of home improvement questions on here, so I apologize in advance! :)

    We’re about to have a little girl, and we too are going the cloth diaper route. Do you still use Charlie’s soap powder? It’s one of the detergents I keep hearing rave reviews about. If you do still use it, do you use a full tablespoon w/ each load, or do you cut it in half?

    Reply

  13. Allison says

    LOVE your site! I check it daily and think you have amazing decorating taste! I can totally relate to your style and love that you’re now incorporating kid-friendly design into your home. Congratulations on the new house. It looks great!

    Reply

  17. Brittany says

    I could totally see someone coming up with a Sledghammer Aerobics class. I mean, with things like the Shake Weight, I can only imagine what will be next.

    I’m a gym go-er but I do love at home workouts as well. Cleaning the house is on my favorite ways to burn calories, which apparently burns around 137 calories an hour. Grocery shopping is another one, and the calorie burn is high, a whopping 176 an hour. :)

    Reply

  18. Tara says

    i don’t know if anyone’s suggested this already (and i do realize that you’ve already started in a certain direction) but i was wondering if you had considered painting the ceiling a bold color and the beams white. i just saw this post at gusandlulu the other day and had been day dreaming about transforming my living room/dining room/kitchen open area when i thought of you. i love the look of darker-than-the-walls ceilings. it looks so…professional. and white beams would be such a delicious contrast.

    http://www.gusandlula.com/2011/01/things-are-looking-up-very-loosely.html

    and this is just a take-it-or-leave-it suggestion that i thought couldn’t hurt to throw out there!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We love the idea of a bold ceiling color so that has definitely been something we considered! We just worried that our standard height ceilings might feel heavy- like they’re closing in on us. But the images you linked to definitely look lovely (although many seem to have higher ceilings). We’re really happy with our beam project though. Pics soon!

      xo,
      s

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