34 Ways to Burn More Calories in a Day

So my husband informed me that in his Men's Health magazine (a great gift from his parents) that an article said that if you eat only an extra 170 calories a day beyond your energy needs that you can gain a pound a week.  A POUND A WEEK!!!   Do you know how few calories that is?  That's a few bites here and there and they really add up.  So step away from your child's left over nuggets and try my 34 steps to burning extra calories.

1.   Always take the stairs, avoid elevators and escalators.  Or in my case go down stairs to see what the kids are doing instead of yelling for them to come upstairs and give a report of what they are doing.  (Yeah I can be that lazy).

2.     Park further away from your destination than usual.  And if you are grocery shopping return your cart to the store.  It is a nice thing to do and it is more movement.

3.     Try to be active while watching TV, even if it's just doing housework.  Do your dishes, sort your bills, or dust.

4.     Stand and let someone else have your seat when riding the bus or subway.

5.     Go out and walk, hike at a park, or play pool (something active) instead of going out to dinner or for a treat.

6.     Take “walking breaks” instead of coffee breaks at work in order to get your body moving during the day.

I do this all the time at work, don't you?

7.     If possible, ride your bike to work or the gym once or twice a week.

8.     Play with your kids instead of just watching them. Even if it's just having a tea party on the floor, they'll love it and you'll be more active than you would otherwise be just sitting on the couch.

9.     Walk your dog instead of just letting him outside to roam.

10.  Mow your lawn with a push mower.

11.  Walk in place, do some leg lifts, stretches or sit ups while watching TV.

12.  Tap your feet.  I do this one all the time, you can burn an extra 300 calories a day with this one.

13.  Dance around the house.

14.  Ride a skateboard around the house.  I do this one all the time, do you know you have to balance to do this.  Takes some core to ride the boards.

15.  Wash the car. Feel free to do so in a skimpy swimsuit in the winter, keeping warm will help you burn even more calories.

16.  Do yard work. 

17.  Swing your legs. Just pretend you are 5 again.

18.  Drum your fingers.

19.  Stand up and stretch

20.  Move your head side to side

21.  Pace back and forth

22.  Stand while on the phone

23.  Smile and laugh

24.  Fidget.  People might think you have AD HD but it will be worth it.

25.  Vacuum.  If you want you can be crazy and make sure all the vacuum lines in your carpet are straight and match up, that should keep you busy for awhile.

The wind often blows through my hair as I vacuum.

26.  Drink cold water all day

27.  Get up to change the channel on the TV.  This for me would require a ladder so I can burn even more calories.

28.  Chew gum all day

29.  Wash windows

30.  Move your printer further from your computer at work so you can walk to it.

31.  Stand while working at your desk.

32.  Stretch in the shower.

33.  Flex your muscles throughout the day, this can be done in the car too.

34.  While standing, alternate each foot standing on your tip toes.  I saw a TSA worker at the airport doing this.

A lot of these extra calorie burners involve cleaning but I have learned from personal experience that cleaning can help the fight against fat.  When I first started losing weight 18 months ago, one weekend I worked on cleaning the entire house for several hours a day.  I cleaned every base board, every window, and every wall in the house (yes I am obsessive like that).  That weekend I lost 2 1/2 pounds. 

Don't give up and every calorie you can burn counts!

Thanks to Men's Health for a great little article, now I have to go wash my hands because they smell like some stinky cologne from one of the ads in the magazine. 

As always if you need a Beachbody coach and a friend to help motivate you just text me 360.609.4983 and check out my Beachbody site www.beachbodycoach.com/amycobine