What if you were told that you burn calories even without exercising?
Oftentimes, when we think of burning calories, we think of hitting the gym, dancing the Zumba, jogging in the park, and busting out the Wii Fit. We fail to realize that everything we do that requires movement of the body actually burns calories.
If you’re a waiter, at the end of the day, you’ve burned some mega calories running back and forth from kitchen to table and back again for hours and hours. You’re a stay at home parent? Chasing after kiddos, playing catch and roughhousing burns calories! Everything does!
Is vacuuming every day going to turn you into a sports calendar model overnight? Nope.
But it WILL help you stay on track with your diet, especially if you’re logging your caloric intake. If you’ve discovered that you’re about to go over your daily calorie allowance by noon – then it’s time go out and rake some leaves.
So, if the word “exercise” makes you wanna run… the other way… no worries. Here are 30 realistic and “non-exercisey” activities that you can do (or do MORE of) that will burn 100 calories.
Dancing – 20 minutes
Vacuuming – 25 minutes
Gardening – 30 minutes
Do the week’s ironing – 40 minutes
Raking the leaves – 40 minutes
Washing your vehicle (wax and clean out the inside for more burn!) – 30 minutes
Fidgeting (yes, fidgeting!) – 1 hour 30 minutes
Light housework (dishes, dusting, sweeping, etc) – 20 minutes
Grocery shopping – 30 minutes
Serious cookin, (making everything from scratch and prepping everything by hand with no fancy gadgets) – 40 minutes
Give someone a massage – 25 minutes
Sit in a Sauna – 15 minutes
Rough house with this kids – 25 minutes
Chop wood – 15 minutes
Take a long nap – 1 hour 25 minutes
See Also: 7 Easy Tips on How to Get the Perfect Nap
Rearrange a room – 15 minutes
Play pool (billiards) – 35 minutes
Bowling – 30 minutes
Making Love – 30 minutes
Laughing – 1 hour 18 minutes
Play Scrabble with friends – 2 hours
Go fishing – 25 minutes
Play table tennis (ping-pong) – 25 minutes
Singing – 40 minutes
Putt-Putt Golf – 30 minutes
Walk the dog – 25
Sit on an exercise ball – 1 hour
Chew gum – 1 hour 40 minutes
Walk to work – 20 minutes
Drink 4 glasses of ice water. You body will burn up to 25 calories trying to warm the water when it enters your body.
See Also: 6 Ways to Lose Weight (and Still Have Fun)