These expert-approved activities will boost the burn without your ever breaking a sweat.
1. GET A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP
Perhaps the easiest way to burn more calories every day requires the least amount of energy—how fun is that? It’s sleeping—something we should all aim to do at least seven hours a day.
Sleep actually helps your body run better. What’s more: Research has shown that people who chronically get fewer than six hours of sleep per day have lower metabolic rates, higher chances of developing chronic diseases, and higher rates of weight gain.
2. INCREASE PROTEIN THROUGHOUT THE DAY
Burn calories eating burgers? Yes, please.
Protein requires your body to work a little harder to digest foods than carbs and fat—it’s called the thermic effect of food. This means you burn a few extra calories with higher protein snacks and meals than ones that are lower in protein.
Try switching up your diet by lowering your intake of added fats and simple carbs and increasing your intake of high-protein foods such as eggs, quinoa, lentils, and almonds.
3. WALK INSTEAD OF DRIVE
When you live in the suburbs, it’s easy to hop in your car for every errand, near or far. But sitting behind the wheel for 5, 10, or 15 minutes instead of walking, which might take you five to ten times longer, will ultimately burn way fewer calories.
Try walking to the grocery store and carrying your groceries back home at least one day a week.
4. LIFT YOUR PILLOWS OVER YOUR HEAD ON THE COUCH
For most of us, sitting on the couch means just that, sitting and not moving. But you can (and should!) incorporate some movement so that you can burn some calories while watching TV.
Lift your couch pillows over your head 50 times and also circling the couch itself to get your blood pumping. During each commercial break, get up and take three laps around the couch. This keeps your body moving, which is good for the muscles, all while burning some calories.
5. FOLLOW THE 6/60 RULE
This is the 6/60 rule—stand or move for six minutes every 60 minutes of the day. The 6/60 rule is based on research published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, which shows that as little as six minutes of standing or movement each hour is enough to offset the metabolic slowdown caused by long periods of sitting.
6. CUT BACK YOUR WORKOUT TIME
While it might sound counter intuitive, less may be more when it comes to exercising.
One study, published in the journal Physiology, analyzed whether the amount of time spent exercising had an impact on greater weight loss; it showed that participants who exercised for 30 minutes each day for three months lost about 8 pounds while the ones who exercised for 60 minutes per day lost only 6 pounds.
How is this possible? A half-hour is an easier amount of time to push yourself at a higher intensity than an hour.
Try keeping the intensity high and the volume relatively low—efficient workouts are always the best.
7. BOOK MORE REST TIME
Believe it or not, we actually create small micro tears in our muscles over time when we work out, especially after lifting weights. They then repair themselves, which helps them get stronger over time.
Training without proper rest, however, prohibits the body from making those needed repairs. When you rest your body properly between workouts, you actually give yourself a metabolism boost that helps you burn calories even when not at the gym.
Rest days could be total rest or encompass light movement patterns—stretching and mobility moves—to get the body moving gently and break up tight muscles.
8. ADD LIGHT WEIGHTS TO YOUR ERRANDS
Put your errands to work for your figure by adding light ankle weights to your everyday activities, including grocery shopping, walking to the bus, and even puttering around the house.
This can help improve vascularization, minimize stubborn belly fat, and burn calories.
9. PLAY IN THE POOL
Embrace your inner child and have fun the next time you’re in a swimming pool instead of just wading into the water.
Play with your kids, or your grandkids, do laps or hydro running. When you move your body in a pool, you navigate pushing through the hydrostatic pressure experienced in water, which will require more muscle engagement even for easy activities.
This can mean 200 to 500 calories burned an hour!
10. WASH YOUR OWN CAR
Sure, the drive-through is way easier, but washing your car yourself isn’t all that hard—plus, it burns way more calories than sitting and watching a machine do all the work.
As you wash low and high parts of your car (or truck), your body will be moving up and down, which works some major gluteal and leg muscles (not to mention your core, back, and arms).
Add in waxing your vehicle, and you can tack on easily another 300 to 500 calories depending on the size of the vehicle.
11. DRINK LOTS OF ICE WATER
If you prefer your water room temperature, it might be time to add in some ice cubes!
Drinking chilled liquids forces your body to work harder by warming up the liquid before it can be passed further into the gastrointestinal system. This translates to more calories burned to warm up those liquids.
12. TURN THE HEAT DOWN
Like drinking ice-cold beverages, hanging out in a cold room has calorie-burning benefits too. Research by the National Institutes of Health has shown that exposure to cold temperatures can trigger calorie-burning and fat loss.
More importantly, cold weather essentially exercises the circulatory system, effectively reducing inflammation and helping prevent heart and circulatory disease.
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