How To Burn Calories Doing Everyday Chores

No Time To Exercise?

Okay, Okay, Okay, I get it…you have NO time to exercise.

You’re busy, the kids are running you ragged (30 calories burned right there, LOL), and you still have to get to work.

But there are really truly ways for you to burn EXTRA calories every day, but adding in MOVEMENT to your daily routine!

How To Burn Calories Doing Everyday Chores

Daily living activities like climbing the stairs can make a significant contribution to the 30 minutes of exercise we all need…everyday.

For those who have trouble finding time to play sports, there are plenty of ways to get some exercise without even realising. Getting moving with day-to-day activities like gardening, cleaning, dancing, grocery shopping and brisk walking can burn up to 400 calories per hour. Via star2.com

Yep, it’s all about MOVEMENT.  Just cleaning your house, vacuuming, cleaning the windows, mopping up those dirty floors burns 250 calories an hour.

And here is one brilliant tip to help you burn even more.  Turn on some music, yep play it loud, and you will burn even more.  Because who can’t help but dancing around when you’re favorite tunes are cheering you on!  It really really works!

Stuck In An Office All Day?

Now if you work in an office, there are LOTS of things you can do there too.

The easiest is probably bringing your tennies along with you and going for a walk at lunch.  If you have an hour for lunch, eat for 15 minutes, and then go for a walk around the city!  Grab a co-worker to go with you, and you can keep each other accountable.  Bonus, you can gossip about everyone in the office while you’re walking!

Brisk walking is a great activity for losing weight. Walking for 30 minutes at a reasonably fast, steady pace (around 3 to 4mph – 5 to 6km/h) can burn up to 175 calories. Via star2.com

Ignore the Elevators and Escalators – Who Cares if They Hate You!

Another thing you can do when you go to work is to park far away from the office.  Don’t try to get the closest spot.  And then, if you work in building with stairs, take the stairs ALL DAY LONG.  Do not get your butt in that elevator.  Just keep hoofing it all day long.

Get this, it’s math, and it’s true…

• One flight of stairs, three times per day= 15 calories burned
• Two flights of stairs, three times per day= 30 calories burned
• Three flights of stairs, three times per day= 45 calories burned
• Four flights of stairs, three times per day= 60 calories burned
• Five flights of stairs, three times per day= 75 calories burned
• Six flights of stairs, three times per day= 90 calories burned

Okay, now this is brilliant…so if you walked just TWO flights of stairs, three times per day, you would burn an extra 150 calories per week, or 600 calories per month, or 7,200 calories per year.  That’s two pounds per year.  Okay, you’re freaking out here thinking, that’s not much.  But it is is.  That’s 2 pounds PER YEAR, adding nothing else, you are down 10 pounds in five years.  And it will stay off.  And now check this out, if you are in a larger building, and you climb six flights of stairs, you are going to TRIPLE that, yep, 30 pounds down in five years.  That’s nothing to sneeze at!

Bring Some Light Equipment to Work!

Another thing you can do is to have a set of 3 pound weights in your desk, and/or an exercise band.

Set a timer that is AUDIBLE so you can hear it!  Make it go off every hour, and you get up for 5 minutes, just 5 minutes, and do some exercises with the band, like tie it around the foot of your desk and do some rows.  Or grab the dumbbells and do some lunges around your office.  Or do some stationary squats while you press them overhead.  This stuff really really works, and it adds up to calorie burn and hence weight loss OVER TIME.

Losing weight OVER TIME is proven to help you keep it off longer without that dreaded yo-yo effect from crash dieting.  When you burn a bunch of calories too fast, and then in a month, you’ve gained it all back and then some!

Dance The Day Away:

This trick really works, because it’s hard not to MOVE when we hear music.  So play some music, LOUD, and just dance around the house, like you’re at your very own party!.  Dance for two or three songs, ten minutes!  An hour of dancing can burn up to 400 calories!  That’s 150 calories every fifteen minutes.  How fun is that, you can actually LOSE one pound a month by adding 15 minutes of dancing to your day!

So don’t discount the simple formula about how to burn calories doing everyday chores.  You can work this in easily to burn extra calories, stay healthy, and add up to weight loss OVER TIME.  Remember it’s the OVER TIME part that matters here!  It takes TIME, and you got it!

To Your Health!

~Laura