No Time For Exercise? Here Are 8 Proven Ways To Burn Calories

Fitness is important. But the reality is there are not enough hours in the day. I share some tips I've learned to burn calories when I am too busy for the gym.

Fitness is so necessary. Not only does it help you live longer, but it also helps you clear your mind to work better. I love getting a good walk in during the day almost as much as I enjoy working on the magazine.

However, the reality is that there aren’t enough hours in the day. I cannot always get a walk in during the day, so I’ve had to be a little more inventive when it comes to burning calories every day.

I want to share some of the tips I’ve learned to burn calories when you are just too busy for the gym.

Table of Contents

Get a standing desk

Ever since I heard sitting being “the new smoking habit,” I’ve been an advocate for standing while you work. According to the Active Times, sitting for long periods of time increases your risk for Type 2 Diabetes, Cancer, muscular issues, depression, and slows down your metabolism.

If that is not scary enough, it also increases your risk of becoming obese. And the remarkable aspect of all this is that exercise does not reverse these effects. But standing longer during the day does.

This is why I think investing in a stand-up desk is a great idea. Not only are you adding years to your life, but you are also burning calories at the same time. According to Livestrong.com, A 130-pound woman burns 99 calories per hour from standing and only 78 calories per hour when sitting. That’s a whopping 792 calories in 8 hours. That’s almost the equivalent of how many calories you burn from jogging for 2 hours.

I was fortunate enough to receive a standing desk riser on behalf of Flexispot, and I couldn’t be more pleased! The great thing about the desk riser is that I can stand at my desk, and when I get tired, I can lower it again.

There is even enough space on it to add a second monitor if I wanted to. If you want to learn more about getting your own stand-up desk, desk riser, or Rora ke desk, you should visit visit pot.com. Their products are AMAZE.

Drink Green Tea

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Not all teas are created equal! Green tea is special because it contains something called EGCG, an antioxidant that has been linked to weight loss. According to Caloriebee.com, a scientific study reported that drinking three cups of green tea per day, mixed with a bit of low-fat milk, can burn approximately 106 calories per day when consumed for three consecutive days. Just hearing those numbers was enough for me to want to incorporate more of this into my system. Drink green tea, burn more calories!

Drink Ice Cold Water

burn calories with ice cold water — Photo by Jez Timms on Unsplash

Did you know that you burn calories when you drink ice-cold water? The reason for this is that your body uses calories to generate heat. Drinking four glasses of ice water a day can easily burn 25 calories.

Strength Train with Habits You Already Have

Throughout my years of losing weight, I’ve noticed one thing to be true for achieving fast weight loss: strength training. Lifting weights and performing plyometric exercises are excellent ways to build muscle.

And when you have more muscle in your body, you burn more fat, which means you could burn more calories while you sleep! The best part is that it does not take a lot to build more muscle.

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I know what you are thinking. “But I don’t have time for exercise! Why do you think I am reading this?” And I know, which is why it is essential to incorporate these exercises into your daily routines. You can do standing leg lifts while you brush your teeth. Squats while you wait for your coffee to brew and ab exercises when you are watching TV.

If you are looking for ways to get fit while you catch up on Game of Thrones, check out this workout to get fit while you watch TV. I think you can do many of these exercises doing other routines too, but it gives you an idea of what’s possible. It may sound counterintuitive to some that you need to build muscle to lose weight, but it’s actually not. To lose weight effectively, you need to boost your metabolism, and the leaner muscles you build through strength training are at the core of this process.

Take the Stairs

This should be a simple one, but it’s an easy way to incorporate more cardio into your day without having to use a treadmill. Take the stairs at work, especially if you are only going up one or two floors. The people going up six floors in the elevator will thank you for this one as well.

Wear a Fitbit

fitbits help you burn calories — That’s me! Wearing my Fitbit as always.

You cannot manage what you don’t measure. And wearing a Fitbit definitely helps in this regard. A Fitbit is a wearable device that tracks the number of steps you take in a day. The recommended daily target is 10,000 steps. But do any more than that and you are bound to drop pounds.

I have a Fitbit Charge 2 and I love it since it does way more than track my steps. It works as a heart rate monitor, measuring the intensity of my workouts and allowing me to differentiate between riding a bike, running, and using an elliptical machine, among others.

It even tracks how I sleep at night to see if I am getting enough and the quality of my sleep. I’ve been wearing a Fitbit for 3 years now, and I love my Fitbit. You can get one with free shipping by going here.

Clean The House

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Did you know that you can burn 100 calories just by doing household chores, such as dusting, washing dishes, and sweeping? Neither did I! But it made sense why I would be exhausted after cleaning my house for 2 hours on the weekend. A lot of calorie burning is going on here. So don’t neglect your chores!

I hope this inspires you to prioritize your fitness and consider your long-term well-being. You only have one body. So please make an effort to keep it active and healthy!