8 Ways to Burn Calories When You Have No Time to Exercise
Fitness is so important. Not only because it helps you live longer, but because it 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.
But the reality is, there just isn’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.
Get a Stand up desk
Ever since I heard sitting being “the new smoking habit” I’ve been an advocate for standing while you work ever since. 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 crazy part about all of this is that exercise does not reverse these effects. But standing longer during the day does.
This is why I think investing a stand-up desk is a great idea. Not only are you adding years onto your life, you are 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 lucky enough to have a standing desk riser given to me on behalf of Flexispot, and I could not 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 a bike desk, you should go to Flexispot.com. Their products are AMAZE.
Drink Green Tea
Not all teas are created equal! And green tea is special because it contains something called EGCG, and 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 106 calories per day when drinking for three days in a row. Just hearing those numbers were enough for me to want to get more of this stuff in my system. Drink green tea, burn more calories!
Drink Ice Cold Water
Did you know that you burn calories when you drink ice cold water? The reason for this is because your body uses calories to warm it up. Drinking 4 glasses of ice water a day to burn 25 calories easy!
Strength Train with Habits You Already Have
In all my years of losing weight, I’ve noticed one thing to be true to fast weight loss, strength training. Lifting weights and doing plyometric exercises are great ways to build your 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.
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 important to incorporate these exercises into your everyday 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 have to build muscles to lose weight, but it really isn’t. To lose weight effectively, you need to boost metabolism and leaner muscles you build through strength training is at the core of it.
Take the Stairs
This should be a simple one, but it’s an easy way to get more cardio in your day without having to get on a treadmill. Take the stairs at work. Especially if you are only going up one or two floors. The people going up 6 floors in the elevator will thank you for this one as well.
Wear a Fitbit
You cannot manage what you don’t measure. And wearing a Fitbit definitely helps in this regard. A Fitbit is a wearable tracker that tracks how many steps you do in a day. The amount you should shoot for in a day 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 just track my steps. It works as a heart rate monitor, measures the intensity of my workouts and lets me differential between riding a bike, running, being on an elliptical machines, etc. It even tracks how I sleep at night to see if I am getting enough and the quality of my sleep. Ive 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
Did you know that you could burn 100 calories just by doing light house work such as dusting, washing the 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. There is a lot of calorie burning going on here. So don’t neglect your chores!
I hope this inspires you be more fit and think about your well being for the future. You only have 1 body. So make an effort to keep it active and healthy!
Sources:
How Much Green Tea Do You Need to Lose Weight?
Ways Sitting is Shortening Your Life
Calories Burned Standing vs. Sitting
30 Unusual ways to Burn More Calories without Exercising
Lose 35 pounds without working out
