Want to get in shape and lose weight but have no time or money for a gym membership? Learn how to burn calories without going to the gym. How many calories do everyday activities burn? You might be surprised!
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Getting in shape for swimsuit season
I have decided that it is getting too close to swimsuit season for me not to be getting serious about dropping a few pounds. I usually avoid bathing suits like the plague. However, my neighborhood has a pool and we just about LIVE there from May through September. When it is 100 degrees and I am sitting under the umbrella in my shorts and tshirt…people notice!
Like this post about how to burn calories without going to the gym? Here are a few more weight loss tips:
- Weight Loss and Sleep: How To Sleep Your Way To A Skinnier You!
- Healthy Weight Loss Tips for Long Term Success: What is the best diet for long term success? It may not be a ‘DIET’ at all!
- 7 Reasons to Start Running to Lose Weight: Running to lose weight can be a great addition to your workout regimen.
So, I will be the first to admit that I DETEST exercise. I like walking and hiking in the woods and gardening so I don’t dislike being physically active. But, working out for the sake of exercise seems a bit like, well, WORK!
I force myself to do it occasionally just so I can fit into my pants but I don’t go “Oh, YAY I get to go run today!” unlike my slightly weird husband!
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How many calories can you burn in a day?
There is a reason we moms are exhausted at the end of the day. We do a lot of housework, baby chasing, errands, cooking, etc. Those things use calories. And, the more calories we use up, the more Cheetos we can eat after the kids go to bed. Okay, maybe not if I want to actually get into that bathing suit any time soon.
Here is a list of a few common activities and how many calories each one burns. (these numbers are based on my age, sex, and weight. To get accurate numbers for yourself, head over to WebMD and put your own info into the activity calculator) (all numbers are for one HOUR of each activity…)
Once you know how to burn calories without going to the gym, maybe you can cancel the gym membership and plan a beach vacation instead. If you want to start tracking calories burn more accurately, we have great results with the Fitbit Charge 3 Activity Tracker. It syncs with a very easy to use app on your phone to keep track of calories burned.
- Gardening: 225 calories
- Shoveling Snow by hand: 340 calories
- Sitting in church 56 calories (hey, we should all take a few minutes of peaceful thought!)
- Moderately active sex 73 calories (hah! a whole hour? funny!)
- Driving your car: 113 calories
- Playing the piano: 141 calories (no wonder my daughter is so skinny!)
- Taking a bath: 84 calories (I do love a nice long bath!)
- Walking the dog: 179 calories (the dog likes this one!)
- Talking on the phone while standing: 101 calories
The more you move, the more you burn
Of course, the faster you move, the more calories you burn. 1 hour of running 5 mph (a 12 minute mile…that is doable) burns 450 calories. Seriously, though, I would rather spend that hour soaking in a hot bath than running but I don’t think that is going to get me into my swimsuit any time soon.
Have fun with the calculator! It was interesting to see how many calories I burn doing housework. I should get that vacuum cleaner out more often. What is your preferred method of burning calories?
Diane is a professional blogger and nationally certified pharmacy technician at Good Pill Pharmacy. She earned her BS in Microbiology at the University of New Hampshire and has worked in cancer research, academics, and biotechnology. Concern over the growing incidence of human disease and the birth of her children led her to begin living a more natural life. She quickly realized that the information she was learning along the way could be beneficial to many others and started blogging and freelance writing to share this knowledge with others. Learn more about her HERE.
I think something in there has to be off, though I definitely love the idea of burning calories with everyday things. But burning more calories by taking a bath than having sex? Something seems off there.
This is another great calorie calculator. You can see at once all the activities:
http://www.healthdiscovery.net/links/calculators/calorie_calculator.htm
I’m glad to see easier ways to exercise. 🙂
I learned that I burned 2 calories while writing this comment! LOL!
interesting note about the sex versus bath calorie output! I will have to recheck that!