Lazy Ways To Burn Calories

Losing weight without lacing up your sneakers might sound too good to be true but here’s the secret - staying fit doesn't always have to involve gruelling workouts. According to the studies, it can be as easy as fidgeting. All you have to do is understand the caloric balance and grab every opportunity in the day to boost your heart rate. 

Before we jump into effortless yet effective ways you can burn calories, let’s understand the Caloric Balance Equation. A calorie is a unit of energy you get from food (no matter the source) and the Caloric Balance is a scale to maintain your body weight. If you want to maintain your body weight, the calories you gain by eating have to be burnt. If you want to gain weight you need to increase your calorie income and if you want to lose weight, you can either reduce your intake or burn more calories. 

Let’s start with Fidgeting. You read it right, a study from 2005 pointed out that merely shaking your leg, tapping your fingers, or twirling a pen can help you get away with 350 Calories a day! (To give you a reference, an average daily calorie intake is around 2000-2500)

Laugh more: A Vanderbilt University study (2005) concluded that 10-15 minutes of laughter could burn up to 40 calories. A good, hearty laugh engages your abdominal muscles and increases your heart rate. So, don't hold back those giggles – besides,  incorporating laughter into your daily life can have significant benefits for your health and well-being. 

Sleep: If you are one of those folks who end up sleeping less, a beginning step towards burning 40-80 calories can be as simple as sleeping one hour more. Inadequate sleeping disturbs your caloric balance by taking control of your appetite hormones. Fixing your sleep quality and quantity can help you not only in burning calories but improving your overall well-being.

Drink water: The logic is simple, dehydration leads to a drop in your metabolic rate which has been correlated with resistance in weight loss. So, more water (8 cups a day) could increase your metabolic rate, thus helping you burn more calories at rest and during activity too. Furthermore, more water means an intake of fewer calories, it's a win-win situation.

Mindful Eating: Paying attention to your body's hunger and fullness cues and practicing mindful eating can help prevent overeating and support weight management. You can up this game by including green tea and some high-fiber, low-starch foods as well.

Doing household chores, sitting less and walking more, stretching, swimming, and gardening are a few other ways you can burn calories. Remember, sometimes it’s the little movements that count.