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DOCTOR’S CONCERNS GROW AS BICEPS “BLOW UP” DURING COMMON WORKOUT Activity Raises Eyebrows Among Medical Professionals
Between limited time and the high cost of gym memberships, it may seem impossible to get enough exercise.
But experts say you don’t need to hit the weight room to burn calories. There are steps you can take every day at home and in the office that may burn more calories than a traditional workout.
Non-exercise activity thermogenesis, or NEAT, is described as a
the process wherein the body consumes greater amounts of energy
And burns more calories performing daily activities throughout the day compared to when exercising.
In addition to maintaining your weight, NEAT can also aid in improving circulation, heart health, boosting your mood, and stabilizing blood sugar levels — thereby reducing the risk of various conditions.
diabetes
and cardiovascular diseases.
Dr Michael Dakkak, a sports medicine physician explains: ‘NEAT accounts for the activities we do that aren’t ‘exercise’ but still use the body’s energy to improve your performance, burn calories and help keep your body operating efficiently.’
Below, HistoryOpinionreveals the six everyday things you can do to effortlessly burn calories:
Standing at work
Extensive research shows when you are standing instead of sitting in the office, the body uses more oxygen and in turn, burns more calories.
Studies measuring oxygen consumption found standing requires approximately 0.15 calories per minute more than sitting for most people.
While the difference itself is miniscule, it can accumulate over long workdays and make a big difference.
A person working at an office and standing for about three hours during an eight-hour shift can burn roughly 15 to 30 calories each hour.
This can amount to nearly 1,800 calories over the span of a month – equivalent to running 18 miles.
Adjusting your posture and fidgeting
Regularly changing your posture and positioning instead of sitting in the same position for hours at a time can also make a significant difference in your calorie-burning journey.
Studies using specialized monitoring equipment show people who frequently shift positions or change their posture throughout the day expend more energy to burn more calories.
While fidgeting has long been considered disruptive, it actually helps you burn more calories than sitting still.
Small activities such as leaning side to side in your chair, tapping your foot, wiggling your toes, twirling your hair and shoulder rolls can keep the body active and burning calories all day.
A 2005
study
suggests merely tapping your foot, shaking your leg and other general signs of restlessness can help you burn 350 calories a day – enough to produce a weight loss of 30 to 40 pounds in one year.
Everyday walking
You may not realize it, but browsing aisles at the supermarket or walking a few blocks to your bus stop can expend energy.
Even pacing around your home while you talk on the phone can burn calories.
The study revealed that walking for just two minutes every half hour notably enhanced post-meal blood glucose management when contrasted with prolonged sitting and standing alike.
A woman who weighs 150lbs and walks – even leisurely – 60 minutes per day can burn about 210 calories.
On the other hand, a man who weighs 200lbs and walks for an hour can burn 246 calories.
Household chores
Tasks like preparing home-cooked meals, tidying up, and washing dishes manually can significantly boost energy consumption.
Research indicates that vacuuming for half an hour can burn approximately 99 calories if you weigh around 120 lbs, about 124 calories if you’re close to 150 lbs, and roughly 166 calories if your weight is nearer to 200 lbs.
Tidying up beds, tending to the garden, cleaning windows, disposing of garbage, and scouring surfaces all help burn calories and engage muscle groups.
While scrubbing the bathtub with some additional effort, flipping the mattress to tidy up the bed, carrying bulky garbage bags from the kitchen to the street, and going upstairs multiple times within your home, you’re getting exercise without realizing it.
For someone weighing 120 lbs, spending an hour doing various cleaning tasks at home will burn approximately 171 calories, whereas mowing the lawn can expend about 314 calories in that same timeframe.
Gardening is an excellent housework activity for torching calories subconsciously.
Participating in activities such as digging, weeding, raking, and planting—which qualify as forms of moderate-intensity exercise—can help maintain bodily movement and keep your metabolism active for burning calories.
The CDC reports that spending 30 to 45 minutes working in your garden can help you burn as many as 300 calories.
Despite staying indoors all day, going up and down the stairs and shifting items around can help you expend approximately 240 calories daily.
Taking the stairs
Choosing to use the staircase instead of elevators at work, in medical facilities, shopping centers, or transit stations could aid in shedding roughly one pound over a few months’ time.
A study examining step counts among various populations discovered that individuals who average at least 7,500 steps per day tend to have notably superior weight management compared to less active counterparts.
A person weighing 160 lbs can burn approximately five calories per minute when climbing stairs at a slow pace, and around four calories each minute when descending those stairs gradually.
An individual can expend 19 calories each minute by jogging up a staircase.
Interacting with children or animals
Many of the games played by children, particularly those involving younger ones, consist of quick and impromptu actions like dashing about, leaping, squatting, and pursuing each other.
And all of these things can significantly raise your heart rate and burn calories.
Similarly, doing simple things with your pets such as throwing a ball or taking them on a casual walk can also help with weight loss.
A 2023 Lloyds Pharmacy study found, on average, a man burns about 250 calories per hour playing with children or pets, while women burn about 211 calories, depending on the intensity of the play session.
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