Get into the habit of being more active every day and you’ll be amazed at how many calories you can burn without noticing. We’ve rounded up some simple ideas and daily activities to help you learn how to improve your fitness and burn an extra 100 calories (minimum!) every day…
While calories are not the be-all-end-all of health and fitness, being somewhat aware of how many calories you’re burning each day can be a helpful way to monitor your food intake in comparison to your energy expenditure. If, for example, you’re trying to reach a healthier weight for your body type, ensuring you’re in a slight ‘calorie deficit’, where you’ll be burning more calories than you’re consuming, will naturally lead to healthy weight loss.
If you’re looking to learn how to burn more calories per day – say an extra 100, for example – upping your daily physical activity is key. Not only will movement help you burn more calories, but it will also improve your health, fitness and wellbeing from every aspect. Below, we’ve rounded up some simple ideas and activities you can try to help you on your quest to get active and learn how to burn an extra 100 calories every day…
NOTE: While a small calorie deficit can be useful in aiding healthy weight loss, putting your body in an extreme calorie deficit can be harmful. Be sure to always fuel your body with healthy, nutritious foods and only exercise within your own limits. Listening to your body and doing what’s right for you is key!
10 ways to burn an extra 100 calories every day
1. Climb the stairs for 8 mins
Climbing stairs is a massive energy spend and a brilliant thigh trimmer. Simply learn to avoid lifts at all times except in very tall buildings and even then you can get out of the lift a few floors earlier and climb the rest.
2. Get active in your lunchbreak for 10 mins
The ideal lunch break is split into two. One half spending calories and the other half eating them (a heathy lunch of course!). If you sit at a desk all day then make it a priority to get physical. A 10-minute gentle jog will burn 100 calories but if you can keep going for 20 minutes you will burn off most of your lunch!
3. Plan active leisure time for 14 mins
Make good use of the evenings while they are still light and any good weather at the weekends. Plan activities that keep you on the move and get all your friends and family involved as well. It might be something simple like a walk in the countryside, entering a local fun run or joining a dance class, but just make sure your bottom is not connected to a chair!
4. Dump the car and get on your bike for 14 mins
Twenty-five per cent of all car journeys are less than a mile. It would take you only seven minutes to cycle the same distance and use up a significant number of calories as an added bonus. This is a good time of year to get on your bike and enjoy it – so make it a rule that for short journeys you use your own fuel and not the petrol in the car (especially with the current prices..!).
5. Pack a punch with housework for 17 mins
Make every household chore have real energy and value. You can seriously add to the calorie spend just by adding vigour to every move you make. Put on a lively piece of music and you can dance as you dust and lunge as you hoover!
6. Swap a shopping trolley for a basket for 17 mins
Carrying shopping feels like hard work and it is. You burn more calories carrying extra weight and you’ll tone your arms. Always even the load out between both sides by taking two baskets, stand tall and stride out.
7. Get to work actively for 20 mins
For many of us there is more than one way to get to work and there may be a more physical way. That extra calorie spend everyday will be significant. Walking to bus stops, train stations or your car may not have occurred to you, so try a different way.
8. Walk 2,000 more steps per day for 20 mins
It takes 20 minutes to walk 2,000 steps and burn 100 calories. So wear a pedometer and vow to add an extra 2,000 steps a day. The effect will be dramatic – this time next year you could be a lot fitter and healthier.
9. Suggest walking meetings for 26 minutes
Got a meeting arranged? Then don’t sit through it – walk it! It is far better to go out spending calories than sitting and eating them (most meetings involve biscuits and cake). Suggest it in advance so your colleagues have the right shoes on.
10. Stay active while on the phone for 28 mins
When you answer the phone stay on your feet. The longer the conversation the better. Standing up uses double the calories of sitting down. If you’re on your mobile phone, walk about or even go up and down the stairs a few times to burn some extra calories.
