23 Unique Ways To Burn Calories Without Even Trying!

Getting a workout regimen started can be tough if motivation is hard to come by. The good news is that you can get a decent amount of exercise doing normal everyday tasks, or by changing up current routines only slightly, because exercise is simply anything that takes you out of your normal range of motion and gets your heart working harder. If you are looking to lose weight remember: you need to use more calories than you intake, so better food choices are key. Some tips are common sense, but some might be an eye opener!

Texting

Yeah, that’s right: texting. If you are as attached to your phone as most people are these days, you may be burning calories without even realizing it. The constant movement of your fingers will actually burn calories throughout the day. An hour of straight texting will use up over 100 calories if you were curious.

Eating Spicy Foods

Chili pepper and mustard seeds specifically have an ingredient called capsaicin which will speed up your metabolism. Granted this is probably because it is an irritant to mammals–including humans–so the metabolism boost comes with the price of a burning throat.

Cold Showers

Not only will it wake you up, your body will have to work extra hard to maintain its core temperature which means a workout! It’s a cold burn.

Laughter

Get that diaphragm moving and you can chuckle away up to five pounds per year. Laughter really is the best medicine, so if you are going to relax, you might as well get a workout in by watching a comedy. I heard “Friends” just went up on Netflix…

Dancing

They may have outlawed it in Bomont, Oklahoma, but that didn’t stop Kevin Bacon from tearing up the dance floor and you shouldn’t let it stop you either. Take a class in swing dancing, zumba, or flamenco, and your heart will thank you, and you will probably have a lot of fun along the way.

Make Meetings Active

Rather than meeting up for coffee to catch up with an old friend, do something active together. Take a walk, throw a frisbee or ball around, or go window shopping. You will still get to be social, but your body will thank you for the movement. Oh, and you can drink coffee while you walk, which is another nice perk.

Talking

Yes, you do burn calories talking. About an average of 50 calories per hour of casual talking actually. Another benefit: if you are really into the conversation, you will be less likely to eat as much because your mouth will be busy, so you will take in fewer calories. Not a bad trade off.

Roughhousing With Your Kids

Kids seem to be full of energy! Help them work some of it out before bedtime by wrestling around with them, the boys especially since they tend to be more active. The extra movement will be fun for them, good for you, and will give you quality time with your kids. What is there to lose?

Indecisive Fashion Sense

If you have trouble deciding what you are going to wear, or how you want your furniture arranged, you will blow through calories pretty quickly. Taking off your clothes only burns 8 calories, but if you change outfits enough in the morning, this can really add up! Moving furniture around will get you there a whole lot faster.

Sex

Everyone was thinking it. You can actually burn around 150 calories for thirty minutes between the sheets, and who doesn’t enjoy this form of exercise? If your partner is encouraging you to workout, remind them that they can help you in that department.

Playing Tonsil Hockey

A solid thirty minute make-out session will burn nearly 250 calories! Just another reason to invest some time with your partner. It has hockey in the name, so it’s a sport right?

Active Video Gaming Experiences

Motion gaming has made this so much easier with systems like the Wii and Xbox Kinect, but that doesn’t mean normal gaming can’t be an exercise too. One tip: don’t sit down when you play. If you stay standing, you will be able to move more and will be less likely to remain planted there for hours.

Make Music

Our brains need energy too, so just thinking and processing information will work to burn calories. If you combine that with the movement that comes with playing an instrument, you will be exercising without even realizing it. Playing the violin for an hour will help you burn about as many calories as walking for an hour; if you both concurrently, you’ll double your efforts!

Walking The Dog

Your little friend needs exercise too, so make sure to get the little pup outside and moving around the neighborhood. You can burn at least 100 calories if you walk for at least an hour.

Tap Your Feet

You will want to do this quietly of course so as not to annoy those around you, but it requires energy to tap your feet and move your legs. This is especially helpful if you sit for long periods of the day at a desk. You won’t drop 20 pounds overnight, but the extra movement will burn calories, slowly but surely.

Hiking

So this is like walking, but with a purpose. Hiking will allow you to enjoy beautiful scenery around you, and will provide lots of fresh air. Hopefully you have a nice park nearby, but if not, making a day of it and finding a good hiking trail with a good friend will be both fun and healthy for you.

Biking

Ride your bike to nearby places rather than driving. You will save money on gas, and get in some exercise at the same time. Plus, the bike parking is generally right by the front door, so you won’t have to spend as much time finding a parking spot.

Skipping Steps

No, I don’t mean skip taking the steps: taking the stairs rather than the elevator gives your legs a decent workout. However, if you want to step it up a notch, try taking every-other step along the way. This extra push will get your heart working more. It can be argued that one step at a time burns more calories because you are active longer. Either way, stairs are better than the lift.

Park Further Away

Find more excuses to walk places that are nearby, and don’t be afraid to park further away in parking lots; chances are you will save time not having to drive up and down each row looking for the “best” spot anyway. You heart will appreciate the extra steps as well. Every little bit helps!

Tidying The House

If you love cleaning, this is about the easiest exercise you’ll get all day. If you hate cleaning, make it into a game! See how quickly you can finish a room; time yourself and work to beat your record. Any movement is better than sitting on the couch, so get up and finally get around to those little projects you keep planning to start.

Drying That Hair

Carefully blow-drying your hair for a good thirty minutes can burn nearly 100 calories! Just be careful that you don’t work for so long that you actually burn your hair as well.

Tip Toeing Around The Issue

Standing on your tip-toes will force your body to work on balance and keep you active. If just standing around doing a simple task, stand on your toes instead. You will also give your calves a nice workout!

Walking

Duh. Walking is exercise, so why don’t you do it more? Take steps to making this a bigger priority in your day. Pedometers make it easy to track how many steps you take each day.