How to burn more calories when not exercising

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I was looking for ideas to burn more calories during the day when not exercising and found this list. Anyone have anything to add?

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/37378884/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/t/no-sweat-ways-burn-calories/#.UvsRq_ldWSo

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  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    Wow that's a horrible article. I skipped through it and saw at least 5 inaccuracies...
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
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    Wow that's a horrible article. I skipped through it and saw at least 5 inaccuracies...

    Yeah, I lost count of how many inaccuracies there were, not to mention some of them were repetitive. I think I saw something about sleep 3 different times.

    I like how the article's headline is "No Sweat Ways to Burn Calories" and yet it says something about sex twice. :laugh:
  • DamianaKitten
    DamianaKitten Posts: 479 Member
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    I stopped at "wear stilettos" :huh: No, I am not going to condition my body that way, or torture myself in the process of trying to.
  • sarahcav123
    sarahcav123 Posts: 128 Member
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    If you build muscle you will end up burning more calories at a resting rate anyway. Try lifting heavier :)

    Sarah x
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
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    The article is obviously a bit silly. But I admit, by wearing a fitbit I've learned some about how many more calories I burn by just living life.

    Like, if I literally don't go to work and sit on the couch, don't cook for myself, etc. just sleep and sit on the couch, I burn 1400 calories or so. But add in just the energy needed to go to work by car and cook dinner and shop for groceries, and that daily activity bumps up to 1600 calories or so. But if I add in things like parking at the door furthest from my destination, take the stairs at work, drink lots of water so I have to walk to the bathroom more, and generally just stand around more, without formal "exercise" of any kind, I can burn 1800 calories per day (and I've found my fitbit to be fairly accurate if you correlate it with my food intake and weight loss). That's 400 more per day than when I'm truly "sedentary."

    I think articles like this could give people ideas of ways to move from a "sedentary" lifestyle to a "lightly active" lifestyle.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,392 MFP Moderator
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    I was looking for ideas to burn more calories during the day when not exercising and found this list. Anyone have anything to add?

    http://www.nbcnews.com/id/37378884/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/t/no-sweat-ways-burn-calories/#.UvsRq_ldWSo

    I think the majority of people will agree that theses articles are terrible. If you want to burn more calories but don't exercise, you just have to move more: riding a bike to work, taking the stairs more often, park further away.
  • EvenThatNameIsTaken
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    I thought there were some good points in there, like fidgeting in your seat, doing little marches while you're sitting (I need more ideas for sitting and burning calories until I can get my standing desk set up), lifting yourself up on the balls of your feet while you're standing, and drinking more water. But no I would definitely not wear stilettos just to tone my legs. I'd probably fall and injure myself!

    Personally I am a chronic leg-twitcher while I am sitting, I'm pretty sure that helps burn a few extra calories.

    I'm surprised the article didn't mention Take The Stairs, this is a big one!

    Also park farther away from a store so you have to walk a little bit farther.

    Thanks for sharing :)