• DOCTOR'S CONCERN GROWS AS BICEPS SWELL DURING COMMON WORKOUT Activity Sparks Health Warnings

Given the restricted timeframe and expensive costs associated with gym memberships, it might feel daunting to fit in adequate physical activity.

However, according to experts, you don’t have to visit the gym to torch calories. You can adopt various daily activities both at your house and workplace that might end up burning more energy than an ordinary exercise session.

Non-exercise activity thermogenesis, referred to as NEAT, is characterized as The process wherein the body consumes greater amounts of energy. And consumes more calories performing daily activities throughout the day compared to when exercising.

In addition to maintaining your weight, NEAT can also boost circulation, heart health, elevate your mood, and regulate blood sugar levels — reducing the risk of various conditions. diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

Dr. Michael Dakkak, a specialist in sports medicine, clarifies: "NEAT encompasses the activities we engage in outside of formal exercise routines that nonetheless utilize our body’s energy. These actions enhance performance, contribute to calorie burning, and assist in maintaining efficient bodily functions."

Here, Sport Banglore outlines six daily activities that can help you burn calories without much effort:
1. Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
2. Walk or cycle to work.
3. Stand up at your desk for part of the day.
4. Do some light stretching during TV commercials.
5. Park farther away from entrances when shopping.
6. Carry groceries home rather than using a cart.

Standing at work

Numerous studies indicate that when you stand rather than sit at your workplace, your body consumes additional oxygen, leading to increased calorie expenditure.

Research assessing oxygen intake discovered that standing consumes roughly 0.15 additional calories per minute compared to sitting for the majority of individuals.

Although the discrepancy is tiny on its own, it can build up over extensive working days and result in significant variations.

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 totals almost 1,800 calories across a month period, which is similar to jogging for 18 miles.

Modifying your stance and adjusting your movements

Frequently altering your stance and movement rather than remaining stationary for extended periods can significantly impact your caloric expenditure throughout your weight-loss journey.

Research employing advanced tracking devices indicates that individuals who regularly alter their stance or adjust their body position over the course of the day use additional energy, thereby burning more calories.

Although fidgeting has typically been seen as distracting, it can help you expend more energy compared to remaining motionless.

Simple movements like tilting from one side to another in your seat, drumming your feet, wriggling your toes, spinning your hair, and performing shoulder circles can help maintain bodily activity and calorie burn throughout the day.

A 2005 study Simply tapping your foot, jiggling your leg, and showing other general signs of unease might assist you in burning up to 350 calories daily—a sufficient amount for shedding between 30 to 40 pounds over the course of a year.

Everyday walking

You might not be aware of it, but wandering through the supermarket aisles or strolling a short distance to reach your bus stop can actually burn calories.

Even pacing around your home while you talk on the phone can burn calories.

The study revealed that merely walking for two minutes every thirty minutes notably enhanced blood sugar regulation after meals when contrasted with uninterrupted sitting and standing activities.

A female weighing 150 lbs who engages in light walking for just one hour each day could expend approximately 210 calories.

In contrast, a male weighing approximately 200 lbs who takes a one-hour walk could expend around 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 30 minutes can burn approximately 99 calories if you weigh 120 lbs, around 124 calories if you're 150 lbs, and roughly 166 calories if your weight is 200 lbs.

Tidying up beds, tending to gardens, 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 constantly going upstairs 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 burning calories unnoticed.

Participating in activities such as digging, weeding, raking, and planting—activities that qualify as moderate-intensity exercises—can help maintain bodily movement and keep your metabolism active for burning calories.

The CDC reports that spending between 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 torch approximately 240 calories daily.

Taking the stairs

Choosing to use the stairs instead of elevators in places like your workplace, a clinic, shopping centers, or transit stations can aid in shedding roughly one pound over a few months' time.

Studies examining step counts among various populations revealed 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 pounds 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 approximately 19 calories each minute by jogging up a staircase.

Interacting with children or animals

Many children engage in playful activities, particularly those involving young ones, which often include quick and impromptu actions like dashing about, leaping, crouching, and pursuing each other.

And all of these things can significantly raise your heart rate and burn calories.

Likewise, engaging in basic activities with your pets like tossing a ball or going for a leisurely stroll can contribute to shedding pounds.

According to a 2023 study conducted by Lloyds Pharmacy, an average man can expend around 250 calories per hour engaging in activities with kids or pets, whereas for women, this number stands at approximately 211 calories, varying according to how vigorous these play sessions become.

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