Put in 25 minutes cleaning the bathrooms of your house and you'll say goodbye to soap scum and 107 calories. (Tip: Put on some of your favorite dance music while you clean to burn off even more. You may dance around a little and even sing—both calorie-burning activities!)
Bored at home? Turn off the TV or computer and try painting. Paint your bedroom a new color, or try your hand at some artistic expression on a canvas. Either way, you'll burn around 120 calories for 35 minutes worth of brush strokes.
Is the floor in your kitchen, bathroom, or living room in need of a good cleaning? Spend just 15 minutes scrubbing them and you'll zap 115 calories and brighten up your home in the process.
Get lost in a great book (or your favorite SHAPE Magazine) and spend 65 minutes reading to burn up 100 calories and help keep your brain sharp. After all, a robust and high-functioning brain is considered the cornerstone of a satisfactory quality of life.
Take 30 minutes to hang up those paintings or photos you've got in the back of your closet or around the house. You'll give your home an inexpensive mini-makeover and burn off an extra 107 calories in the process.
Vacuum your rugs for 35 minutes to sweep away an extra 100 calories (bonus: draw your abs in tight while you push the vacuum around to engage your core muscles while you clean).
Spend 40 minutes of your day (you can break this up into 4, 10 minute bouts) standing, not sitting, at your desk to burn off an extra 100 calories at the office. It doesn't get much easier than that!
Instead of sending that email or text, walk over to your co-worker's desk to ask a question. Need copies made? Take a trip to the photocopier and make them yourself. Headed to the restroom? Take an extra lap around the office before going in.
All these extra steps add up—just 40 minutes of extra walking during your workday translates into 119 extra calories burned. It's like that afternoon latte never even existed.
We know you've heard this one before, but for good reason—taking the stairs a few flights instead of the elevator is one of the easiest, sweat-free ways to burn up extra calories. Spending only 15 minutes (that's just three 5-minute trips) out of your entire workday stepping up can burn off 116 calories.
Before you check your email in the morning, spend 30 minutes organizing and cleaning your desktop. It's a great way to start your workday—streamlining and eliminating an extra 120 calories.
Put your morning conference call on speaker (or use a headset) and pace around your office or desk during the 35-minute call to torch 100 calories before you hang up.
Spend 5 minutes out of every hour before lunch doing some sneaky isometric exercises (like squeezing your glutes and your knees together and holding for 8 counts, then releasing) at your desk to burn off around 100 calories before your lunchbreak. And if your boss will allow it, swap your chair for a stability ball. No, it won't give you chiseled abs, but it will make you more likely to sit up straight and move more all day.
Instead of sipping an afternoon coffee, get some fresh air and have a little fun to boost your energy and burn calories. Jumping rope for just 10 minutes will get your heart pumping, help you refocus mentally, and burn off about 107 calories. And don't worry about getting funny looks (they just wish they had thought of it)!
The easiest way to burn off 100 calories? Don't eat them in the first place! Quit your candy habit (one large handful of M&M's is about 100 calories) to easily eliminate 100 calories—or more—during your workday.
Research indicates that every pound of lean muscle you have can help you burn off an extra 30-50 calories per day at rest. So be sure to incorporate weight training into your workout routine—put on 4 pounds of lean muscle to guarantee you'll burn an extra 100 calories a day just sitting at your desk!
Some studies show that spending at least 20 minutes of your day laughing can help you chuckle away 100 extra calories and boost your mood in the process. (And no, you don't have to laugh for 20 minutes in a row, short bursts of authentic laughter all add up).
Heading into the grocery store? Pick up a basket instead of a cart and burn off 100 calories during your 30-minute shopping trip. Bonus: You may spend less, as you'll be more inclined to stick with just the essentials instead of lugging around extra items you don't really need.
Stuck at the doctor's office? Flip through magazines, stand up frequently, and fidget during your delay. If you wait 45 minutes (it happens), you'll burn about 100 calories.
If you're willing to forgo fashion for fitness, toss an extra pair of sneakers in your bag or car and ditch your heels while running errands. Speeding up your pace while you pick up dry cleaning or stop by the post office (or do any errands for 30 minutes) burns an extra 100 calories.
Make a pact with yourself that every time your cell phone rings, you'll walk while you talk. Four, 10-minute conversations later you've burned 100 calories.
An oldie, but goodie, this tip remains a great way to zap calories. As long as it's safe, park your car as far away from the entrance as possible to sneak in extra steps during your day. Add an extra lap around the perimeter of the store, and five shopping stops later, you'll be down 100 calories.
