If you can get to the gym every day and blast off 500 calories, then that’s awesome—but if you follow up a morning workout by sitting at a desk for eight hours, then you may not be too pleased with how long it takes you to start noticing weight falling off. Luckily, there are stealth ways you can turn up your calorie burn all day long. Lose more weight in less time with these expert tips.
Rise and sweat
If you know you have limited time to get to the gym in the morning, set your alarm to go off 15 minutes early. “Do something first thing to get your metabolism stoked—try a circuit of the tried-and-true basics, like jumping jacks, push-ups, crunches and squats,” suggests Alonzo Wilson, founder of Tone House in New York City.
Do the “1 times 10” trick
“I try to find 10 opportunities during the day to raise my heart rate for one minute at a time,” says Tony Horton, creator of the new P90 DVD. The added oxygen will keep you alert, activate your heart, lungs, legs and brain—and even burn as many as 300 to 400 calories a day, he explains. Try doing 10 squats at the top of every hour or walking lunges on your way to and from the bathroom.
Do grunt work
Jobs today require less physical effort than they did 50 years ago. Translation: We’re missing out on burning roughly 100 calories each day, found researchers from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Longer commutes, as well as meetings via Skype, have us in office-chair-potato mode. Make up for the loss by doing manual tasks, advises trainer Adam Rosante, author of The 30-Second Body. For example, copy documents (12 calories), tidy your cube and water your plants (15 calories total) and stand while filing (18 calories).
Keep it cool
Pump your AC a little earlier than usual to melt fat. Keeping your home on the chilly side can increase your body’s brown fat by up to 40 per cent, per a study in the journal Diabetes. When activated by cold temperatures, brown fat burns calories to help your body stay warm, even when you’re just sitting around.
Hit the floor
Park it on the ground when you watch TV and you’ll incinerate more calories than if you were lounging on the couch. “When you sit on the floor, your muscles have to support you, and you work harder to stand up,” says biomechanist Katy Bowman, author of Move Your DNA.
Stop multitasking
Carry in groceries one at a time to sneak in more steps, advises trainer Lisa Kinder, of the 10 Minute Solution: High Intensity Interval Training DVD. “Something that might normally take you two minutes has now become a 10-minute activity,” she says. Hey, it kills off 89 calories!”
Let your phone nudge you
Set your smartphone alarm to go off every 30 minutes as a reminder to get up. “Before you know it, hours can go by without leaving your desk,” says celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak, author of 5 Pounds. Activity Trackers don’t help if you’re not actually moving.
