Incorporating a few small changes to your everyday habits can go a long way in helping you shed those unwanted pounds. By making simple adjustments to your routine, you can speed up your weight loss journey and achieve your goals sooner than you thought possible.
1. Fidget
People who fidget—drumming their fingers or bouncing their knees—burn a significant amount of extra calories a day, according to research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. That adds up to losing one pound a week. Learn why teachers are giving some kids fidget spinners.
2. Squeeze a small ball frequently during the day
It’s one of the few exercises you can do at any time—and it helps reduce stress, which can affect your metabolism, according to a study published in Biological Psychiatry. You’ll build up the muscles in your hands—and muscle, wherever it is, burns a lot of calories. Check out these other 15 ways to burn extra calories without going to the gym.
3. Don’t starve yourself
Cutting out too many calories can backfire in more ways than one. “If you abstain from food, especially carbs, your metabolism may not react the way you want it to—in fact, it might slow down,” warns Caleb Backe, CPT, a health and wellness expert for Maple Holistics. Try to subsist on morsels and your metabolism will slow down so much that you’ll not only stop losing weight, but you’ll be lucky if you can peel yourself off the couch.
4. Put five rubber bands around your wrist every morning
That’s how many 16-ounce bottles of water you should drink during the day to rev up your metabolism, helping to burn more calories. At least, that’s what German researchers found when they got 14 participants to drink about 500 ml of water. The volunteers’ metabolic rate—or how quickly they burned calories—jumped a third within 10 minutes of drinking the water and remained high for another 30 or 40 minutes. The researchers estimated that, over a year, increasing your water consumption by 1.5 liters a day would burn an extra 17,400 calories or about 2.25 kg (5 lb) worth. Since much of the increased metabolic rate is due to the body’s efforts to heat the liquid, make sure the water you’re drinking is icy cold.
5. Sip a couple of cups of coffee throughout the day
Studies find that the caffeine in coffee increases the rate at which your body burns calories. This does not mean, however, that you should order a fancy calorie-packed frappuccino. And skip the espresso if it makes you toss and turn at night. Find out the one ingredient you should add to your coffee to boost your metabolism.
6. Walk with intent—and intensity
Short bouts of Nordic walking has shown great benefits on slowing muscle and bone loss in elderly women, notes Roger E. Adams, PhD, personal trainer, doctor of nutrition, and owner of eatrightfitness. “Nordic walking is walking with longer leg strides and arm swings while using poles, similar to ones used in cross-country skiing, and can be done just about anywhere and can provide an intense workout quickly.”Burn more calories in the same amount of time with these strategies:
1. Swing your arms when you walk. You’ll burn 5 to 10 percent more calories.
2. Wear a weighted vest – another great way to burn calories. But leave the hand and ankle weights at home. They throw you off balance and could result in injury.
3. Walk on grass, sand or a gravel path instead of the road. It takes more muscle power to glide smoothly over these uneven surfaces (especially sand) than over asphalt.
4. Use walking poles. A U.S. study found that you get a much more intense workout than you would without the poles.
5. Walk along the shore of a river or lake with your ankles in the water. The resistance burns more calories and gives your muscles an added workout.
7. Get a good night’s rest
A lack of snoozing can elevate your cortisol levels, a stress hormone that makes you hungrier and slows down your metabolism. In fact, sleep deprivation can decrease your leptin levels, the satiety hormone, which can tell your brain to eat more calories than you actually need. One study published in the journal Sleep Medicine Reviews linked chronic sleep loss to a reduction in metabolism. Make sure you know these other 23 lazy ways to burn more calories all day.