Hello dear readers,
Look at how faithful I'm being! Two posts in a row! Told you I'd be back.
I thought you all would be interested in this... how do we burn calories, without really "working out?"
Here are 8 "sneaky" ways...
1. Don't sit still! If you're a nervous leg bouncer or pencil tapper, you're in luck. On average, fidgeting can burn between 300-350 extra calories per day, though that number will vary widely depending on your fave form of fidgeting. (For example: pacing will burn more calories than table drumming.)
2. Laugh...a lot! According to a Vanderbilt University Medical Center study, "Ten to 15 minutes of laughter could increase energy expenditure by 10 to 40 calories per day, which could translate into about four pounds a year."
3. Spice it up! Research shows that chili peppers can boost your metabolic rate, causing the body to burn 50 more calories a day.
4. Chomp away! Chewing gum burns roughly 11 calories an hour. Make sure you use sugarless to avoid added calories and cavities. Extra credit for walking at the same time.
5. Clean up! Don't groan at your to-do list, thank it: light housework like dusting and laundry burns 170 calories per hour. Tackle bigger chores like washing the car or cleaning the gutters and up your burn to 204 calories per hour.
6. Shop 'til you drop! Roaming the aisles and swiping the credit card is more taxing than you think. The typical grocery shopping trip incinerates 156 calories per hour. Up that burn even more by parking far away from the store, carrying your groceries to the car yourself, and multiple trips to bring them inside. Just don't ruin that burn by filling your cart with junk.
7. Drink up! According to Men's Health, drinking eight pints of ice water a day will cause your body to expend 123 calories of heat to warm that water to body temperature. When it comes to water, the colder, the better.
8. Just dance! Just 20 minutes of dancing can burn 100 calories. If you don't have the smoothest of moves, just turn down the shades, crank up the tunes and go nuts!
*Calories burnt are based on a 150lb woman
Stay tuned.
Showing posts with label weight loss. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weight loss. Show all posts
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Obesity - making your fuel efficiency go down.
Hello dear readers!
So amongst blogging about fun ways to help you stay fit and healthy, I've also decided to take a look at the newest obesity, health, and fitness news. I'll read the article, summarize it, and add a few thoughts.
This article definitely caught my attention. They made the claim that the more obese you are, the more your fuel efficiency decreases. A pretty bold claim if you ask me.
"Allstate Corp.’s The Allstate Blog says obese Americans are hurting the fuel efficiency of vehicles, contributing to more than 1 billion gallons of fuel wasted each year."
Did you catch that? 1 BILLION GALLONS OF FUEL WASTE.
That, is intense.
Or check this out...
"In 2000, the airline industry said it used 350 million more gallons of fuel than it did in 1990 just to haul the additional weight Americans gained during the decade, Centers for Disease Control researchers say"
Wow. That's all I'm sayin...wow!
Stay tuned.
So amongst blogging about fun ways to help you stay fit and healthy, I've also decided to take a look at the newest obesity, health, and fitness news. I'll read the article, summarize it, and add a few thoughts.
This article definitely caught my attention. They made the claim that the more obese you are, the more your fuel efficiency decreases. A pretty bold claim if you ask me.
"Allstate Corp.’s The Allstate Blog says obese Americans are hurting the fuel efficiency of vehicles, contributing to more than 1 billion gallons of fuel wasted each year."
Did you catch that? 1 BILLION GALLONS OF FUEL WASTE.
That, is intense.
Or check this out...
"In 2000, the airline industry said it used 350 million more gallons of fuel than it did in 1990 just to haul the additional weight Americans gained during the decade, Centers for Disease Control researchers say"
Wow. That's all I'm sayin...wow!
Stay tuned.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Weekly Health Challenge: Serve with a Side of Self-Control
Hello dear readers!
Again, I apologize for my severe lacking-ness of blog postings. However, I'm trying my best. I also now have to write this blog for part of an independent study class, so postings will come more frequently! Hopefully. That's always the hope. Speaking of hope, I hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July and remembered some of my very valuable health tips on that day! ; )
I know I have new readers now, so for those of you who are new - I'll quick introduce myself again. My name is Samantha, I work in endocrinology/diabetes/nutrition research at the Mayo Clinic. This blog is not endorsed by the Mayo Clinic in any way - but I just post about what I learn, read, discover, ect. I've taken numerous nutrition classes, health classes, read scientific journals regularly, do research on obesity, and more. So I take what I learn - and translate it into fun, readable material. My passion is health and wellness. If you have questions please post in the Q&A section - I plan to answer those on a weekly basis. I'll be posting a new recipe, oddball workout, and more today so look for those! Please feel free to email me if you have private questions or would like me to perform a diet analysis on what you are eating! Enjoy!
On to today's quick posting!
Self-Control, Please!
To put it really simply, our culture has a self-control issue. A big one. Self-control is probably one of the largest factors in controlling weight issues. The idea that we just have to have it or we deserve it or we can't survive without it leads to over eating.
Challenge: Every time you eat this week, whether it be a meal or a snack, exercise a small amount of conscious self-control.
How to do it: At every meal, either skip out on taking something, or leave something behind on the plate. Some of the things I've done include: asking for no bun with my hamburger at restaurants, skip out on a second helping of mashed potatoes on holidays, having a water before pop rule (must consume a gallon of water in a day before I can have a can of soda - when I used to drink soda), not using salt on my veggies, having the waitress box up 1/2 of the pasta dish before I get it, passing up croutons on my salad, exchanging ranch dressing for vinaigrette, using less condiments on my foods, passing up white breads whenever possible, and the list goes on.....
Write it on your hand every morning if you have to. Write it on a post-it note at your desk, at the fridge, on your bathroom mirror. Whatever it takes. Make it your mantra this week: Self-Control, Self-Control, Self-Control!
Choose happiness, choose self-control. The more that you make small self-control decisions, the more "power" you will gain over your body. That sounds odd, and slightly creepy but its true. Start making small decisions and eventually you'll be able to say no to those Special-K bars all together (still working on this one...these are my personal weakness).
But start little. When you are training for a marathon, you don't run 26 miles on day one. You start with one, or even half of a mile, and build your way up. Same with this. Start little, build up. But know that the goal is attainable, and is not out of reach.
Stay tuned.
Again, I apologize for my severe lacking-ness of blog postings. However, I'm trying my best. I also now have to write this blog for part of an independent study class, so postings will come more frequently! Hopefully. That's always the hope. Speaking of hope, I hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July and remembered some of my very valuable health tips on that day! ; )
I know I have new readers now, so for those of you who are new - I'll quick introduce myself again. My name is Samantha, I work in endocrinology/diabetes/nutrition research at the Mayo Clinic. This blog is not endorsed by the Mayo Clinic in any way - but I just post about what I learn, read, discover, ect. I've taken numerous nutrition classes, health classes, read scientific journals regularly, do research on obesity, and more. So I take what I learn - and translate it into fun, readable material. My passion is health and wellness. If you have questions please post in the Q&A section - I plan to answer those on a weekly basis. I'll be posting a new recipe, oddball workout, and more today so look for those! Please feel free to email me if you have private questions or would like me to perform a diet analysis on what you are eating! Enjoy!
On to today's quick posting!
Self-Control, Please!
To put it really simply, our culture has a self-control issue. A big one. Self-control is probably one of the largest factors in controlling weight issues. The idea that we just have to have it or we deserve it or we can't survive without it leads to over eating.
Challenge: Every time you eat this week, whether it be a meal or a snack, exercise a small amount of conscious self-control.
How to do it: At every meal, either skip out on taking something, or leave something behind on the plate. Some of the things I've done include: asking for no bun with my hamburger at restaurants, skip out on a second helping of mashed potatoes on holidays, having a water before pop rule (must consume a gallon of water in a day before I can have a can of soda - when I used to drink soda), not using salt on my veggies, having the waitress box up 1/2 of the pasta dish before I get it, passing up croutons on my salad, exchanging ranch dressing for vinaigrette, using less condiments on my foods, passing up white breads whenever possible, and the list goes on.....
Write it on your hand every morning if you have to. Write it on a post-it note at your desk, at the fridge, on your bathroom mirror. Whatever it takes. Make it your mantra this week: Self-Control, Self-Control, Self-Control!
Choose happiness, choose self-control. The more that you make small self-control decisions, the more "power" you will gain over your body. That sounds odd, and slightly creepy but its true. Start making small decisions and eventually you'll be able to say no to those Special-K bars all together (still working on this one...these are my personal weakness).
But start little. When you are training for a marathon, you don't run 26 miles on day one. You start with one, or even half of a mile, and build your way up. Same with this. Start little, build up. But know that the goal is attainable, and is not out of reach.
Stay tuned.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)