Just thinking about a workout making you feel exhausted? Well fret no more, there’s more ways to burn those calories than sweating it out in the gym. Health experts have been looking at some activities that technically may not qualify as a workout, but nevertheless do have actual calorie-burning potential…
1. Chuckle the Fat Away: So laughter is the best medicine after all. Studies indicate that guffawing your way through a standard thirty-minute comedy show can help burn between 20-80 calories. Like all feel-good activities, laughing releases serotonin, a feel-good hormone that may suppress appetite (ever wonder how you never feel hungry when you’re in love, that’s serotonin surging through your veins, so laugh the calories away, or, fall in love).
2. Shake It Till You Lose It: Disco or foxtrot, jamming with friends or waltzing with a special partner, dancing has serious weight-loss potential. While strenuous groovin’ on the dance floor can burn 400-600 calories, even swaying to a slow number for an hour will do away with at least 230.
3. Shop Till You Drop the Extra Baggage : Good news for the fervent believers in retail therapy; hitting the malls can shed the pounds! An average grocery-shopping trip, involving lifting heavy items and pushing trolleys, can burn close to 250 calories in about an hour. Just browsing through garment racks or rummaging for books can burn up a good 180 calories (and don’t forget the hunger-suppressing serotonin in this feel-good task).
4. Blast Out the Blues: Karaoke is fun, and, it turns out, a great calorie-consumer, so belt out your favorite numbers at the top of your soundbox, in the privacy of your shower or home, or in the park (don’t forget to park a hat in front of you, you may even get paid for your pains!). You can work off about 130 cal in a short singing stint, and more if you swing and shake along with your vocals.
5. Put Fat on the Back Burner: Literally, by playing “chef” in your kitchen, you can chop and peel the layers of fat away by doing kitchen chores and cooking for thirty minutes, burning upto 100 calories, more if you share the ensuing meal instead of hogging it all by yourself.