Fun & Creative Ways to Burn More Calories!

New Year's has long passed, and your resolutions have gone the way of the dinosaurs. Why? It's really hard to stay motivated during ice cream season. That's why I would love to give you some creative ways to help you shrink your size. Do five of them a day and you can lose a pound a week!

1. Walk into town, instead of getting the bus

2. Turn up the stereo and sing along really loud
3. Eat spicy food, Like eating chili for a couple of days: Research shows that chili peppers boost your metabolic rate, burning 50 more cals a day. the heat actually makes you burn off calories!
4. Dance
5. Drink a glass of cold water before you exercise, you burn up 100 extra calories warming up again
6. Turn the shower on cold for 20 seconds before you get out, that’s another 100 calories or so!
7. Stretch your muscles,toned muscles burn up more energy all the time, even when you’re not doing much
8. Watch a funny film, laughter tones up your stomach muscles and burns up energy (Ten straight minutes of laughter can burn 40 calories,no joke!!)
9. Eat celery
10.Take the stairs
11. Wash the car yourself
12. Do some gardening
13. In the winter…. Shovel snow (or have a snowball fight)
14. Go for a quick swim
15. Try surfing
16. Vary your workouts, stop your body getting used to it
17. Breathe through your nose, not your mouth, this regulates your heart rate and ups your endurance
18. Housework!  Carry five grocery bags from the car to the kitchen and put the food away, take out the trash, wash the dishes, and wipe down the kitchen counter.Vaccuming and ironing also burn up energy
19. Paint a room
20. Play Frisbee
21. Take a long phone call standing up
22. Stand on tip-toes while brushing your teeth
23. Be immature and play skipping games, jump on the bed, and be silly
24. Get enough sleep. A good night’s rest will help you burn 40% more. Getting fewer than four hours of sleep over an extended period of time slows the metabolism. Experts recommend aiming for between seven and nine.
25. Drink a glass of water before you eat a meal, you’ll eat less
26. Eat slowly, let your food go down, and you’ll eat less
27. Go shopping
28. Drink lots of green tea, it ups your metabolism
29. When you walk, swing your arms, it helps the easy full-body work out!
30. Bounce the ball on your knee 600 times.

31. Push a grocery cart for 45 minutes.
32. Chew calorie-free gum for 9 hours.
33. Play squash for 8 minutes.
34. Eat four meals with chopsticks instead of a fork: Slowing down can help you consume about 25 fewer calories per meal.
35. Lift and lower a soy sauce bottle or a water bottle 170 times with your right hand and 170 times with your left.
36. Walk backward in the park. (For every 8 calories burned walking forward, walking backward burns 10.)
37. Degrease by scrubbing in the shower for 15 minutes, then spend 7 minutes shaving, 3 minutes toweling off, 4 minutes moisturizing, and 20 minutes blow-drying and styling your hair.

38. Jog through water. It's one of the most strenuous activities you can perform, since water is about 12 to 15 times as resistant as air. Running at your hardest, you can burn about 17 calories per minute...at least twice as much as you would burn running on pavement.
  
39. Sign up for hip-hop. Surprising your body with a new dance or sport forces it to work harder because it's doing unfamiliar movements and using muscle groups in different ways. In the process, you'll burn more calories than you would by doing the same old routine.

40. Work out in the A.M. Research has shown that people who exercise in the morning keep their metabolism elevated for hours and thus get a jump on burning calories. Studies also show that people who start each day with a workout tend to stick with their programs longer.

41. Fuel up first. Grab a banana before you hit the gym, and it may actually help you slice off more calories in the long run. Shoot for 100 to 200 calories to nibble on: Yogurt, a piece of fruit, peanut butter and crackers, or half an energy bar are all excellent choices.    

42. Do a triathlon at the gym. Simply split your 30- or 45- minute workout into three segments—for example, pedal on a stationary bike, power-walk on a treadmill, and step onto an elliptical trainer for 10- or 15-minute bursts with no rest in between. You'll keep up your heart rate and increase the burn.

43. Don't slouch. Propping yourself on your arms while you're using the elliptical trainer, stair-climber, or treadmill makes the routine feel easier, but it gives you a less-challenging workout. Be sure to maintain a neutral spine to protect your back, keep your abs tight, and go easy on the handrails.

• Women with great bodies have a dirty little secrets:

Sure, they workout and eat well, but they also sneakily burn hundreds more calories than everyone else. From the outside, they don't seem to be doing anything particularly strenuous. "You wouldn't believe how many straightforward ways there are to burn calories," says Lauren Slayton, director of foodtrainers.net. "But it's easy to miss the opportunities if you're not looking for them."

Research has shown that swapping sedentary habits, such as watching television, for pretty much anything that doesn't involve sitting down can make a world of difference. "Most people don't realize that a little extra effort can yield great results,"
The experts explain how to take every opportunity to flex your muscles, boost your heart rate, and eat foods that yield maximum fullness for minimal calories. Just don't tell anyone.

1. Take vitamin D Women who were deficient in it lost weight more slowly in a study in the British Journal of Nutrition.

2. Drink coffee Studies have found that caffeine increases the rate at which you burn calories. Have a cup of coffee, cut the sugar and have low-fat milk and it will speed your metabolism and flush out your digestive system

3. Wear a basic pedometer Every week, aim to take a few more steps than you did the last week

4 Eat lightly and often For most people, the body uses up more energy digesting smaller meals every few hours than by eating the same number of calories in two or three sittings

5. Eat breakfast You send your body a signal that you're not starving, so it starts burning fat, even when you're just doing normal activities...Try scrambled egg whites or oatmeal with fruit.

6. Time yourself Spend the last five minutes of each hour (set your computer timer) up and moving around.

7. Fill up on fiber Low-carb, high-fiber foods take more time to digest than other foods, leaving you feeling fuller longer and less likely to snack,

8. Fidget You can burn up to 350 more calories a day than someone who remains stationary, according to a study at the Mayo Clinic. The impulse to fidget may be hardwired, but nonfidgeters can imitate it: Tap your feet, pace, or move restlessly in your seat.

9. Don't eat late at night It can interrupt sleep, according to Wellington, and may induce you to skip breakfast, bad for your metabolism.

10. Straighten up Good posture not only makes you look taller and leaner, but it strengthens your abdominal muscles

11. Drink more  Dehydrated people experience a drop in their metabolic rate. Drinking water throughout the day caused metabolic rates to increase by about 30 percent in a German study. The goal: eight cups a day.

12. Beware of sugar It triggers the body to release insulin, which then either transplants sugar to the cells to be used as energy, or stored as fat

13. Squat When you pick up something from the floor, keep your back straight and bend at the knees, not the waist.This protects your back and tones your legs

14. Switch sides Whether you're carrying a heavy bag on your shoulder or a child on your hip, swapping sides every five minutes works more muscles

15. Cook your own food It's often healthier, and by the time you've made a meal and cleaned up, you've been on your feet a half-hour more than you would have waiting for takeout

16. Avoid eating lunch at your desk If you must, have a quick bite, then go for a short walk.

17. Wear high heels Every few days, wear the highest heels you own. It helps tone your legs, because they work different muscles in the calves and thighs.

18. Relax...Stress causes the body to release cortisol, which causes more calories to be stored as fat, especially in your abdomen.

19. Watch less television 

20. Eat salmon, Salmon eaters lost significantly more weight than beef eaters in a study, even though the calories consumed were equal.

21. Eat the peel It takes the body more energy to break down fiber-rich foods, like the skins of fruits and vegetables

22. Get busy, Most couples burn an average of 300 calories an hour while they're having sex.

23. People who replace oils and fats like animal fats and sunflower oil with those containing medium-chain fatty acids, such as coconut oil, lose more body fat.

24. Don't snack in the car Experts say it's a hotbed of mindless eating and excess calorie consumption.

25. Don't forget dairy Researchers believe that low-fat dairy inhibits fats from being stored

Have a nice weekend! :)