How to Burn Calories with Activity

Everything we eat, no matter how healthy or unhealthy, contains calories. Calories in food provide the necessary energy for us to do our daily activities. In a week, we use up an average amount of calories per day. This is called Basal Metabolic Rate. To manage your weight, it’s important to know your BMR. Your BMR refers to the amount of calories you consume in order to perform your regular activities and maintain your weight.

Read Body Mass Index Defined for more information about BMR and BMI

However, most don’t really want to maintain weight, but rather shed weight or gain weight (former more common than latter). Losing weight requires a deficit in calorie intake. We have to consume calories in a day that is lower than our BMR. To do that, we have to minimize high-calorie foods, control portios AND burn calories through exercise and activities.

There are three types of activities we can do to burn calories:

• Sports

If you already play sports, keep it up. For example, you can burn calories at a rate of 200 calories per hour playing golf? But increase the number of hours or days that you play as an hour’s worth of golf barely burns a regular latte. If you play tennis, you’d be glad to know it burn calories at the rate of 560 per hour. That’s a significant amount! Another sport that burn calories great is boxing. This can burn calories at approximately 420 per hour.

• Exercise

You can go to the gym or work out at home. By running on the treadmill for half an hour, you burn calories at a rate of 150 to 250 per hour. Try to increase the intensity by setting it at a faster pace. That will surely burn more calories. Lifting weights is also an important part of a workout regimen. You can burn 170 to 250 calories for an hour of light to moderate weight lifting. If you’re looking for something that’s not as strenuous, you can try Tai Chi, a Chinese martial art, one hour of which can burn calories at 280 per hour.

• Everyday activities

You’d be happy to know that simple everyday activities can expend those calories. Walking your dog for half an hour can burn calories at  100 to 150 per hour. So don’t break your promise of an afternoon walk with Fido; it will benefit you both. Do some sweeping inside the house or out in the driveway; a half hour will burn 120 to 170 calories for you. Carrying your baby while doing some mall shopping can burn calories at around 200 to 300 per hour. Now, there really isn’t any excuse for you now, is there?

The idea of having to burn calories with activity shouldn’t elicit a groan. When you exercise more, you grow muscles which burn calories more and raises your BMR. You should actually be happy because there are just so many things you can do on a daily basis that will help you burn calories and lose weight.

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