It’s true that nothing can beat a good workout when you’re trying to stay fit and get those endorphins pumping. Yet there are plenty of things you can do to burn calories without exerting yourself — most of them ridiculously simple and too accessible not to take advantage of.
Poosh and Healthline have each compiled their own list of unusual ways you can get similar benefits to exercising without sweating it out at the gym. Check them out below, plus a few bonus tips on how to burn calories without breaking a sweat.
Cool Water Before You Drink It
Drinking water not only keeps you stay hydrated but can also stimulate your metabolism and burn calories. According to a 2003 study, the effect can be maximized by cooling the water before you drink it.
When you freshen up with a cold drink of water, you warm it up internally to body temperature, which can increase your metabolic rate by up to 40 percent. Other research has shown that drinking 17 ounces of cold water can help burn anywhere between 24 to 30 percent more calories in the first 90 minutes.
Take A Bath
Soaking in a nice hot bath promotes more than just relaxation. It also boosts your cardio-metabolic rate and stimulates calorie burn, as well as endorphins release. A 2018 study uncovered that taking a hot bath improves circulation and the transport of oxygen and nutrients throughout the body, facilitating the elimination of metabolic waste. The process is known as "passive heating" and provides similar benefits to exercise.
Go For Sauna
Just like hot baths, hitting the sauna can also help you lose weight. A 2019 study proved that a 60-minute session of dry sauna can help shed 0.65 kg, while repeated 10-minute sessions reduce body mass and visceral fat levels.
Try Lymphatic Massage
Stimulating the lymphatic system allows you to reap a heap of benefits that also include speeding up your metabolism. Manually draining lymph through massage has been shown to increase circulation, eliminate biochemical wastes from blood and body tissues, reduce body stress, curb bloat and fatigue, decrease inflammation, and promote better sleep, per this 2013 study.
Do A Cold Rinse
Another way to stimulate your lymphatic system is to give yourself a cold rinse after a shower, bath, or sauna. According to a study published in 2014 in the prestigious journal PLOS One, cold exposure can help reduce brown fat and increase your metabolic rate, on top of boosting endorphins, reducing inflammation, getting you energized, and soothing sore or overworked muscles.
"A full cold shower is great, but 60-90 seconds will do," notes Poosh.
Chew Gum
Chewing gum makes you snack less because it helps you feel full faster. It can also stimulate your metabolism and burn more calories after meals. Healthline cites a 2015 study that demonstrated "chewing gum for 20 minutes after each meal increased metabolic rate, compared to not chewing gum."
Take Your Calls Standing
Burn some extra calories while talking on the phone by standing up to take the call and not sitting back down until you’ve hung up. If you want to kick things up a notch, try balancing on one leg throughout the duration of the call, then switch to the other leg when the next call comes in.
Practice Diaphragmatic Breathing
Diaphragmatic breathing, or belly breathing, engages the stomach, diaphragm, and abdominal muscles, filling the lungs with air more efficiently. This helps oxygenate the body and improve pulmonary function and has a beneficial impact on blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory muscles, notes Poosh, citing Frontiers in Psychology.
Get Enough Sleep
A good night’s sleep will not only get you rested and improve your mood but will also help you detox and heal your muscles after an intense workout.
"Deep sleep burns calories and keeps our metabolism healthy," states Poosh.
Read this article from The Inquisitr to find out how much sleep you should be getting depending on your age.
Other Surprising Ways To Burn Calories
It’s often said that laughter is the best medicine, but did you know it also burns calories? A study published in the International Journal of Obesity showed that "genuine voiced laughter," such as laughing during a funny movie, can up your metabolic rate by 10 to 20 percent.
Some of your favorite hobbies also help you burn calories while sitting down. For instance, 50 minutes of knitting will melt 100 calories.
The same can be said about cooking for 30 minutes or drinking a cup of java.
