There is no denying that there is pressure placed on people to lose weight. Ads for a magical weight loss pill, or a celebrity secret that promises a slimmer physique, seem to confront us at every turn. It seems everyone is hungry for a guaranteed method to lose weight more quickly or burn calories more efficiently. Yet, studies often show that the most effective way to maintain weight loss is to lose slowly and steadily.
In light of this, it makes sense to set attainable goals that will almost certainly result in permanent weight loss. Consider, if you will, how simple it could be to lose one pound per year to reach an end goal of ten pounds of weight loss in ten years. For calculation purposes, we are assuming that one pound equals 3,500 calories and that our goal is to create a 9.5 calorie deficit every single day. Overwhelming? Perhaps. For simplicity’s sake, let’s say an additional 10 calories burned per day. Check out these tips to see how easy it is to burn those calories:
Running
Okay, so maybe this is a bit obvious. How far must a person run to lose one pound a year? Running one mile burns about a hundred calories, so running a tenth of a mile every day, or about 640 steps, should net the ten calorie goal.
Play Catch with Your Kids or Pet
This one is an energy-laden activity, so we will only need three minutes to burn ten calories. Think of it this way:
“Catch, Junior!” you’ll say. “Nice one!”
The child rears a hand back to throw the ball. “Ca-“
But you’ve already gone back inside.
Take a Nap
Two hours of sleep burns one hundred calories, so a daily twelve minute nap should be all we need to melt away that pound a year. To get really creative, we could combine this with #2. Play catch for ninety seconds followed by a six minute snooze.
Let Yourself Laugh
Two minutes of laughter is all we need to meet this goal. Spread out over the day, that is just four thirty-second intervals. Instead of forcing yourself, try to keep a file of (seriously) funny Facebook uploads to peruse during the day.
Jump Rope
Jumping rope is a bit labor intensive, but jumping rope for one minute? Easy. You may not even need an actual jump rope for this. Jump up and down and flail your arms for a full minute. As a bonus, those around you may meet their two minute laugh goal. It is like simultaneously burning calories and performing a community service.
Throw Away Candy
Not all of it, silly. Just one piece. One whopper or one gummy bear is equal to ten calories, so the savvy dieter knows that we open the package, remove and discard one piece, then snack away carrying the happy knowledge that we are one day closer to our goal.
Pick up Some Bad Habits
Caffeine and Nicotine are well-known metabolism increasing substances, so if you are willing to add a couple of truly naughty vices to the mix.
Skip the Extra Sugar
If you can’t stomach all that coffee in #7, decrease the sugar in your herbal tea by one packet. Or, to be really creative and conserve resources, drop that Whopper or gummy bear we discarded earlier into your morning beverage in lieu of sugar. Ten calories: saved.
Kiss Somebody
If Woman’s Day is to be believed, kissing for an hour (who does this?) burns 70 calories, so all we need is eight and a half minutes.
Read this List
Reading for just ten minutes a day will burn your ten calories. So, just reading this list every day should do the trick. If you really like it, kissing it will burn extra!
Jennifer Carrigan writes on behalf of http://www.exerciseequipmentmachine.com/bowflex-reviews/ where you can learn about the Bowflex, a machine to help you lose weight fast.