If you’ve ever tried to lose weight before, you know it can be a battle trying to shed those last few, stubborn pounds. You’re eating well and going to the gym, but you can’t seem to tip the scale further down. If you find yourself in this position, then give our simple weight loss tips a try as a way to burn more calories throughout your day.
How Do We Burn Calories?
Before we share how you can burn more calories, it might be helpful to know how we burn any calories in the first place. Calorie-burning is a result of metabolism, the process in which your body converts what you eat and drink into energy. Your body uses the calories from foods and drinks to create this energy, and this energy is used to carry out important cellular functions in the body like breathing or circulating your blood.
How many calories your body uses to carry out the various systems and functions in your body is dependent on a variety of factors, including your body composition, your gender, and your age. For instance, the older you are, the fewer calories your body tends to need to carry out its necessary functions.
To burn more calories, you’d need to include some form of physical activity or other changes in your routine to prompt more calorie-burning.
Weight Loss Tips to Burn More Calories
If you’re at the gym each day and doing your best to eat healthy foods, you may feel frustrated that the weight isn’t coming off as fast as you’d like, or those last few pounds just aren’t budging. Here are some simple ways you can try to burn more calories throughout your day:
-
Get a morning head start
It’s great that you’re going to the gym and committing to a consistent workout, but it also doesn’t hurt to start your morning with a quick calorie-burning sesh to rev up your metabolism. Try waking up 15 minutes earlier than you normally do and do a circuit of some jumping jacks, push-ups, and any other movements you can do in your home that will get you sweating. This extra routine in your day can help you shed those final, stubborn pounds.
-
Turn up the AC
It may not be the most comfortable thing, but cranking up the AC and creating a chilly environment can actually help you burn more calories. When it’s cold, the brown fat in your body, which is the fat responsible for burning energy and producing heat, will burn calories to keep you warm.
-
Park farther and take the stairs
If you’re always trying to get the closest parking spot or taking the elevator, make an effort to park a farther distance from the door and take the stairs up. This can especially make a difference if you’re running errands during the day, where you’re parking and walking several times, or if your office or home has stairs with more than a couple of flights of stairs.
-
Stop multitasking
Just like you may want to park farther to get in more steps, you may want to also stop multi-tasking and create more steps for yourself in the activities you’re doing. For instance, if you normally pile up a few bags of groceries in your arms to get from the car to the kitchen, try taking in one bag at a time so that you have to walk back and forth multiple times.
-
Use heavier dumbells
It may seem like you’re burning more calories by using lighter weights with lots of repetitions, however, you’ll actually burn more calories by lifting heavier weights. Instead of 5 lb. weights, for instance, switch to 10 lbs. and do half the repetitions. You’ll burn about 25% more calories by making the switch.
Nutrition and Portion Control for Weight Loss
Aside from making simple changes in your everyday routine, it’s also important that you carry out a proper diet and practice portion control for the best weight loss results. It’s best to sit down with a nutritionist and look at what you’re eating and evaluate whether you are making the best dietary choices and consuming the right portion sizes.
A simple change in what you’re eating and how much of it can help you in your quest to burn more calories and shed the weight.
References
Can you boost your metabolism? (2017, August 30). Retrieved March 23, 2018, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/metabolism/art-20046508
Up Your Burn All Day Long. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2018, from http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20911507,00.html#up-your-burn-0
10 Ways To Burn Up To 60% More Calories Every Workout. (2017, October 31). Retrieved March 23, 2018, from https://www.prevention.com/fitness/fitness-tips/ways-burn-more-calories-every-workout
