8 Tips to Burn Calories While Sitting
January 28, 2021
Our body burns calories all day - whether we are actively working out or sleeping. However, the number of calories you can burn per hour will depend both on your metabolism and how strenuous the activity you are doing. True, working out and eating a healthier diet can definitely help you lose more calories, but are there ways to boost our metabolic rate even when we're not exercising. Here are a few tips on how you can burn some extra calories, even when you're sitting down!
How to Burn Calories While Sitting
1. Drink Green Tea
Do you usually reach for some cappuccino to get your caffeine kick of the day? Try green tea instead! So, what's are the perks? According to many researches, green tea is considered one of the world's healthiest drinks and contains one of the highest amounts of antioxidants out of any tea. This antioxidant supposedly works with caffeine to increase your metabolic rate, which in effect, helps you burns more calories even if you aren't moving. Can't give up on coffee? Well, you can try black coffee - no cream & sugar - and it can produce a similar effect.
2. Maintain a Good Posture
Aside from the benefits of not injuring your back or minimizing the possibility of neck, shoulder, & back pain, maintaining a good posture while sitting helps to work the upper body muscles in your shoulders and back. This simple change in how you sit can also help strengthen your core. When you make the extra effort to hold your body straight, it can help boost the number of calories you burn.
3. Use an Exercise Ball
Replace your desk chair with a balance ball or fitness ball. Making the switch to sitting on a balance ball helps us to engage our core more. It can also help improve your posture. If you don't think you can handle balancing & sitting on a balance ball during work, you can opt to do it during your off time, such as while you're watching television.
4. Laugh More
Did you know that genuine laughter can actually help you burn more calories? According to a study, genuine voiced laughter can help increase your heart rate by about 10-20% more than when you are at rest. However, laughing out loud in a work setting may not be that appropriate, if not distracting to others around you, so you can try this tip during your off time. Try to watch more comedy movies and tv shows so that you can burn some extra calories even when you are resting!
5. Drink More Water
Drinking water regularly can actually help you use up energy even when you are at a state of rest. In addition, one study showed that drinking 500ml of water helps increase metabolic rate by 30% in participants of normal weight. Another perk of drinking water is that it can keep you from confusing thirst for hunger. This can help combat unhealthy snacking and overeating habits. Another great perk is that it helps you go to the bathroom, which is a great way to get your body up and moving a bit to burn more calories.
6. Eat Spicy Foods
Do you love spicy foods? Well here's the good news! Studies have shown that the capsaicin in peppers can help trigger the body to generate heat, which in turn helps increase calorie burn. It can also increase the feeling of fullness, which can help prevent one from overeating too many calories. Of course you want to be balanced, but if you don't mind the heat, you can occasionally stock up on some snacks that are spicy to munch on while you're lounging around watching tv.
7. Chew Your Food Slowly
Many studies have shown that those with obesity tend to chew their food less than those who are leaner. Apparently, eating slowly and chewing your food more thoroughly can help you burn an extra 10 calories for each meal. That's about an extra 1,000 calories a month. In addition, studies have also shown that eating slowly improves satiety, the feeling of fullness and satisfaction after a meal, which helps you stop eating sooner & prevent overeating.
8. Stop Snacking
We all do it sometimes - mindless eating - whether it's at work or when we are lounging around the house. Cutting out the snacks doesn't help burn calories, but at least it can help aid in decreasing the number of calories you consume. You can try to drink water instead of snacking to make you feel more full. In addition, try putting your snacks in a place that is not easy to get to. It's a great incentive to get you up and moving a bit. If you have several different types of snacks and candies lying on your desk or in your drawers - somewhere easily accessible - it becomes a lot easier to eat just for the sake of eating. Aside from putting your snacks out of reach, switch your snacks to something healthy and low in calories.
We hope that these simple tips can help you burn a bit more calories even when you don't have the time and have to sit during most of the day.
