Burn an Extra 200 Calories a Day

Did you know it's possible to burn extra calories throughout the day without going to the gym or popping in your favorite workout video? Your body is burning calories all day long as you go about your normal, regular activities. But if you want to burn a few hundred more, there are ways you can do that. Here are just a few of them:

Walk everywhere you possibly can: If you have errands to run and the places you need to go are within walking distance, then grab your sneakers rather than your car keys. Not only will you save on gas, but you will burn a lot of extra calories—especially if you are carrying groceries or bags on the way back home. You can make it harder by wearing light ankle weights or even a weighted vest. That calorie burn will easily surpass the two-hundred mark if you add weight.

Take the stairs. Ditch the elevators and escalators: Wherever you may be whether it is the mall, an office building or a multi-level establishment, forget about using the elevators or escalators and opt for taking the stairs when you go up and when you come back down. Walking, especially up several flights of stairs, will get your heart pumping and those calories burning big time.

Commercial breaks equal exercise time: Most commercial breaks last roughly two to three minutes. That is enough time to fill it with some exercise whether it's sit-ups, jumping jacks, squats or mountain climbers.  When you think about it, you will be exercising eight to ten minutes during a half hour show. And if you choose more challenging exercises and/or do it through more than one show, you can end up burning a lot more than just two hundred calories.

Play outside with your kids: There's nothing like a game of tag, jumping rope or shooting hoops to get more of a calorie burn while enjoying some bonding time with your kids. You can also ride bikes together or pull them uphill and through your neighborhood in a wagon. It's like having your own home gym complements of your children.

Yard work: Raking leaves, mowing the lawn or planting a garden can burn some serious calories. And the longer you do it, the more calories you will burn.

Park as far away as possible: If you can't walk to your destinations, the next best thing is to park as far from the entrance as you can. More walking for you means more calories will be burned. Hey, you can even park on the complete opposite side of where you need to be so the walk is even longer.

Instead of letting Fido out in the backyard to get his daily exercise, why don't the two of you take a long walk together? You both get in some exercise while enjoying the great outdoors. Here are five more ways to get fit with Fido.

Add some housework: Okay, the last thing you probably want is to add more household chores to your day, but adding a little bit more each day is not so bad. The simple acts of vacuuming, carrying laundry up and down the stairs, scrubbing the floors or dusting furniture can add up to a lot of burned calories. You don't have to do each one of these every day. Try doing just one of them on the days when you really want to burn some extra calories (or when the house is just that much messier!).

Stand often: The simple act of standing actually burns calories, and if you are doing it a lot more throughout the day, it will add up for sure. You can even stand as part of your commercial break exercise or leave the remote on top of the television forcing you to get up and change the channel or add the volume when you need to do so.

Laugh more: That's right—laughing burns calories. Isn't the best thing you've heard all day?! What better and more enjoyable way to burn calories than by watching your favorite funny movie or listening to your favorite stand-up comic? Find something that makes you laugh uncontrollably and enjoy every calorie-burning minute of it.

Burning a few extra calories a day never hurt and these are some practical and easy ways to do just that. You may not want or need to do this every day, but it's nice to know that after a weekend binge or before a beach vacation, you can burn some extra calories without much effort.