How to burn an extra 100 calories daily

It is a myth that in order to lose weight, you need to do more of everything - more activity, more cooking, more organizing, more planning -- but sometimes the best thing you can do for your waistline (and sanity) is less but well incorporated into your lifestyle. A few simple good supportive habits that empower you to be your best self!

#1) Burn less midnight oil - Sleep more:
Many people overlook their sleep, burning the candle at both ends in the frenzy to manage it all. Research has shown that getting less than four hours of sleep over an extended period of time drastically slows your metabolism. Aim for between 7 to 9 hours sleep per night which is the average calculated by researchers and scientists. 

#2) Ditch the television - Interact more:
Stop watching television for the sake of watching television, you know it makes you a Couch Potato! You’re effectively a by-product of your Telly-watch these days. Pen in your favorite shows on the agenda and cut out mindless zombie channel surfing. I think we’ve all been guilty of sitting in front of the TV and thinking: ‘There is nothing on!’, and yet, we still sit there and watch ‘Nothing’ AND munch on junk-food to stave off the boredom. Studies have shown that adults who halved how much TV they watch burned an extra 119 calories per day, without actually changing their calorie intake. use the time to strengthen bonds with family and friends.

#3) Avoid sugar - more Awareness:
Consumption of sugar triggers your pancreas to release insulin, but since the pancreas does not know exactly how much insulin to dish out, often it overcompensates or undercompensates which then either shuttles sugar to your cells to be used as energy, or if the energy from the sugar isn’t required, sugar will be stored as fat. This includes carbohydrates!

#4) Cook your own food - more Health:
We all know it’s usually healthier than buying takeaway, and you also know exactly what has gone in as well as how hygienically it has been prepared. You will burn calories by preparing your food, you will be on your feet for about an extra half an hour, which definitely burns more calories than driving to the takeaway shop or getting food home-delivered.

#5) Get socially active and we don’t mean Social Media! Get out more:
Organise a social function, meet up with friends and neighbours, strengthen the ties and while you’re at it, pick an activity that gets you moving whilst having fun at the same time. There are plenty of options such as garden games, pool meets, ten pin bowling, dance parties… Each of these options burns on average about 200 calories per hour.

#6) Clip on a pedometer - Walk more:
Aim to exceed 10,000 steps per day. 10,000 steps equates to about 5 miles or 8 kms, which depending on a few variables, such as weight, sex and age, can burn anywhere from 250-600 calories per day. Added benefit, great circulation if you do it throughout the day!

#7) Move faster - Amp it up more:
It’s a fact that fit people do everyday tasks with more speed and agility, whilst overweight people tend to complete the same tasks at a much slower rate. We know that the faster we move our body, the faster we burn calories. Every now and then walk like you are late for a meeting. Add a skip, hop, twirl to have more fun!

#8) Walk and talk -- On your feet more :
If you can, don’t sit still when you take a phone call. At home stand up or walk around the house while on the phone, at work if possible take the phone call standing up. Standing burns about 50 percent more calories than sitting. What that means is you can burn about an extra 50 calories per hour by standing and talking on the phone. If you walk while you talk, you burn about 85-90 calories per hour. For those of you who need to use a phone a lot, this is a great trick. If using your mobile, aim to use it with headphones and speaker to reduce risk of electro-magnetic pollution!

#9) Don’t eat in the car - more Mindfulness:
Unless you are on a long road trip, avoid eating in the car. Eating in the car can lead to mindless consumption of junk-food calories, if you carry it within easy reach, more often than not all you are doing is filling in time while you are sitting in traffic. For those on the run, it can seem like a time saver, but don’t you think you deserve to savour a good nourishing meal and a few pleasant moments to be mindful about it?

#10) Tweak your core - more Abdominals:
Every time you are driving and you get stuck at a traffic light, squeeze your core. It can help you lower back and it actually burns calories because you are tensing your stomach muscles. Before long you will be doing it automatically. Red light = Squeeze tummy muscles! Clench in and release, clench and release… Hello, Flat Tummy!

Try and incorporate as many of these as possible and say hello to more health and fitness!