BURN MORE CALORIES – PART II

16. Eat healthy at the mall. Order a kid’s meal or a salad without heavy dressing. Have a yogurt for a quick pick-me-up.
17. Get minty fresh. Brush your teeth and tongue with the best-tasting toothpaste you can find. Use mouthwash and breath mints to trick your taste buds.
18. Watch your portions. Just because you’re given a certain portion doesn’t mean that amount is what your body needs. Eat only until you’re comfortably full. A little left on your plate each day adds up to a long-term decrease in calories.
19. Give up one bad eating habit. For example, if you eat in front of the TV or in bed, move your meal to the kitchen table.
20. Don’t be too hard on yourself. If you have a diet plan that’s too low in calories for your weight and energy level, you’ll slow down your metabolism as your body attempts to conserve calories. Don’t dip below 1,200 calories or aim for more than a one- to two- pound weight loss per week.
21. Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
22. Dance in your car. While you’re stuck in traffic, work your abs. Concentrate on your rib cage — pretend you’re an exotic dancer and swirl around. Not only will you see your waist whittle and your abs harden, you’ll release lower back tension.
23. Buy a jump rope. It’s great exercise, and even more fun if you can remember all the rhymes you jumped to as a kid. You’ll get your heart rate up and work the muscles in your upper and lower body, especially the stomach if you contract your abs while jumping.
24. Work your butt. When you’re in the car or standing in line, contract your buttocks for fifteen second intervals. Tighten your muscles as you breathe in and then breathe out and release. It not only firms your butt, but relieves stress.
25. Act goofy. Even if you’re too busy for the gym, you can still do cardio. Put on a pair of socks and slide around the house like a skater. You’ll burn 150 calories in just ten minutes.
26. Get some free weights. It’s all you need to start a strength-training regimen.
27. Take two steps at a time when you climb stairs. Skipping a step will force your leg and buttocks muscles to extend and work harder. Plus, this movement releases endorphins that will make you feel great!
28. Do yard work. Pull some weeds, dig holes and rake your lawn. Gardening just one hour can burn up to 500 calories.
29. Rent or buy some exercise videos. It’s like having a health club in the privacy of your own room.
30. Burn calories while doing housework. Do several chores at one time. For instance, make the bed, put laundry in the dryer, run upstairs to fold clean clothes and put them away.

Re-printed from Meltdown Challenge