‘Tis the season — to be sedentary.
If you want to maintain your weight this season, you could plan a cross-country ski trip (about 640 calories per hour), enroll in a boot camp (400 calories) or walk to and from work — uphill both ways, of course (380 calories). Or, you could find sneaky ways to burn calories doing everything you’re already doing. “The holidays [involve] more sedentary time sitting around, more food consumption in larger portions, and so being creative with how you burn it off is really important,” says Jessica Crandall, a Denver-based registered dietitian and spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Get started by chewing over how many calories these seven winter chores burn:
1. Shopping
The thrill of watching your little ones rejoice over their gifts will only be amplified by the knowledge of how many calories you burned shopping for them: A 140-pound person who walks slowly for an hour carrying less than 25 pounds (of, say, shopping bags or children) burns about 223 calories, according to calculations using the Compendium of Physical Activities. Boost that number by parking farther away in the parking lot, walking faster or “taking an extra lap through the mall while you run through the holiday madness or stores,” Crandall suggests. Even fidgeting while you stand in line for 30 minutes will cost you 64 calories.
2. Decorating
The Joneses are going to be trying to keep up with you: If you’re a 160-pound person who spends 30 minutes putting in storm windows, you’ll burn about 182 calories. Add to that 20 minutes of cleaning out the gutters (121 calories) and 20 minutes of hammering a string of lights or trio of wreaths (73 calories) and you’ve burned about as much as you would going for a 45-minute jog. “If you’re not in shape for that kind of activity,” says Richard Cotton, the American College of Sports Medicine’s national director of certification, “you’ll likely feel it the next day.”
3. Traveling
Not being home for the holidays might pay off: A 120-pound person will burn about 109 calories pulling a suitcase through the airport for 30 minutes, 48 calories unloading luggage and packages from the car for 15 minutes and 73 calories carrying a 25- to 49-pound load upstairs in 10 minutes. If you are the host, volunteer to help your guests get settled. “It’s giving in more than one way,” Crandall says. Then, take them on an hourlong walking tour of your town; if you use showshoes, you’ll burn nearly 300 calories. “Try not to give up your walking habit,” Cotton says. “Just dress for it.”
4. Cooking
A slice of your famous pumpkin pie can set you back at least a couple hundred calories, but cooking that pie takes caloric effort, too: A 130-pound person who puts light effort into cooking for an hour burns about 118 calories. A particularly gracious host (of the same size) who takes 20 minutes to set the table and serve the food, too, tacks on an additional 49 calories. Want to up the intensity? Do calf raises while you blend (“turning your feet out and then forward will target different muscle groups,” Crandall says), pushups against the countertop while the pie cooks and wall squats while your guests dig in.
5. Shoveling
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! If you’re a 200-pound man with a sidewalk and driveway to clear, shoveling for an hour will burn about 482 calories, while snowplowing or snowblowing for half that time will burn less than 120. Shoveling is also “incredibly functional because it’s your whole body,” not to mention it’s cheap, Cotton says. “You’re lifting your legs; your core is engaged; your upper body is engaged.” If you’re the CrossFit type, try to lift as much snow as possible. But if you’re out of shape or have heart or back problems, take it slowly: “For many people … [shoveling] could be too much,” Cotton says.
6. Building a Fire
Lumberjacks, rejoice: While pre-chopped logs may be a time-saver, building a fire from scratch is a money-saver and calorie-torcher. A 250-pound person who chops and splits wood with moderate effort for 40 minutes burns about 358 calories. Carrying, loading and stacking that wood for 15 minutes adds another 164 calories to the count. Then there’s actually building the fire: An effort worth 50 calories per 10 minutes. Just don’t light up a cigarette when you’re conquering winter chores: Smoking, particularly during activity, seriously strains your cardiovascular system, Cotton points out. “Lay off the smokes when you go out and certainly while you’re doing it,” he says. Better yet, don’t smoke at all.
7. Cleaning
All good parties must come to an end, but your calorie burn doesn’t have to. Volunteer to sweep, wash dishes or perform other household tasks and you’ll torch about 179 calories in just 45 minutes if you weigh 150 pounds. Get down and dirty and scrub the floors for 20 minutes, and say goodbye to 84 calories. Want to vacuum, too? A 20-minute run over the carpets will fry 75 calories more. Throw in a 15-minute dusting session to burn close to 40 additional calories. Even just standing and sorting through mail for an hour post-dinner makes a difference, Crandall says. “The little things do add up,” she says.
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Here’s How Many Calories 7 Winter Chores Burn originally appeared on usnews.com
