Activity patterns for most of us have changed dramatically over the past generation or so. Consider that when the phone used to ring we had to move to answer it; that the garage door only opened when you got out of the car and pushed it up; that dishes didn’t wash themselves; and that washing and waxing the car involved some serious manual labour.

Today, these activities and many more have been “engineered” out of our lives - resulting in more convenience, but also far less energy expenditure. And, many will argue, a much more unhealthy population as a result. In a desire to make life easier we’ve actually decreased our health and compromised our quality of life.

Check the following table to see where you might be able to change an activity or two in order to increase the amount of calories you burn in a day. It might seem trivial, but body fatness is all about the equation of calories in vs. calories out. The more calories out, the leaner you become.

Tips for Adding Activity

1. Using the remote to change channels (<1 cal.) vs. Getting up and changing the TV channel for a total of five min/day (3 cal.)
2. Answering the phone with a nearby cordless phone; talking 30 min. while sitting down (4 cal.) vs. Getting up and answering phone, then standing during three 10-min conversations (20 cal.)
3. Using garage door opener while sitting in car (<1 cal.) vs. Opening garage door twice a day (3 cal.)
4. Hiring someone to clean your house (0 cal.) vs. 30 minutes of vacuuming and 30 minutes of ironing once per week (152 cal.)
Waiting 30 min. for pizza delivery (0 cal.) vs. 30 min. of cooking (25 cal.)
5. Driving to car wash, getting out, paying, and getting back into car (18 cal.) vs. Washing and waxing car (300 cal.)
6. Letting the dog out the back door (2 cal.) vs. Walking the dog for 30 min/day (125 cal.)
7. Emailing a co-worker a message (twice daily) for 4 min. (2 cal.) vs. Walking for 1 minute and talking with a co-worker while standing for 3 min. twice a day (6 cal.)
8. Taking the elevator (<1 cal.) vs. Climbing one flight of stairs three times a day (6 cal.)
9. Sitting in car at drive-thru window 3x/wk for a total of 30 min. vs. Parking next to a restaurant and going into the building 3x/wk for a total of 30 min (70 cal.)
10. Internet shopping for 1 hr (30 cal) vs. Walking briskly at a mall for 1 hr (200 cal.)

So there you have it – do some quick math to see how many extra calories you could burn by changing some simple daily tasks. You might surprise yourself!

(Keep in mind that 3,500 calories equals 1 lb of body-fat)