iStock_000019348275_DoubleLosing weight or maintaining your ideal weight involves burning more calories than you consume while making sure you get enough vitamins, proteins and carbohydrates to remain healthy. The good news? You won’t need to spend hours at the gym staring at walls as you pace monotonously on a treadmill to burn calories. Instead, you can have fun, be productive and set those fat deposits ablaze by making an effort to incorporate these activities into your daily routine:

(Calorie expenditures are based on a 140-pound person. People weighing more than 140 will burn more calories).

  • Painting your home (inside or out) for three hours–1100 calories
  • Mowing a medium-sized lawn (one hour) with a push mower (sorry, no riding mowers!)–330 calories
  • Moving furniture for an hour–500 calories
  • Shoveling snow (for those living in the East and Midwest) for 30 minutes–200 calories
  • Hand-washing your vehicle for one hour–100 calories
  • Sleeping for eight hours–350 calories
  • Active gardening for one hour (hoeing, planting, weeding)–320 calories
  • Jogging in place for one hour (while watching your favorite HBO series)–250 calories
  • Driving for one hour–120 calories
  • Bowling for one hour–145 calories
  • Performing light yoga for one hour–300 calories
  • Bicycling for one hour (moderate to fast pace)–500 calories
  • Jumping rope for 15 minutes–200 calories
  • Running up and down the stairs for 10 minutes–100 calories
  • Shopping for one hour (pushing that cart is hard work!)–130 calories

Consider wearing a weighted vest when you are doing household chores. Carrying extra weight forces your muscles to work harder and encourages your metabolic system to access more energy stored as carbohydrates and fat in body cells. This also means fat and calories are burned at the same time endurance and muscles are strengthened.

For more useful information about calorie-burning activities, visit Harvard Medical School’s Calorie Burn Chart.