10 Times You’re Burning Calories Without Realizing It

Before you answer “inactive” in response to the activity level question on your doctor’s questionnaire, hold on: you might be more active than you know! These everyday activities can burn some serious calories and help you to stay trim.

Playing Darts

If you spend time at the pub after work downing beer and shooting darts, you might be working off that beer as you drink it. Playing darts burns around 150 calories per hour.

Dancing

If you hit the nightclub every weekend and worry the cocktails will take their toll on your waistline, just hit the dance floor. Some serious bumping and grinding can burn 500 calories per hour!

Giving a massage

A relaxing spa-themed night with your friends could secretly be burning you calories. Giving someone a back rub can burn 117 calories per hour. So get in that massage train with your best friends!

Charades

Skipping out on a night of heavy drinking with your friends not only saves you money and a hangover, it could help you burn calories. Depending on how intense you play this game, it could help you burn several hundreds of calories per hour.

Grocery shopping

You know not to go to the store with an appetite, but you might work one up there! Pushing a grocery cart around for just 45 minutes burns around 120 calories. If you’re pushing it around with a toddler in the top seat area, you just got extra workout points.

Gardening

Your most relaxing hobby could be your best form of exercise, too. Yanking weeds out of your garden and planting new bulbs can burn over 200 calories in just 40 minutes.

Making the beds

If you live in a house with multiple bedrooms, give each room that new, fresh linens scent by changing all the sheets, and burning calories! Changing sheets for just 30 minutes can burn 185 calories.

Clothes shopping

Shopaholics will love this: trying on one outfit burns around 10 to 12 calories. So a full on day of walking around the mall and trying on several outfits in each store is practically an intense sweat session.

Styling your hair

If you spend an hour blow drying, straightening and curling your hair, you could be burning upwards of 200 calories. So you not only have gorgeous hair for your date night, but a little confidence boost from your “workout.”

Painting the house

Want to finally paint that picket fence in the front yard? Or turn your dull office room into a happy, bright yellow hue? Painting a room or fence can burn around 200 calories per hour.