I have been standing in the kitchen and cooking up a storm for days...trying to get pictures on the recipes! Surprising enough I have lost 3.8 pounds this week.  Just moving everyday doing regular chores can help you lose without sweating at the gym.  So I thought I would give some suggestions to just how many calories you can burn at the same time boosting your metabolism.  So let's get started.

 People who tap their feet, prefer standing to sitting, and generally move a lot burn up to 350 more calories a day than those who sit still. That adds up to nearly 37 pounds a year! That's big!! Get a jump start on flatter abs before your feet even hit the floor. Simply draw your knees toward your chest 25 to 50 times to rev your energy, tone your belly, and burn 15 to 20 calories. Add a set at night to double your burn.

Burn Calories while watching TV, do not use remote control. Instead, every time you need to switch channels, get up and do that manually. Every commercial get up and touch your toes or dance...just move the entire commercial break.

Stand up more, with jam-packed days, you can boost your metabolism simply by spending more time on your feet. Rather than sitting on a bench while your children play at the park, for example, walk around the playground area for 15 minutes and melt 50 extra calories, 120 more calories in an hour by standing during events or kids practice.

Adopt a habit of moving your feet, stretching your legs, or squeezing a rubber ball while sitting. Can you believe that such simple movements can burn up to 500 calories a day?

In the winter, turn down the heat in your room, especially at night, and sleep under a lighter blanket. In the summer, turn on an air conditioning. A colder environment makes your body produce more heat and, therefore, facilitates the utilization of calories.

Take a comedy break: Research shows that laughing for 10 to 15 minutes (like when watching a funny half-hour sitcom) can burn about 40 calories. It's a small number by itself, but a daily chuckle could add up to a loss of about 4 pounds over a year. Look for humor throughout the day, such as watching comedy sketches on YouTube during a lunch break.

Those of you with kids (up to 15lbs) can burn 289 calories per 1/2 hour walking up and down stairs. Vacuuming burns 119 per 1/2 hour. 204 calories gone by shoveling snow, 170 for yard work. 85 per half hour by cooking. 
Bottom line...get moving and find something you enjoy!

Many of us middle age adults can agree, at some point, your body just starts hurting.  It can be sudden or gradual, but we begin to notice pain in places we didn’t before.  What can we do? How do we continue to exercise? Often people’s first reaction is that they should stop exercising to avoid more damage to their joints. But research has shown that regular, moderate exercise is better than no exercise at all even when it comes to arthritis.  Exercise can actually reduce joint pain and stiffness, help to build strong muscle around the joints, and increases flexibility.

Starting an exercise program can seem like a daunting proposition. The important thing to remember is to start slow and make it fun. It is always good to start with flexibility exercises, which are basically stretching exercises that will improve your range of motion and help you perform daily activities. 

When you have arthritis, you need strong muscles to lessen the stress on your joints. Strengthening exercises can help build your muscles so they can absorb shock and protect your joints from injury, as well as help you get around better. These exercises use weight or resistance to make your muscles work harder, thereby helping them get stronger.

Try to include aerobic activity in your fitness program three to four times each week, with a goal of working in your target heart rate for 30 minutes each session. You can work up to this goal slowly, starting with as little as 5 minutes and increasing as you get stronger and are able.

If you’ve tried exercising before, but were unsuccessful, don’t make a mistake by trying the same way this time. Do something new. Pick activities you can easily work into your day or find a buddy to exercise with. Bottom line just move..it does help relieve pain.