I’ve tried running. I’ve tried P-90x. I’ve done Insanity and 55 other workout videos. I have tried all the fad machines, and I’ve tried to trick myself into believing I like them. And I don’t. I have found just a handful of things I like enough to do now and then, “Sweating in the Spirit 2” being a random favorite, but nothing I like enough to do daily.

You know what I do love? Shopping. And I love putting on some good jams and dancing around the house. I like watching TV while I prep food in my crockpot. I like going to the park with Lola and chasing her up and around the jungle gym. Guess what, guys! THESE THINGS BURN CALORIES!

Is it super nice and comfy to just lay on the couch and watch tv or shop online? YES. It’s marvelous…and I still do that often. The fact is, if you put a little effort into it, you can be burning calories and still doing what you set out to do in the first place. Instead of just sitting at a table in the park, I participate with my mini BFF. Instead of taking 5 minutes to load the dishwasher, save money on water and spend the extra time standing and scrubbing. YOU WILL BURN CALORIES.

I have put together an awesome table of calories burnt for every day activities. I included Zumba because it’s a pretty fun workout…and shows you that if you do it for just 20 minutes, you will have great benefits. (Most people who do it don’t feel like they are working out either!)

The main reason I put this together is because I have seen some of these on Pinterest, and they are like “Quick Way to Burn 100 Calories” and then they say “25 Jumping Jack, 30 push ups, 15 high knees, 5 burpees…Repeat 2x” or something of the sort. The FINE PRINT says it burns 100 calories for someone who weighs 125 lbs, but here I am weighing double that. And then what about the people who aren’t educated on how calories work? They think they are doing it and burning 100 calories but are actually burning MORE and getting discouraged because it was just “too much for only 100 calories burnt.”

The fact is, doing those things are still pretty difficult for me at my weight. If I am ever down to 125 lbs (not a goal of mine) and I want to burn 100 calories, I am sure that would be helpful, but for real women with busy lives, fellow exercise haters, and just bigger people in general….it’s easier than that to burn some calories. Doing just a few of these things a day, coupled with a low calorie or clean diet, can help tremendously with weight loss and overall health!

Okay, here’s an example of how to use this chart loosely. I fall closest to (without going over) the “250 lb” group. Say I cook for 20 minutes…I burn 100 calories. Now, another example: Say I DANCE while I am cooking…I burn 225 calories. I ONLY get the calories burnt for dancing. I don’t add the calories for cooking on top of that since it’s during one movement.

I know you guys are smart enough to get this, but I don’t want people coming back to me or telling their friends and family “I just burnt 415 calories in 20 minutes because I was dancing while pushing a stroller through the mall!” Obviously…it doesn’t work like that. But I thought it would be nice to have a “cheat sheet” for those bigger people out there like me looking to burn some extra calories.

If you want to know a closer estimation of calories burnt for your 27 minutes of washing dishes at your exact weight of 265 pounds, you can visit www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc!