Lose Weight - No Workout Required?

There's this nifty little chart in "Redbook" magazine that instructs readers on how to burn calories doing everyday chores and tasks. Now, I believe firmly that exercise should be fairly taxing. Like, you should sweat and huff and puff and feel as if you can't possibly run one more lap or lift one more weight. But I realize this NEAT philosophy (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) is hot right now and clearly, burning calories while you go about your daily routines is not a bad idea. And while I wouldn't rely solely on these activities for achieving fitness, I can add them to my already somewhat-strenuous exercise line-up. How about you?

The following figures reflect a five-day time range and are based on an average 35-year-old woman who weighs 150 pounds.

• Drive to your office and take the elevator to your floor and you'll burn 280 calories. Park five blocks away and take three flights of stairs to your floor and you'll burn 700.

• Open the back door and let your dog out and crush 43 calories. Walk your dog for 30 minutes and make that number 357.

• Call a cleaning service and burn 20 calories. Clean a room a day for 15 minutes and score 150.
  
  

Visit "Redbook" here for more calorie-burning inspiration.