How Many Calories Do I Burn a Day Without Exercising?

How Many Calories Do I Burn a Day Without Exercising? Calories burned per day determines weight loss, weight gained, or weight maintained!

Fat-burners belts, waist trimmer belts, fat-burning machines, slimming tea, and slimming capsules are truly appealing. But, we are aware of the facts—it’s a short-term solution with a million side-effects.

What if you begin burning calories without exercising? When does the body burn fat? Can your body turn into a fat-burning machine on its own? How much daily effort is required to maintain weight and even lose weight?

In-Depth Research on slimming your figure down to achieve that sexy, curvy body is conducted by our health experts over the years.

We are here to reveal the secrets of the calorie-burning mechanism of your body and ways to pace it up even while resting.

What is a Calorie?

Calories determine the amount of energy needed by the body to function throughout the day.

A calorie is basically a unit of heat energy that is required to raise 1g of water by 1^oC. Our diet is composed of proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids that have different calorie content. Even on the packaging of food products, the nutritional content displayed includes the number of calories in them.

Different food items have different calorie count and, thus, they provide a different amount of potential energy.

Here’s a per gram breakdown for calories based on each food type:

Carbohydrates contain 4 calories per gram
Proteins contain 4 calories per gram
Fats contain 9 calories per gram

How to Calculate the Number of Calories I Burn at Rest?

Basal metabolic rate or BMR is a measure of the amount of energy needed for maintaining basic bodily functions while at rest; for example regulation of body temperature, managing heartbeat and breathing rate, etc. In other words, it equals to calories needed per day.

It might sound surprising, but when sitting on a couch idly staring at the wall, you are still burning calories. In other words, it’s the BMR that accounts for 2/3^rd of the daily calorie burn. You can burn up to 40-55 calories per hour when sleeping, and slightly more when being a couch potato.

BMR varies from person to person depending upon various reasons: you may burn more calories when you are sick or have increased muscle mass, or you may have it slowed down due to weight loss or agedness. BMR also varies based on age, weight, sex, and genetics.

The slowed-down metabolic rate is the major reason for dieters to regain weight fast or have a difficult time losing some pounds. On top of that, certain treatments or medications or even medical conditions like thyroid disease affect BMR.

How Can I Calculate My BMR?

The Harris-Benedict formula is a simple method of calculating your BMR. Simply multiply your basal metabolic rate (BMR) with the average activity level per day.

To calculate, use years for age, inches for height, and pounds for weight, and add it to the formula:

For Men: 66+(6.2x Weight)+(12.7x Height)-(6.76x Age)

For Women: 655.1 + (4.35 x Weight) + (4.7 x Height) – (4.7 xXAge)

The results of BMR are multiplied with the activity level to determine the average calorie burn in a day. Points are given according to the activity level of a person, such as:

2 points: little to no exercise
37 points: light exercise twice or thrice a week
55 points: moderate activity with exercise between 3 to 5 times a week
725 points: a hyperactive person who exercises between 6 to 7 days a week.
9 points: a person who has a physically demanding job or a tough gym routine.

Once the activity level and BMR are precisely determined, the two numbers are multiplied to measure the number of calories burned on average per day.

What Factors Influence the Number of Calories I Burn Per Day?

There are a number of factors that affect the number of calories you burn per day. Few of these factors are uncontrollable, but others are.

Age: The older you are, the slower is the process of burning calories for energy.
Sex: Men have a built-in mechanism to burn greater number of calories than women.
Activity Level: The more you move around, the greater the number of calories you will burn.
Muscle Mass: The greater the muscle mass you have, the greater will be the number of calories you will burn.
Activity Level: The more you move throughout the day, the number of calories you’ll burn
Bodyweight or size: The bulkier you are, the number of calories you burn each day even at rest.
Thermogenesis: It’s the amount of energy required by your body to break down food.
Pregnancy: Pregnant women have more muscle mass, so they burn more calories than non-pregnant ones.
Breast-feeding Women: Women who breastfeed their little ones burn greater amount of calories than others.

How Can I Burn Calories While At Rest?

You can turn your body into a fat-burning machine by increasing its rate of metabolism.

Even you are lazing out on that couch, you can burn calories fast. To reach the calorie-burning peak, you MUST add foods to your diet that help you burn calories for a long duration and faster. For that purpose, you need to boost the metabolism rate of your body.

Here’s a list of do’s and don’ts for pacing up the metabolism rate of your body.

	DO’S	DON’T’S
1	Deep sleep is crucial to burn calories fast. During the REM sleep stage, your brain is hyperactive and, therefore, it needs more oxygen to function.	Late night meals and caffeinate drinks can interfere with your regular sleep pattern, and increase stress. Increased stress leads to accumulation of more fat, which means weight gain. So, the slight increase in metabolism is a short-term effect.
2	Sleep in a room with a temperature range of 60 to 67^oF. As per research, sleeping in a cold room helps in increasing the rate of calories burned at rest.	Supplements claiming to boost metabolic rate should be avoided or taken with caution as they have side-effects.
3	Add weights to your errands to increase the number of calories burnt per hour. Add ankle weights to your daily tasks, including walking to the station, grocery shopping, and throwing away the garbage. It would improve the vascularization, and reduce the stubborn belly fat.	Patients of hypothyroidism and Cushing syndrome can find it challenging to lose weight as their natural rate of metabolism is slow. Consult the doctor before trying out any remedies.
4	Laugh More often; as exercising that funny bone of yours is effective in torching excessive calories. Basically, the laughing strategy is a stress-buster; therefore, you would be losing more calories than putting on any.	Over-eating or drinking water immediately after food slows down the metabolism rate. So, even when you are being a couch potato, avoid drinking water mindlessly.
5	If you enjoy your workout routine, you can definitely burn calories even while at rest. It’s because half an hour of the gym every day can greatly boost the metabolic rate of your body. Moreover, resting time in between exercises lets your muscles repair itself and burn an extra amount of calories as the tight muscles break.

What Foods Should I Eat to Burn Calories Without Exercising?

Increase protein intake

Can’t resist burgers? Here’s good news: proteins take longer to digest than fats and carbs so munch on those protein-studded foods. Higher protein foods help you in burning more calories than fatty or carb-based foods.

Drink plenty of iced water

Add in some ice cubes to your water! Chilled drinks awaken your body to warm up against the liquid passing to the gastrointestinal tract. It leads to more calories burnt to warm up those chilled liquids inside the body.

Have Spicy Food

Add in cayenne pepper or chili pepper to your dishes as it increases your internal body temperature, which further boosts your metabolism. Moreover, a little bit of cayenne pepper can suppress your appetite too.

Sip on Green Tea

Green tea is a renowned drink to boost your metabolism whether you are on a diet or not. Stay on that bed, yet burn some calories by consuming green tea, the miracle formula for weight loss. As per research, green tea helps in reduction of waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, weight, and body mass index.

How Many Calories Do I Burn in a Day By Doing the Daily Errands?

The daily activity level determines how many calories I burn in a day.

Even the smallest of activity like stepping or swinging leads to calorie burn. Moreover, intense workouts cause calories to burn fast.

Below is the calorie count burnt in a 155-pounds person involved in any of the following activities for half an hour.

Cooking: 70 calories
Raking: 141 calories
Shoveling Snow: 211 calories
Mowing the lawn: 141 calories
House cleaning: 106 calories
Vacuuming: 70 calories
Laundry: 70 calories
Playing with kids outside: 141 calories
Dusting: 70 calories
Grocery shopping: 106 calories
Gardening: 176 calories

Fidgeting every now and then doesn’t require a lot of effort, but it helps in burning a considerable amount of calories. As per a study, fidgeting and other non-exercise activities can help burn up to 350 calories each day.

Final Verdict

Following a mind-boggling schedule of office work and home, chores don’t leave you with enough time to exercise. Ultimately, you begin to put on weight. But, you can lose weight still even when you aren’t going to the gym.

Simply create a calorie deficit by moving more, eating high-protein and low-calorie foods, taking proper sleep, and drinking ice-cold water.

Share with us how do you burn those stubborn calories without working out?