Calories are measurements of energy. You receive energy from the calories you take in through eating and burn calories when expending energy, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. All activity uses up calories and even over the holidays, if you use more energy than you take in, you can continue to lose weight. If you overdo it occasionally, you still can maintain your weight by staying active.
Shopping
Malls and shopping districts are ideal places to step up your walking over the holidays. Many walkers around the country utilize the vast runways in malls to exercise every day. Instead of moving your car from door to door in large shopping plazas, drop off your packages and hike to the next store. Wear good walking shoes when you go shopping to stick with the plan and walk briskly to increase your heart rate while finishing your shopping duties in a timely manner. Even walking at a leisurely pace at about two miles an hour, a 160-lb. person can burn as many as 200 calories in an hour of walking, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Dancing
Instead of sitting out the vigorous dance tunes at the holiday parties you attend, get out and burn up some calories. Even slow-paced routines such as ballroom dancing can burn close to 300 calories in an hour for a 160-lb. person. Step it up and burn 400 to 500 calories in an hour to work off the rich holiday desserts or drinks you may indulge in.
Cleaning
Cleaning and decorating the house are effective activities to spend time doing to burn excess calories over the holidays. Instead of dreading the housework and time it takes to put up lights and wreaths, consider the time a well-spent workout. Work off 160 calories by simple dusting for an hour and another 80 calories just by making beds for 30 minutes. Lose close to 160 calories by vacuuming for 45 minutes and 300 doing other general housecleaning chores. Walking up and down ladders, bending and lifting decorations and tacking up lights can help you burn another 300.
Sex
Whether you take a vacation and spend some romantic time with your partner over the holidays or make time for intimate trysts, you'll burn calories having sex. A 160-lb. person burns about 60 calories having moderately active sex for 30 minutes.
Miscellaneous Chores
If you think of your chores as workouts to keep you looking your best when you may not have time to visit the gym during the holidays, you may find extra bursts of energy to complete tasks you been putting off like rearranging the furniture that can burn as many as 240 calories in about 30 minutes. Enjoy writing letters and cards for a couple hours and burn about 150 calories or get out and chop wood for an hour and burn off close to 500 calories. Drive for a couple hours to burn more than 300 hundred calories and then take care of an elderly relative for a couple hours for an additional 650-calorie loss.
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