Creative Way to Burn Calories During Fall Activities

The holiday season of 2009 is right around the corner when tempting foods, holiday parties, Christmas cookies and candy and family meals conspire with the cold chill of winter to increase our body fat. We can stave off some of those extra pounds by making sure we stay active and keep our weight down before the winter bomb hits us.

Losing weight or maintaining a healthy weight is difficult when not only are we being bombarded by fatty foods, but we also can't find time to exercise because we're busy with holiday chores and festivities. Now is the time to think of ways to squeeze exercise into the little pockets of our lives and focus on creating some of those times.

Raking leaves

If you have a yard and trees, then use all those leaves to work in some exercise time. Yard work can be an effective way to exercise. Grab a rake and then focus on all those muscles you are using. As you rake, back and forth, make sure you work in some twisting of the torso to work your abdominal muscles and your obliques. Bending over to put leaves in your trash bags also engages the abdominal muscles. Try taking five minutes to do some deep knee lunges and knee bends as you pick up those leaves to bag them. Make sure you take time to rest so as not to over do. But one estimate is that raking leaves for 30 minutes burns up 300 calories and utilizes a wide variety of muscles throughout your body.

Trimming shrubs

Gardening activities are all good exercise options. Using big clippers to trim your evergreen shrubs before you string the Christmas lights is a great toning exercise for your arms. You lift your arms to shoulder level and then with the help of your pectoral and deltoid muslces you open and shut those clippers. By keeping the arms at shoulder level you are increasing the benefit. Try adding in some sqats with that clippers in hands. Just watch for the neighbors laughing at you, but hey, you're the one getting the exercise.

Picking pumpkins at the pumpkin patch

If you have a child or grandchild, a trip to the pumpkin patch for pumpkins is a real calorie burner. Normally the fields are huge. You have to walk a long distance in search of the perfect pumpkin. Then you have to carry it all the way back to the parking lot to pay for it and take it home. To increase the calorie burning effect, forego the wagon ride to the field and walk the distance.

Shopping for the holidays

I always laugh at people trying to find a parking spot closest to the door in the mall or store parking lot. The only benefit I can see for shopping in the mega stores is that I have to walk a lot to find the bargains. When shopping, wear comfortable walking shoes and just plan on walking fast. You can park as far out in the parking lot as you deem safe and then walk briskly up to the store entrance. Mall walkers use the mall to walk for a reason. It's clean and free from rain and cold weather and it offers a smooth walking surface. Make shopping a calorie burner for you by walking as much as you can when you shop. Then find a nice coffee cafe and have a black coffee with no sugar or cream.

Sight Seeing at Fall Festivals

It's basically the same advantage as the shopping but you're outdoors in the fresh fall air. Avoid the food booths with their sausages, fried foods and elephant ears. But check out the weekend festivals in the fall. Again, park as far from the site as you can and wear comfortable walking shoes. Walk briskly to the location of the festival and then walk around the entire festival, stopping to buy gifts, or household items. Carrying all those purchases will exercise your arms and back muscles also!

Chopping wood

If you have a fireplace, chopping wood is a fantastic calorie burner and exercise option for the fall. Put on your flannel shirt and head out to a woods. Many times people who have woods will allow you to come in and help clear out the underbrush or have a fallen tree to chop. But you must ask of course. The Parks services in some towns or states have lumber days when locals can come in and get wood. Again, you just have to call and ask. If you're lucky enough to have your own woods, as we do, then spending an afternoon chopping wood into logs is an old-fashioned way to burn some calories and feel like you're journeyed back in time to the pioneer days. You'll enjoy that wood this winter in your fireplace.

Planting bulbs for next spring

Broadcasting spring bulbs requires that you dig holes to plant them in the fall so that when spring comes around, you'll have beautiful spring flowers. The best looking hyacinths, tulips and daffodils are those that are planted en masse with a hundred or more bulbs. It take a lot of hole digging to plant a 100 bulbs and you're going to burn a lot of calories in the process. But the reward will be lost weight and beautiful flowers in the spring. A good combination, don't you think!

Hiking in the woods to see fall colors and beautiful leaves

Of course, the most obvious way to burn calories in the fall is a hike in the woods to observe the natural beauty of this time of year if you live in areas where deciduous woods thrive. It's such a beautiful way to spend an sunny cool fall afternoon. Lace up your hiking shoes and head outdoors to a local park or trail or even up and down your road or street. Breathe in that fresh air and walk briskly to increase the calorie burn.

Do some fall housecleaning

In preparation for decorating the house for the holidays, fall housecleaning will burn a lot of calories if you tackle it vigilantly. Get out the window washing stuff, the brooms, the mops and buckets. Set aside a couple of days to move furniture, wash walls, scrub wiindows, and maybe paint a room or two and see how much exercise you get. You'll burn a lot of calories and then you can have a party afterwards in your nice, clean, fresh house.

Decorating the house for the holidays

Same principle as cleaning the house. Haul out the Christmas tree, the lights, the wreaths and decorate your house with zest and vigor. It's a fun way to burn lots of calories, climbing ladders, up and down, reaching, nailing, hanging and spreading Christmas cheer. Decorate indoors and out. Picking a nice November afternoon to do the outdoors stuff is a good idea even if you don't turn those lights on till after Thanksgiving (which is what we do)

And last but not least, having sex burns calories

It's the time of year when a lazy Sunday afternoon can turn into a great calorie burning activity. Better yet, have sex outdoors. That will really burn up some calories! For exactly how many check out the joke and listing here. Enough said. :)

Have fun with all your fall activities and focus on increasing the number of times you engage in any of them to increase your calorie burning, so you can gorge on Grandma's Homemade Fudge!