50 no-sweat ways to burn calories

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37378884/ns/health-womens_health/

By Brooke Le Poer Trench
Image: allure
updated 8:47 a.m. ET, Tues., June 1, 2010

Women with great bodies have a dirty little secret. Sure, they work out and eat well — but they also sneakily burn hundreds more calories than everyone else. From the outside, they don't seem to be doing anything particularly strenuous. "You wouldn't believe how many straightforward ways there are to burn calories," says Lauren Slayton, director of foodtrainers.net. "But it's easy to miss the opportunities if you're not looking for them."

Research has shown that swapping sedentary habits, such as watching television, for pretty much anything that doesn't involve sitting down can make a world of difference. "Most people don't realize that a little extra effort can yield great results," says Steven Wheelock, a trainer at Canyon Ranch in Lenox, Massachusetts.

The experts we consulted explain how to take every opportunity to flex your muscles, boost your heart rate, and eat foods that yield maximum fullness for minimal calories. Just don't tell anyone.

1. Take vitamin D
Women who were deficient in it lost weight more slowly in a study in the British Journal of Nutrition. Stephen Gullo, a weight-loss expert in New York City and author of "The Thin Commandments" (Rodale), recommends 2,000 milligrams daily.

2. Drink coffee
Studies have found that caffeine increases the rate at which you burn calories, according to Susan B. Roberts, author of "The 'I' Diet" (Workman) and a professor of nutrition and psychiatry at Tufts University in Boston.

3. Sleep more
Getting fewer than four hours of sleep over an extended period of time slows the metabolism. Experts recommend aiming for between seven and nine.

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