How to Burn Five Calories

You need to fit in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous activity each week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While burning five calories won't make much of a dent in these goals, burning five calories with short bursts of activity several times a day can help make a difference in how much exercise you're able to get each week. Of course, you should aim to squeeze in longer workouts whenever possible, but burning five calories here and there can add up to a big impact. Your weight determines how many calories you'll burn performing a specific activity; estimates are for a 150-pound person.

Instructions

• 1

  Go for a walk or a jog. You only have to walk briskly for one minute to burn five calories, according to the American Cancer Society. If you're looking for a more intense calorie burn, walk briskly for 30 minutes to burn about 150 calories. You'll double your calorie burn with a jog. You only have to jog for about 30 seconds to burn five calories, so jogging for about 30 minutes will help you burn a little more than 300 calories.

• 2

  Clean your house. Yes, cleaning does count toward your weekly exercise requirement, provided you're vacuuming, scrubbing floors or doing an equally intense cleaning task. Vacuum or mop for two minutes to burn five calories or mow the lawn for about one minute to burn five calories. If it takes you half an hour to mow the lawn, you'll burn approximately 160 calories.

• 3

  Pursue a hobby. Many active hobbies are good calorie-burning activities, and they also help you meet your weekly exercise requirement. Ride your bike or play half-court basketball for less than a minute to burn five calories. Dance, play racquetball, go swimming or do a little gardening, and you'll burn five calories before you've even reached the one-minute mark. Play with your kids for two minutes to burn five calories.

• 4

  Throw yourself into your work. For every minute and a half or so of doing office work, you'll burn five calories.

• 5

  Relax. Even doing something restful burns calories. Sit and read a book or watch a movie, and you'll burn five calories every five minutes. Sleep for approximately seven minutes, and you'll also burn five calories.