It’s the time of year when we all seem to pack on a few extra pounds. After all, the rich desserts and calorie heavy meals most of us are surrounded by are practically unavoidable, and it’s so easy to submit to the idea that you will simply rededicate yourself once the New Year rolls around. This is a recipe for disaster.

But there is hope…

The holidays actually present us with a variety of ways to stay active and lose weight. These 6 common holiday activities can help you burn calories and lose weight, rather than gain it.

1. Shopping – This can get expensive, but isn’t it so much FUN?! While online shopping can definitely be a handy way to knock out a big chunk of gift buying, it’s not good for your waistline…Leave the “jolly” waistline to Santa. You could be out and about burning 210 to 310 calories per hour shopping for gifts around town.
2. Cooking those holiday feasts – Cooking can actually burn a decent amount of calories. When you’re cooking large meals for family and friends you can burn 150 to 222 calories for every hour you spend in the kitchen. Not to mention that when you’re the chef, you can make the decision to use healthy alternatives when picking out the ingredients.
3. Ice skating – It’s easy to forget how much fun it can be if you don’t skate regularly. Most importantly, you can burn between 420 to 622 calories for every hour you’re in the rink.
4. Snow sledding – Head outside and find that perfect hill. As you hump up the hill and carve a path back down on your sled you can burn 420 to 622 calories for every hour you’re doing it.
5. Shoveling snow – The wetter the snow, the harder this calorie burning job gets. Shoveling snow can actually burn 360 to 266 calories per hour.
6. Hang holiday lights – Hanging holiday lights on your home is a fun way to showcase your holiday spirit. The closest thing we could find to this specific activity was cleaning your rain gutters which burned 300 to 444 per hour. So, if you want to be more accurate, then why double up your efforts and clean your gutters as you’re up there hanging your lights![i]

Every calorie counts, just remember that this holiday season and you will be ahead of the curve when January 1^st rolls around this year.

[i] http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Calories-burned-in-30-minutes-of-leisure-and-routine-activities.htm