Exercise equipment companies and weight loss programs await your investment this month as you set out to lose that holiday 5 … or 10. Of course you know you have to exercise and eat right, but did you know you can recruit your home to help, simply by applying some of the good-health research to your space?
Your house or apartment can bolster your quest to become a Biggest Loser candidate, even in the middle of the winter, and without a fitness room. Here are 10 creative design tips that can inspire you to burn calories, boost your metabolism and outsmart hunger.
Elevate your hobby space or workstation. According to one online calculator, you can burn 200 to 400 more calories over eight hours if you stand at your desk rather than sit. Look for a desk or table that provides this possibility or build one into your next kitchen.
Related: Burn More Calories at a Drafting Table
Put the TV in its place, which is NOT in every room: You’ll burn more calories when the TV is off. You can watch it more healthfully if you sit up, so consider replacing the couch or sectional with chairs. And you can watch it most healthfully if you hit the floor and stretch or do crunches, so leave ample space in front of the screen, as shown here.
Keep your workouts grounded by varying floor surfaces. Hardwood floors provide the perfect platform for a lower-body workout — just put on fluffy socks and start skating and lunging. Carpet, on the other hand, requires frequent vacuuming, a great upper-body workout.
Cut calories with color. Ever notice how many restaurants favor red? They want you to eat a lot! Paint your living room, TV room and dining room blue (here: color 1647 from Benjamin Moore), a color that doesn’t increase appetite, and consider making the kitchen over in yellow, considered a metabolism-boosting hue.
Keep a beautiful teapot or tea kettle out where it will remind you to come back regularly for a cup of metabolism-boosting tea. Caffeine alone can stimulate the metabolism, but even decaffeinated herbal brands have properties ranging from soothing to invigorating.
Sleep-ify your bedroom so that you can get the seven hours that are recommended to keep you moving and making healthy food choices. Keep the décor simple and the color restful, and use substantial window coverings to control light. If you have skylights, consider installing push-button covers.
Speaking of the bedroom, it must be noted that this is the place where couples are most inclined to engage in the kind of activity that can burn 144 calories in half an hour. There doesn’t seem to be much research on the effect of bedroom design and décor on the libido, and although red is the color of passion, feng shui advisors recommend skin colors (ranging from white to chocolate) for bedrooms. Also, declutter and minimize unsexy distractions.
Related: How to Bring Beige in the Bedroom
Turn your kitchen into your second-favorite room in the house. Food prep burns calories, and eating at home is considered more waistline-whittling than dining out. If your kitchen has the space, create a breakfast nook for the day’s most important, metabolism-boosting meal.
Make a space to do nothing. Even a small apartment can have a meditative corner — a clutter-free, comfortable seat that looks out at an expansive view or just a window box, or maybe one that is situated opposite an inviting painting or collection. Stress causes the body to store fat, and daily breathing exercises can help lower the blood pressure.
Here’s the rub(down): If you’ve got plenty of space to burn and already have a workout room, consider designing a massage room in a small nursery space or an extra walk-in closet. Use soft colors and sensuous scents, and find a massage table in your price range — they start at around $60 and range up to 100 times that! The massage giver burns calories, and sometimes massage leads to other calorie-consuming activities.
Original article written by Susan Fornoff on Houzz