If you neither have the time nor inclination to alternate your nights between pounding the treadmill and crazy aerobic workouts, take a few minutes every day to try out these steps. Your body burns calories all the time as it is, the trick is to amp up seemingly innocuous daily activities and dial down unhealthy eating habits (hokkien mee, I am looking at you) so that you burn a significant amount. 500 calories a day adds up to 24kg in a year. Wow, we know.

Have it on the rocks
When you drink ice water, your body burns calories to bring it up to your body temperature, 37C. If you’re drinking your eight glasses of water a day this means that you’ll be burning at least 70 calories a day. Bear in mind also that nothing wakes you up in the morning as well as an icy cold jolt, so if you replace your morning mocha with an ais kosong, that’s another 240 calories sloughed off.
Calories lost: 310

Chew on that
You can get minty fresh breath and burn up to 11 calories an hour just by chewing gum – but make sure it’s sugarfree! Try Wrigley’s Extra Professional (RM1.99 for ten pellets).

Pull a switcheroo
Did you know that a plate of char kway teow clocks in at a whopping 671 calories? So consider switching your char kway teoy habit out for a bowl of soup noodles – be that Ipoh sa hor fun, wantan mee, or even Vietnamese pho (check out Passport KL this month for some recommendations). On average, soup noodle dishes come in at just over 100 calories. (Similarly, you can poach or boil eggs instead of frying them, drink diet instead of regular Coke, ask for your teh tarik kurang manis, or use low fat instead of full cream milk.)
Calories lost: 571

Workin’ at the carwash
Get out the sponge and the hose and clean all the bird offerings off your car. Washing your car yourself burns 140 calories in 30 minutes and saves you money as well. (Watch how much water you’re using though…)
Calories lost: 280

Step it up
A stroll up the stairs burns more calories but we know how daunting it is. This is how to make it more approachable. If you live or work on say, the 33rd floor, climbing all those stairs would be both mightily impressive and also possibly a little impractical. Make a deal with yourself – you can take the lift all the way one day a week if you do at least ten flights the other days. If you’ve got lots of time, you could even break things up into five floor segments and alternate between the lift and the stairs, giving yourself a little aircon break in between exertions.
Calories lost: 160 (16 per flight = 32 per floor = 160 for five floors)

Dance revolution
Whether you get dressed up and go out or grab your hairbrush and cut a rug in front of your mirror, dancing can burn up to 180 calories an hour.
Calories lost: 180

Hooverville
Stop procrastinating and clean up your house already, you know you need to.
Calories lost: 107

Every little helps
Do you know you can lose about a calorie a minute by just standing? Though that doesn’t sound like much, it adds up if you deny yourself the opportunity to sit down whenever one arises. If you take public transport, standing means that some other more needy soul gets a seat, and you get a mini-workout.
Calories lost: 60