Dreading¹ the thought of another session at the gym, or wishing you could painlessly work off that extra slice of cake without an exhausting run around the park?

还在害怕下一阶段的健身房锻炼？还在幻想无需去公园跑得精疲力尽就能轻易地甩掉那块额外的蛋糕带来的热量吗？

Here’s the good news: it may be possible to ditch those excess calories without even noticing.

现在好消息来了：你可以在生活中不知不觉地减掉你的脂肪。

‘While there’s no substitute for a workout to keep you healthy, your body burns a surprising number of calories as you go about your daily activities,’ says personal trainer and exercise guru Mark Healy.

权威私人健身教练马克•希利说：“虽然锻炼对健康的保持作用无可替代，但是日常活动也能帮助你燃烧大量卡路里。”

‘From shopping to washing and everything in between, if you’re too busy to hit the gym then it’s worth going about your daily tasks with gusto to help burn the maximum calories.’

“如果没时间去健身房的话，可以充满干劲地逛街洗衣，多做这些琐事也能帮你最大程度地燃烧卡路里。”

So what else in your daily life can help you drop a dress size without working up a sweat? You’ll be surprised to discover how painless it can be.

所以生活中还有哪些方法能让你不出汗地瘦下一圈呢？你会惊讶地发现这些活动简直太轻松了。

ENJOYING A SMOOCH

享受一个亲吻和拥抱

Maybe you haven’t spent significant amounts of time kissing since you were a teenager, and these days you’d rather sleep than smooch. But if passion for your partner isn’t enough motivation, consider the fact that kissing and hugging can take inches off your waistline.

或许少年时没有太多拥吻的机会，现在的你宁愿睡觉也不愿意接吻了。但若两人之间的火花不够，不足以激起你想亲吻对方的冲动的话，那就把拥抱和亲吻的减肥功效当做动力吧。

If it’s really passionate², according to health expert Professor Bryant Stamford of Hanover College, Indiana, a good snog can burn up to two calories a minute.

印第安纳州汉诺威学院的健康专家布莱恩特•史丹佛教授表示，如果认真投入的话，一个美好的拥吻每分钟能燃烧两卡热量。

‘Intimate contact increases oxytocin levels that help to reduce stress levels, blood pressure and heart disease, and can help you burn up to 60 calories every half hour,’ agrees Mark Healy.

马克•希利表示赞同：“亲密接触能使催产素水平上升，由此缓解压力，降低血压和患心脏病的风险，同时每半小时可让你燃烧最多60卡热量。”

So it might be worth greeting your partner with more than the usual brief, peck on the cheek.

所以别再像平常一样只是蜻蜓点水般地吻个脸颊表示问候吧，多花点时间与爱人亲密接触绝对值得。

Calories burned per hour: Up to 120

每小时燃烧热量：多达120卡

Equivalent exercise: A 20 minute run

相当于锻炼：跑步20分钟

TRYING ON CLOTHES

试衣服

Carting armfuls of clothes in and out of the changing room, struggling into tight polo necks and out of pencil skirts, marching determinedly³ from one shop to the next and back again - it’s just as exhausting as a trip to the gym and, hurrah⁴, just as good for you.

抱着一堆衣服进出试衣间，一会儿穿上紧圆领衣，一会儿脱下铅笔裙，乐此不疲地一家一家搜寻衣服——这样的逛街之旅和在健身房累得死去活来有的一拼了，而且对你一样有好处。

According to a recent survey by Debenhams, the average woman burns 385 calories looking for the perfect outfit⁵, taking an average of 7,305 steps.

丹本汉（Debenhams，英国著名百货公司）近期的一份调查显示，女性要买到一件满意的衣服平均要消耗385卡热量，走7305步路。

‘You can burn up to 130 calories an hour on a shopping trip,’ says Healy. ‘All that contorting and pulling items on and off is good for stretching muscles and increasing blood flow, too.’

希利说：“一次逛街每小时可消耗最多130卡热量。试衣服不时地伸手弯腰的所有动作都有利于伸展肌肉，促进血液流通。”

Calories burned per hour: Up to 130

每小时燃烧热量：多达130卡

Equivalent exercise: 20 push-ups

相当于锻炼：20个俯卧撑

COOKING DINNER

做一顿晚餐

You probably do it every night without thinking about it.

你可能每天都做晚餐，但从未想到这也可以减肥吧。

And while shoving a ready meal in the microwave won’t burn much off, an hour’s chopping, lifting, stirring and blending will give you a decent mini-workout, plus the satisfaction that you’ve earned the meal you’re about to eat.

用微波炉做一顿简易晚餐并不能很好地减脂。切菜、端锅，搅拌食材，忙活一个小时才能相当于一次小锻炼，同时还满意地享受一顿美食。

Chop root vegetables with a bit of enthusiasm, use a pestle⁶ and mortar⁷ to crush spices rather than an electric grinder, and do the washing-up yourself rather than languidly stacking the dishwasher. It all adds up to a very respectable 150-plus calories an hour.

积极地切根茎蔬菜，亲手用研钵捣碎食材而不是用研磨机，自己洗碗而不是懒懒地把碗碟堆在洗碗机里。这些工作每小时可帮助你燃烧150多卡热量。

‘Cooking is an excellent way to burn off calories,’ says Healy.

希利说：“做饭是减脂的绝佳方式。”

‘Rustling⁸ up your favourite meal not only gives your arms a big workout with all the lifting of heavy pans, chopping and stirring, but also encourages you to make things from scratch rather than ordering an unhealthy takeaway.’

忙碌地准备一顿心爱的晚餐，拿各种沉甸甸的锅碗瓢盆，切菜，搅拌食材，这样不仅能很好地锻炼你的手臂，还能鼓励你享受自己动手的乐趣，而不是点一份不健康的外卖。

Calories burned per hour: 150 to 240

每小时燃烧热量：150至240卡

Equivalent exercise: A half-hour jog

相当于锻炼：半个小时的慢跑

A SUPERMARKET DASH

一次购物之旅

Just doing the weekly shop can burn calories faster than Jessica Ennis-Hill can say ‘heptathlon’.

每周一次的购物燃烧热量的速度比杰西卡•恩尼斯希尔（Jessica Ennis-Hill，英国运动员）参加一次七项全能还快。

As your trolley⁹ fills up, you’re effectively doing resistance training, firming up arms, legs and torso. Piling your trolley with heavy items first - tins, bottles and potatoes - intensifies¹⁰ the workout.

当你推着满满的手推车时，你其实在做有效的阻力训练，让你的手脚和身体都更结实。在推车里先装更重的物品，比如说罐头、瓶子和土豆，能加强锻炼。

‘Reaching and bending down to pick up products also activates¹¹ a variety of muscles,’ says Mark Healy.

马克•希利说：“伸手和弯腰去拿商品也能使很多肌肉得到锻炼。”

Calories burned per hour: Up to 200 with a heavy shop

每小时燃烧热量：推重手推车逛街一次燃烧多达200卡

Equivalent exercise: 40 minutes of badminton

相当于锻炼：打40分钟的羽毛球

A LONG, HOT BATH

泡个热水澡

Sinking gently into a hot bath is all about relaxing and singing along to Radio 2, not dieting, surely?

轻轻地泡进热水里，跟着收音机哼着小调，放松身体，你确定这不是在节食减肥？

Not so: a Loughborough University study revealed that a steamy bath of 40c can melt away 140 calories (that’s a significant 7 percent of a daily allowance of 2,000), and that sitting in one for an hour causes an 80 percent increase in energy expenditure¹², lowering blood glucose¹³ levels as a result.

并不是如此：拉夫堡大学一项研究表明，泡一个40度的热水澡能消耗140卡热量（一天热量摄入为2000卡，这几乎占了全天的7%了），而且泡一个小时能多消耗80%的能量，同时降低血糖。

‘Taking a hot bath not only relaxes muscles, but also stimulates¹⁴ the release of heat shock proteins,’ says Mark. These are proteins produced by cells under stressful conditions, which scientists think may divert glucose into muscles and away from the bloodstream.

马克说：“泡热水澡不仅能放松肌肉，还能刺激热休克蛋白的释放。”人在有压力时细胞会产生这种蛋白质，科学家们认为它们可以使葡萄糖远离血液，进入肌肉中。

‘Coupled with activities such as exfoliating, scrubbing your back and shaving your legs, you could burn a significant number of calories just getting clean,’ he adds.

他补充道：“配合搓澡，擦背和刮腿毛等一系列动作，你在清洁身体的同时还燃烧了不少热量。”

Calories burned per hour: Up to 140

每小时燃烧热量：多达140卡

Equivalent exercise: 15 minutes’ vigorous swimming

相当于锻炼：15分钟的高强度游泳

HAVING A GOOD LAUGH

开怀大笑

It’s hard to believe that sitting in the cinema watching the Ab Fab movie could do you as much good as a post-work circuit of the gym, but laughter is a full-body experience that can leave you as exhausted¹⁵ as a treadmill¹⁶ session.

令人难以置信的是，坐在电影院里看《绝对了不起》（Ab Fab，英国情景喜剧）完全可以达到下班后去一趟健身房的锻炼效果。但是笑是一项全身运动，它的累人指数可与在跑步机上跑一次步媲美。

Research from Vanderbilt University, Nashville, published in the International Journal of Obesity¹⁷, found that just 15 minutes of good, hard laughing a day will burn up to 40 calories - enough to drop 4 lb of excess weight a year.

位于纳什维尔的范德比尔特大学在《国际肥胖期刊》上发表了一篇研究，研究发现每天15分钟的开怀大笑能燃烧40卡热量——足以让人每年瘦4磅。

‘Laughing is the perfect way to give your abdominal¹⁸ muscles a real work out, second only to an intense session of crunches,’ says Mark. ‘It’s a brilliant way to relieve physical tension and stress, too, leaving you relaxed for up to 45 minutes.’

马克说：“笑是锻炼腹肌的完美方式，其效果仅次于一组高强度的仰卧起坐。这也是一个缓解身体紧张与压力的绝好方法，可让人身心放松多达45分钟。”

Try laughing little and often, whether it’s during a phone call with your best friend, or watching a DVD of your favourite comedian¹⁹.

不管是在和好朋友打电话时还是看最喜欢的喜剧节目时，尽量多笑一笑吧。

Calories burned per hour: Up to 160

每小时燃烧热量：多达160卡

Equivalent exercise: Half an hour of physically demanding gardening

相当于锻炼：半小时劳累的花园清理工作