My very own little Mayberry is enjoying a flurry of Christmas parties and neighbors are exchanging lovely gifts of cookies and quick breads.  What’s a girl to do if she’s been fighting the middle age frump since she was 28 years old and getting through the rest of the month without monumental weight gain will be challenging?

Well, take heart and go ahead and enjoy those holiday delicacies.  Just step up your “no exercise exercise program”. No kidding y’all.  Forget the gym until January.

New research suggests you can burn just as many calories by ramping up your daily chores. No gym required.   With just a tad of self discipline, you can turn everyday tasks into a sneaky calorie-burning session and you home will be “company ready” at all times..  Here’s how:

Cleaning house:  Vacuuming, sweeping or racking leaves may burn about 75 calories in the same amount of time.

Shopping:  Whether its shopping for groceries or a new pair of shoes, shopping means walking around and you can burn 120 – 150 per half hour session.  I don’t know about you but shopping for shoes takes me way longer than that.

Shake and Bake:  Thirty minutes of chopping veggies or washing pots and pans count too.  Ditch the electric mixer and beat the batter by hand for an extra burn.

Sing in the shower then wash the car. Yup, singing burns calories too and one good car wash burns another 130 calories.

The whole point is to get moving:  Stroll around the house while chatting on the phone and if you can find the time to binge on a good Netflix movie, promise yourself to get up and walk around the block before beginning each new episode.

There’s a good chance you can burn off all that fun you’re having and won’t have to resort to lettuce and water in January.