8 Tricks to Burn More Calories Throughout the Day

By Adrian|October 8th, 2023

The Fundamentals:

To tone up and get leaner, having good eating habits and a structured workout routine are of most important.

However, if you want to burn additional calories, these are some extra tips you can implement to increase your metabolism throughout the day.

While there are no shortcuts we can take, every little does count and these tips can have a compounding effect if you stick to them consistently.

1). Strength Training:

Strength training results in a higher “after-burn” of calories than all other forms of exercise.

Basically, after you finish your strength training, your engine doesn’t just cool off immediately.

It takes time. I like to use the analogy of driving from Galway to Dublin. After you complete your drive, your car engine doesn’t just cool down straight away.

t takes time to get back to its normal, resting state.

To go into more detail on it - your metabolism can be boosted for up to 38 hours post-workout.

This is of course depending on the type of training you do and the intensity.

But this also means that your body will continue to burn calories as you chill out on the couch for the evening.

How cool is that? After you pay your dues in the gym and sit down and relax for the evening, your body will continue to burn more calories as you rest.

2). Build Your Leg Muscles:

Muscles are more metabolically active than fat.

What does this mean? The more lean muscle mass you have on your frame, the more calories you burn even while you rest.

So, two people could be the exact same weight, watch the exact same show on Netflix BUT the person with more lean muscle will burn more calories while resting.

What does not skipping leg day have to do with this?

Your largest muscles are in your legs so by adding some lean muscle to them, you’re going to get an even bigger return on investment.

This is not to say you shouldn’t train your upper body – who doesn’t love a good chest workout?

This just emphasises the importance of strength training as mentioned above and specifically, not neglecting your legs!

3). Eat more protein:

You burn calories while eating calories! In other words, your body uses energy (or calories) to digest and transport your food throughout your body. Isn’t that interesting?

Protein has the highest thermic response meaning your body needs more energy (or calories) to process, break down and digest protein compared to carbohydrates or fats.

In other words, by eating meals which are higher in protein you will burn extra calories than having meals which are lower in protein. That is why a key nutritional habit I try to instil in all of my clients is to eat protein at every meal.

Interestingly, up to 10% of your total caloric intake is used from digesting food.

Foods which are high in protein include:

• Skinless chicken breast

• Turkey breast

• Lean beef & steak (with less than 5% fat)

• Pork tenderloin

• Fish (white fish especially tends to be lower in calories)

• Egg whites

• Greek yogurt 0%

• Cottage Cheese 1%

• Protein powder supplements

4). Type of Food Matters:

Calories in vs Calories out is the basic law of energy balance. But the type or make up of the calories we consume also is important.

Research Study:

• Person A had a sandwich consisting of wholemeal bread, chicken and some spinach.

• Person B had a sandwich consisting of white bread, processed meats and cheese product (processed cheese).

• Both sandwiches had the exact same number of calories.

• However, Person B had a 50% reduction in calorie burning for the remainder of that day compared to Person A.

What's the takeaway? While overall calorie intake matters, the type of foods we eat also matters a lot.

The more calories you can get from real foods the better. This is something I try encourage my clients to think of when they’re making food choices.

5). Sleep More:

One of the easiest ways to burn more calories throughout the day requires the least amount of work – and that is sleeping.

Of the three critical components of fitness – training, nutrition and sleep, sleep is the one I personally need to work the most on. And for good reason.

Sleeping more helps your body run more efficiently.

Research has shown that your metabolic rate tends to be lower if you get fewer than six hours of sleep per day and there is an increased likelihood of weight gain. Why?

Research has shown that a poor night’s sleep can result in you overeating by an extra 25% of your daily calories. Why is this?

Because we’re feeling so tired, we need more food and fuel to keep us going. On top of this, the type of food we tend to eat when we’re tired tends to be low nutrient, high calorie foods.

I used to pride myself on only needing six hours of sleep to get through the day but was I functioning optimally or to the best of my ability? Probably not. By this stage, you get the idea – don’t neglect your sleep!

6). Move More Throughout the Day:

NEAT stands for Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. It’s a fancy way of saying the daily-life movement we do which isn’t deliberate exercise.

Examples of NEAT include walking, carrying groceries, doing housework, cleaning up, fidgeting etc.

In general, the more you move the more calories you burn. Do not underestimate the importance of NEAT and moving around daily.

Depending on your activity levels, NEAT can account to anywhere from 5-25% of your total caloric intake.

For instance, someone who works in a labour-intensive job such as construction where they’re carrying bricks, wheelbarrows etc. around will have a higher caloric requirement than someone who sits at a desk all day.

To increase your NEAT, set a daily steps target for yourself and invest in a fitness tracker to monitor your step count.

In fact, if you’re trying to lose weight, one of the simplest things you can do is simply increase your NEAT. It is not as demanding on the body as doing a HIIT session or an extra weights session yet it is very effective.

Other practical tips include taking the stairs instead of using the escalator or parking a bit further away from the supermarket or shop.

7). Drink more Water:

Drinking water is extremely underrated yet it’s importance cannot be emphasised enough.

While drinking water will not have a direct affect on you burning more calories, it can indirectly result in you consuming less calories throughout the day.

Why is this? Because we often mistake being hungry with being dehydrated.

Next time you feel the urge to grab some food, simply have a sip of water before you make your decision and see if your hunger was genuine or if you were actually dehydrated.

Remember, water makes up to 70% of our total body weight – so give the body what it needs!

I recommend my clients to aim to drink 40-50ml of water per Kg of bodyweight.

8). Stand While You Work:

If you’re working from home, consider swapping your normal, sit-down desk for a standing desk.

Or, simply find ways to be more creative and put your laptop on a counter on top of a stack of books or something that will elevate it (what I sometimes do!).

Why? While figures drastically vary on how many calories you burn while standing vs sitting, all research does suggest that you burn additional calories while standing compared to sitting.

So, if you’re working 9-5 at home, consider having intervals of time spent standing instead of sitting down all day.

If this is not possible, take regular movement breaks throughout the day.

The Takeaways:

To burn more calories throughout the day:

• Strength train because it has a higher after burn affect.

• Don’t skip leg day because the largest muscles are in your legs.

• Eat more protein

• Eat more real food

• Sleep 8 hours per night

• Increase your steps

• Drink water throughout the day

• Stand while you work instead of sitting.

Thanks for reading. I hope you found this beneficial.

References: Shilton, A.C. – 2015; “11 Tips to Burn More Calories.”

Free 3-Day Total Body Training Program:

Depending on your goal, I have some free resources which might be of benefit to you.

If you’d like a copy of my free, 3-day Total Body Transformation Program click HERE! (Enjoy the core finisher!).

If you’d like a copy of my Free Living Lean Cookbook to prove to you that it’s possible to eat foods you enjoy and get results, click HERE.

(Try out some EPIC protein pancakes!).

And if you’d like access to my Free 7 Day Fat Loss Accelerator (which has helped some members drop up to 7lbs inside 7 days),
click HERE and it will be sent straight to your email.

I hope these free resources help you!

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About Adrian McDonnell & McLifestyle Fitness:

Adrian McDonnell is a highly specialised Personal Trainer & Online Fitness Coach from outside of Tuam, Co.Galway, Ireland.

Previously a primary school teacher for almost 5 years, Adrian followed his passion and pursued a career in fitness after seeing first hands the results he could achieve with himself.

Although Adrian is a Personal Trainer & now Full-Time Online Transformation Fitness Coach from outside of Tuam, Co.Galway – he not only coaches clients locally, but also nationally and internationally.

Adrian specialises in helping working professionals:


- Be confident in themselves·
- Feel more comfortable in their clothes·
- Look better in the mirror·
- Increase their energy and go for more promotions at work·
- Get fitter, leaner & stronger without following rigid meal plans·
- Go on more dates (this is a common one)·
- And feel proud of themselves for doing something they never thought was possible!

To date he has helped Transform over 500 Clients into fitter, more toned & confident individuals.

Transforming people’s lives through proper fitness, sustainable & enjoyable nutrition practices & mindset mentoring is something Adrian is truly passionate about and this is his mission in life.

Want to find out more? Contact me today & I’ll answer any questions you have.

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