While the most important thing for burning fat and losing weight is the food you eat, exercise can also help you lose weight. You don’t have to do strenuous exercise at the gym, although that’s great if you enjoy it. You need to stay active so that your metabolism stays high and you can burn that little extra fat that helps your diet stay on track.

Here are 3 easy ways to be active around the house:

1. Walk while talking on the phone.

If you’re in a long phone conversation with a friend, use your cell phone or cordless phone and walk briskly while you talk. Often when we’re on the phone, we crash into our favorite chair or become a couch potato. But the minutes and hours can fly by if we use that time to move our bodies and walk a bit while we talk.

2. If you are a video game enthusiast, buy a Nintendo Wii.

The Nintendo Wii is a video game system that uses controllers that encourage you to be active with your body. They have great games like tennis, bowling, and boxing, along with other games that get you out of your seat and moving. What a great combination… fun, activity and fat burning. And they’re pretty cheap these days, too.

3. Move actively while cooking.

While you’re preparing your favorite recipes, use that time to move around the kitchen. You can even deliberately make it inconvenient to walk quickly from one side of the kitchen to the other, instead of trying to make it as convenient as possible.

Come over and grab that salt shaker. Leave the pepper there. Then go back after the pepper. Take two trips. Keep moving.

Feel good and lose weight.