Think you're 'too busy' to work out? Think again - 5 effective exercises to do WHILE COOKING

Making time to take care of your body isn't as hard as you think.

It's tough trying to figure out how to juggle school, kids, work, significant others, a social life and extra time to run to the gym, but what if burning calories took less time and could be easier than you thought?

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - According to Fitness.gov, 28.0 percent, or 80.2 million Americans, over the age of 6-years-old are physically inactive.

If things don't change, by 2030 half of all adults, or 115 million people in the U.S., will be obese.

We all know obesity causes health problems but it's so easy to say we don't have time to go to the gym or don't have the money to invest in gym clothes and memberships.

We claim healthy food is too expensive and sometimes it's just easier to order a pizza than it is to make a healthy meal.

But what if all our excuses are wrong? What if fresh fruits and vegetables are really cheaper than junk food and what if you don't have to go to the gym to lose weight?

Here are five fast and easy exercises you can perform while cooking a nutritious meal. Remember, studies show that even a little exercise every day is better than no exercise at all!

Please note: All exercises should be done at your discretion and with the permission of your doctor. Please do not attempt to exercise without doctor's permission if you are injured or recovering from an injury. If you feel pain at any time during your exercise routine, stop immediately.

Heel Raise

While you're chopping up vegetables or stirring that pot of soup, take the opportunity to do more than just stand.

Keep your feet shoulder-width apart, stand up straight, and raise yourself up on your toes. Hold this position for two seconds, then lower yourself until you are standing with the bottoms of your feet firmly grounded.

Now repeat.

This will help strengthen your calves and can lead to definition in your lower legs. According to The Nest, it will also help extend the ankle joint, which enables you to run, walk and jump a little better.

Squat

Again, while chopping vegetables, grilling meat or stirring ingredients, use the most of your time and throw in some squats.

When done properly, even people with bad knees can perform this exercise without pain, but again it is important to stop the moment you feel pain and to be careful when exercising around hot surfaces.

Stand with your feet shoulder-length apart, toes pointed away from the body at an angle.

When lowering yourself for the squat, push your bottom out and your chest as well, to achieve a more comfortable squat that is easier on the knees, back and torso.

Live Strong explains squats help the erector spinae muscle group, the gluteus maximus, hamstrings and quadraceps.

Incorporating squats can help burn a few calories any time and can be done in small sets.

Lateral Leg Lift

While standing straight, simply lift one leg to your side.

Try not to move the rest of your body when doing this.

Simply hold your leg up for a second or two then lower your leg to the ground and lift your other leg. Repeat.

This exercise will help strengthen your abductors, adductors and gluteus maximus.

Bicep Curls

Do you have all the chopping and dicing done? Are you waiting for the oven to finish up that lemon chicken?

Great! Grab your heaviest skillet by the handle, hold it up with your elbow level with your shoulder, and flex your biceps while pulling the skillet toward your shoulder, careful not to hit yourself with it!

Uncurl your arm and bring it back in. Repeat.

Once you've done 10 with one arm, switch the skillet to the other hand and curl that pan! This helps strengthen more than just your biceps - it also helps the muscles around your shoulder blade, the muscles beneath the biceps, deltoid muscles and wrist extensors.

Wash the dishes!

After making a meal from scratch, there are always plenty of dishes to be washed.

Rather than tossing them into the dishwasher, take the time to clean them by hand. Throw on your favorite music and lean from one side to another or do a very simple two-step while flexing your biceps and abs as you scrub those dishes to shiny perfection!

Dry them with just as much enthusiasm and before you know it, you've just burned extra calories and made a nice healthy meal.

For an even better workout, try flexing your abdominal muscles the entire time you're cooking. If you get into this healthy habit, it helps burn more calories while doing other activities and helps strengthen your core as well!

If you're feeling particularly passionate about incorporating exercise into other areas of your life, you can do these simple workouts while watching TV, at the computer, while texting or playing with your phone or tablet and even at work if your desk is high enough.

Thank you for reading this list.

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