Guerilla Dieting

Recently eaten: sticky rice
Recent annoyance: raffinose

In the wake of the crushing news that I have high cholesterol, I have been attempting to do my darndest to wring the gravy out of my arteries. Aside from this whole diet and exercise regime, I have found a new way to burn almost 550 calories.

Calories burned while sleeping
Does the disclaimer "your results may vary" sound familiar? It should, because it follows nearly every weight-loss commercial (usually in a voice moving at the speed of light). As it turns out, sleeping should come with the same caveat. The amount of calories burned depends greatly on the person.

This weight-loss calculator from FitWatch.com asked us to enter our weight and how long we planned to sleep. According to the ensuing calculations, a 160-pound person who sleeps eight hours will lose roughly 549 calories in the process. Not as much as we'd hoped, but not bad for doing nothing.

Before you sign up for the "all-you-can-sleep" diet, keep in mind there are better ways to burn calories while doing little to no exercise. For example, sitting while talking on the phone for eight hours will burn 914 calories. Driving a car for eight hours will knock off around 1,219 calories. And standing in a casino for eight hours will burn about 1,402 calories (though you may burn through some money while you're at it).