In order to shed a single pound, you must consume 3,500 calories more than you take in. This involves a combination of healthy eating and the right physical exercise. Even everyday activities can help you burn calories, but the exact amount can vary based on your fitness level, weight, and age among other things.

General house cleaning and shopping can help you burn between 90 and 100 calories per hour. When performing rigorous housekeeping such as vacuuming or scrubbing sinks, this amount  more than doubles to around 225 per hour. You can even burn calories while driving around town to run errands, with the normal range being around 120 calories per hour.

When performing light exercise such as walking or hiking, you can normally expect to shed around 230 calories in an hour. This increases tremendously when power walking, as this activity usually burns up to 400 calories in the same time frame. Mowing your grass with a push mower and lifting weights both use up about 300 calories in a 60 minute period.

For a more intense calorie burn, you may want to try jogging or running. Jogging at around five miles per hour is considered a moderate pace and will help rid you of up to 600 extra calories each hour.  Running at a fast pace, which is anywhere from eight to ten miles per hour can help you burn anywhere from 700 to 1000 calories in the same amount of time. This number can be even higher when running on hills rather than on flat terrain.