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Ready to shop, stuff yourself and stress about weight gain? No doubt, all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season can leave little time for working out.

But even if you can’t fit in your full exercise routine, squeezing in a mini workout that burns just 100 calories can help counter those holiday cookies and cocktails, says Fabio Comana, an exercise physiologist at the American Council on Exercise in San Diego.

To lose a pound of fat through exercise, you have to burn 3,500 calories. “So if you can burn 100 calories consistently every day, in a period of five weeks, that’s a pound,” Comana says. And over a year, that’s 10 pounds.

So just how much physical activity does it take to burn 100 calories? Learn about some simple ways by clicking on the buttons at left.

Take a lap around the mall
If you’ve been looking for a good reason to spend more time at the mall, here you go: Walking for 25 minutes burns about 100 calories. And when it’s cold outside and you don’t belong to a gym, what better place to walk than the mall?

Of course, we’re talking about brisk walking, not strolling along as you window shop. However, you could stop and shop and get the same calorie burn by breaking up the 25 total minutes into two chunks of exercise — walking briskly for 13 minutes, stopping to shop for awhile, then taking another walk for 12 minutes.

Need to deliver gifts or goodie bags to the neighbors? Here’s another opportunity to tackle holiday chores while also squeezing in some exercise. Walk instead of drive, suggests Comana. Take the dog and give it some exercise, too.

Savor sex
A five-minute quickie that leaves you breathless may seem like it burned up 250 calories, but 25 is more like it, notes Tommy Boone, author of “Sex Before Athletic Competition” and chair of the department of exercise physiology at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minn.

If you stretch sex out more, however, you could get a bigger calorie burn (among other possible benefits). On average, you’ll burn one to two calories a minute (depending on how vigorous sex is), or up to 100 calories for under an hour of lovemaking.

Say 'om'
Yoga can be a gift to your mind and body, especially during the holidays. Not only can it help ease some of the stress of the season, it’ll fight fat, too.

About half an hour of hatha yoga burns 100 calories, says exercise physiologist Gerald Endress, fitness director of the Duke University Diet and Fitness Center.

If you’re too busy to go to a yoga studio, buy a DVD for home.

Multitask
Sitting at your desk or on the couch burns about a calorie a minute. But stand up and move around a bit and you’ll substantially increase your calorie burn.

Simply standing and stretching your muscles while watching TV or talking on the phone (Warning: This may raise eyebrows at work if you don’t have a private office) will burn three calories a minute, or 100 calories in half an hour, Comana notes.

Do some simple calisthenics such as squats or push-ups off of your desk or the living-room floor and you’ll burn four to five calories a minute, or 100 calories in 20 to 25 minutes.

If you work in a cube, consider doing some calisthenics in the conference room on your break or scheduling walking meetings (burn 100 calories in a half-hour meeting).

Rethink household chores
You could easily get a harder workout at home than you could at the gym. Just start cleaning house! It may not be fun, but you may find new motivation in knowing how good those sparkling floors are for your waistline.

You can burn 100 calories with 25 minutes of vigorous scrubbing, mopping or vacuuming, says Duke's Endress.

Outside, knock off 100 calories by raking leaves for 20 minutes or shoveling snow for 15 minutes. (Keep in mind, though, that shoveling snow is very hard work, making it a potentially risky activity for couch potatoes.)

Get your game on
Counter some of the calories — and guilt — of Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner with an afternoon game of touch football or catch with the kids, suggests Endress.

Burn 100 calories in about half an hour — and have some fun, too!