Everybody wants to lose weight, but hardly anyone wants to put the effort in to achieve that. Thankfully, science is telling us that there might be another way thanks to hot baths. Alright.

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A recent study at Loughborough University compared two sets of men taking part in two different activities for an hour – enjoying a 104 degree bath (that’s not too hot and normally the temperature of a jacuzzi so don’t worry about that) or cycling on an exercise bike for an hour. Here’s what they found out:

Cycling resulted in more calories being burned compared with a hot bath, but bathing resulted in about as many calories being burned as a half-hour walk (around 140 calories).

The overall blood sugar response to both conditions was similar, but peak blood sugar after eating was about 10% lower when participants took a hot bath compared with when they exercised.

We also showed changes to the inflammatory response similar to that following exercise.

The anti-inflammatory response to exercise is important as it helps to protect us against infection and illness, but chronic inflammation is associated with a reduced ability to fight off diseases.

This suggests that repeated passive heating may contribute to reducing chronic inflammation, which is often present with long-term diseases, such as type 2 diabetes.

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OK, so it might not burn as many calories as a full blown workout, but at least it’s actually burning calories and all you’re doing there is lying around enjoying yourself, maybe watching a movie or reading a book. So next time you feel like skipping a workout, just take a bath instead and you won’t feel so bad about it. Sounds good to me.

For more baths, check out this guy bathing in 600lbs of Nutella. Not sure if that’s gonna have the same effect.