The purpose of this article is to give some practical ideas on “little” things you can do every day to move more. Think about this for a moment. If a 150 lbs. man took 150 more steps everyday at the age of 20, he would be 20 lbs. lighter at the age of 40. Let me explain; a man weighing 150 lbs. will burn about 10 calories by taking 150 steps. If he changed nothing about his day, other than he burned 10 more calories, at the end of the year he would have burned an extra 3650 calories. (10 calories X 365 days in a year) Since there are 3500 calories in a pound of fat, he would lose a pound of fat per year. At age 40 (20 years later) he would be 20 pounds lighter. The only challenge with this idea is a nasty little survival mechanism we all have called “homeostasis.” Homeostasis is responsible for making sure we always maintain an energy balance. In our experiment above homeostasis would kick in and make the man eat an extra 10 calories a day to balance out at the end of the day. This is also why so many people notice that when they begin an exercise program the first thing they really notice is that they seem to be hungry more often than before. The good news is, we can train our bodies to respond to homeostasis in a different way. Our body will respond to whatever we do on a consistent basis. If we sit around a lot of the day, our body will respond to that by keeping our energy levels low and our hunger at a lower level. The problem is we have a tendency to eat sometimes when we are not even hungry. Over time, this will lead to weight gain. On the other hand, if we add several different forms of movement into our daily routines, our bodies will respond to that as well. It is important to be aware of what we are eating because our body will adapt to whatever we give it. If we burn 2500 calories a day but only consume 2000 our body will try to fight it by making us hungry. I know this may come as a shock but if you don’t feed your body those other 500 calories, you will not die. In fact medical doctors commonly cite a typical person can live 4 to 6 weeks with no food. You will obviously be very uncomfortable the longer you go without food but you will not die because you have not eaten since lunch time. I will warn you, when you first begin to try to lose weight, no matter what mode you use, there will some discomfort just because you are changing a learned routine. However, the longer you stay consistent the easier it gets. Below is a list of simple things you can do to add a little more movement in your daily routine. Keep in mind it is very important to document what you are eating. If you are used to eating 2000 calories a day and you increase your activity, that 2000 calories will no longer satisfy you. BE AWARE OF HOMEOSTASIS. You will see what I mean as you begin.
20 ways to move
1. Take the stairs instead of the elevator- very common and everyone knows this but I need 20 things.
2. Do not fight and wait for the closest space at the grocery store or gym- I have worked in gyms for 12 years and it blows my mind when someone complains that they had to park in the back of the parking lot to get to the gym. Then they get on a treadmill for 45 minutes. I understand if you have several small children or live in an unsafe area, but otherwise it is just movement.
3. Play/wrestle with your kids- look at that; get in shape and be a better parent. Killing two birds with one stone is always good.
4. Clean your house- If you have an exerspy (ask us about this) you can see exactly how many calories you are burning minute by minute. Matt and I have both found ourselves cleaning the kitchen cabinets at 11:00 at night because we needed to burn another 57 calories before midnight.
5. Go for a walk- 150 steps is good for 10 calories. A walk around the block is even more and it helps build lasting memories for the family.
6. Wash dishes by hand rather than in the dishwasher- this also goes for washing the car by hand rather than going to the car wash.
7. Do yard work.
8. Sit on the edge of the couch while watching TV- It makes a big difference over time.
9. Throw out the desk chair- If work will allow it, replace your desk chair with a stability ball. You will have to build up the endurance but when you get up to a full 8 hour day on a stability ball you can burn an extra 100 calories.
10. Sleep one hour less- If you sleep one hour less, it will not kill you and it will give you one more hour of physical activity. This obviously does not apply to anyone who is getting less than 6 hours of sleep.
11. Adjust the rear view mirror- Get in your car and sit up straight and tall. Then adjust your rear view mirror so you can see. The next time you look in the rear view mirror and cannot see do not grab it and pull it down. Use it as a reminder to sit up straight and maintain your spinal alignment as good as you can in a car. Burning calories and reducing low back pain; very good.
12. Practice Core Stability in everything you do- Right now, sit up straight and take a deep breath. You will notice that when you take a deep breath it expands your rib cage. Hold your rib cage up but continue to breathe. It is similar to how people have to stand in the military. Now slightly draw in your belly button like you are trying to make it touch your spine. DO NOT SUCK IN YOUR STOMACH. Just do a slight “drawing in” movement and hold it. You are now utilizing more muscles in your core and thus burning more calories than when you were sitting in your slouched position that most of us prefer.
13. Enlist in ELITE BOOT CAMPS- If you want to really learn how to motivate yourself to do the right thing and surround yourself with a peer group that completely understands what you need then this is what you need. (Look, we even do them in the snow!!!)14. Join the gym- I know a great one. It’s called ELITE Fitness and Education and you will learn more ways to have fun moving than you can shake a twinkie at.
15. DO cardio while you watch TV- This can include doing exercises you learned from ELITE BOOT CAMPS at home or doing cardio on one our treadmills that are equipped with a 17 inch TV. There is nothing wrong with TV, just find ways to move more while you enjoy it.
16. Get involved with a training program- Whether it is online training, group training, or one on one training, you will be getting involved in a system of motivation, follow up, and accountability that will make you set time aside each day just to move.
17. Walk or ride a bike to work- with gas prices as they are riding a bike to work can be a very practical way to get in shape and save money for a lot of people. I know it is not realistic for everyone but it is for several people.
18. Teach your own “boot Camp” at home to your family- The first time I did this my friend commented that the kids were not really trying at that they did not put forth a full effort. I said, “I don’t care, they burned more calories doing this than sitting on the couch playing video games.” Remember, the idea here is not to engage in marathon-like intensity, we are just looking to burn some extra calories throughout the day.
19. Have a yard sale- The actions involved in going through old stuff and preparing a yard sale always add up to a lot of movement.
20. Sit up straight- goes along with number 11. The next time you are in a meeting or just sitting around, sit up straight. You will burn more calories and it will actually help you stay awake in those boring board meeting.
Have some fun with this and if you come up with some more fun ways to move, email me so I can add them to this list. Eventually we can get this up to 100 ways to move.
Victor Brawner
Fitness Hero
By the way, please check out our new website at www.elitefiteducate.org.
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