NEAT Ideas for Weight Loss

As a society, we are extremely sedentary.  Even us moms of younger children can easily let the kids do the moving while we do the sitting, right?  Up to a point anyway. =)

We are very efficient in our energy expenditure.  We drive cars and park close to our destinations; we use drive-through windows, escalators, and elevators; we text or call our neighbors and coworkers, even though they may be just a short walk away.  

…And since we still enjoy taking in calories, our waistlines get a bit thicker and our hips a bit larger… 

What do we need to do?

More move. Sit Less.

A newer area of research is examining the role N.E.A.T. plays in weight loss (Kravitz, 2012).  N.E.A.T. stands for Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis—a physiological process that produces heat.  Think burning calories.  N.E.A.T. activities might include walking, standing, moving, or just plain fidgeting.  All spontaneous physical movement (as opposed to planned exercise) qualifies as N.E.A.T.  

Can fidgeting play a part in weight control? Yes! Does standing up while you balance your checkbook mean you’ll burn more calories than sitting at the table? Yes! Will pacing or stretching as you chat on the phone help you preserve your girlish figure? You bet! 

Small bursts of activity DO make a difference at the end of the day, at the end of the month, in the overall calorie-in, calorie-out balance. The changes may be minimal, but even the smallest movements add up!  

Check out some N.E.A.T ideas for adding more movement to your life (Kravitz, 2012).   

1. Walk during your lunch hour.
2. Move during TV commercials. Don’t use the remote.
3. Take a family walk after dinner.
4. Don’t go for the closest parking space.  Park further out and quickly walk inside. I often save time with this technique, as everyone fights over the close spots.
5. Run or walk fast when doing errands
6. Walk the dog.
7. Move as you talk on your phone.
8. Refuse to use the drive through or pick up window.
9. Replace a Sunday drive with a Sunday hike.
10. Turn your coffee, tea, or bathroom break into a quick walking break. (Have a sedentary job? Drink more water so you have to get up and use the restroom frequently!)
11. Take the stairs vs. the elevator or escalator.
12. Dance in your living room.  My little guys love dancing/running/being silly to Pandora’s Toddler Radio. Other music selections are also encouraged!
13. Clean more vigorously or more frequently. (My house would appreciate this one!)

Think about your day.  What are some ways that you can add activity?  A friend of mine made the decision to perform 10 pushups whenever she entered a different room in her house (she was training for military entrance exams).  At the end of a day, that pushup tally really added up! 

How can you MOVE MORE. SIT LESS??


Reference:


Kravitz, L. (2012). Anybody's Guide to Total Fitness Tenth Edition. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt.

 

Encouraging Your Man to Exercise

While it is common for men to exercise more than women, whether single, married, divorced, or widowed (DePaulo, 2011), there are cases when you may be concerned about your man’s lack of physical activity. He may find fitness activities boring, or simply fill his time with hobbies or other pursuits.  Many jobs in today’s world are very sedentary, and it is a challenge to fight the norm of an inactive lifestyle.  As you encourage your spouse or significant other to exercise, I hope these do’s and don’ts help guide you along the way.

Do:

• Explain to your spouse that exercise will benefit them – i.e. they will be more alert during their workday, control their low back pain, or manage stress more effectively. See Exercise Benefits for other ideas.  Exercise may be put on the back burner indefinitely if there does not appear to be any reward for the effort.
• Support your spouse by offering time for them to exercise. Make room in their schedule. Say “Hey, I can watch the kids after dinner tonight if you’d like to go out for a bike ride.”
• Invite them to exercise along with you… and keep the invitation open! I often exercise in the early morning before the kids are awake, with the express goal of getting my husband to workout with me (he’s more a morning person than I am).  While it may be rare for him to take me up on my offer, he knows it's a standing invitation.
• Tell your spouse that you are attracted to him when he’s sweaty…unless of course you are not... in which case I wouldn't say anything. =)
• Encourage your spouse to do the physical activities they love to do. My husband loves to play Ultimate Frisbee and basketball, but I could not pay him to train for a race as he is simply not interested.  Obviously it makes sense that because Ultimate Frisbee and basketball are both great forms of exercise, I should try to make ways for him to enjoy those sports.
• Join him in those activities that he loves or tolerates.  My husband doesn’t love to bike as much as I do, but he definitely tolerates it and perhaps enjoys it a little bit. I may not love (or be great at!) basketball or Frisbee, but we have a fun time when we play and we both get in some fitness.

Do Not:

• Tell your spouse that he will die if he does not exercise… or make other radical claims.  I don’t know about your guy, but mine does not go for dramatics.
• Push him out of bed in the morning and tell him to go running when it is 15 degrees outside. You may, however, try pulling him out if you are already dressed to run along with him.
• Tell him he is unattractive and you wish he worked out more often.  Or you wish he were more like those Ryan Gosling memes, so often seen on Pinterest. 
•  Make him attend a group fitness class when you know it will be all women.  That takes a lot of confidence for a guy and I think it’s unkind to put that kind of pressure on anyone.
• Put away dinner before he gets home, telling him that you’ll feed him after he goes to the gym. 
• Make comments about his couch potato behavior when he is watching a sports game.  If he hears you at all, it will go in one ear and out the other.
• Purposely leave him behind at your son’s soccer game and make him walk home, because you think he needs the exercise.

Ouch, yes?  

We have the opportunity to be awesome encouragers and promoters of health in our families.  If fitness is not something you are consistent in quite yet, enlist the help of your man and do it together.  Even if he does not have a great interest in fitness, you may be surprised to find that he will exercise just to hang out and support you! 


Reference: 

ePaulo, B. (2011, January 14). Living Single. Retrieved from Psychology Today:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/living-single/201101/men-women-single-married-who-really-exercises-more