How to incorporate more movement in my life??

ri228

Hey all,I would like to know the various ways to incorporate more movement in my day..!! And also what is considered as being lightly active? Thanks...

RodaRose

What are you already doing? That would help us with talking about "more."

ri228

I exercise 5-6x per week for 30-40mins(30DS and Bodyweight Exercises) ,take the stairs often,stand for most hours of the day...Do I qualify as a moderately active individual???

Machka9

ri228 wrote: »

I exercise 5-6x per week for 30-40mins(30DS and Bodyweight Exercises) ,take the stairs often,stand for most hours of the day...Do I qualify as a moderately active individual???

Personally, I'd say no. Maybe lightly active ... but if it were me, I'd put myself at sedentary, and then just add the exercise I do.

eshnna

Get a fitness tracker. For me it has been a great motivator to push myself to be more active.

555_FILK

You don't have too - weight loose happens in teh kitchen!!;

Just kidding. It sounds like you are moving a lot already. What is your reason for wanting to move more? That might change people's answers.

ri228

The Reason-I want to eat more Food lol

555_FILK wrote: »

You don't have too - weight loose happens in teh kitchen!!;

Just kidding. It sounds like you are moving a lot already. What is your reason for wanting to move more? That might change people's answers.

mbaker566

on your breaks, walk around

kshama2001

Machka9 wrote: »

ri228 wrote: »

I exercise 5-6x per week for 30-40mins(30DS and Bodyweight Exercises) ,take the stairs often,stand for most hours of the day...Do I qualify as a moderately active individual???

Personally, I'd say no. Maybe lightly active ... but if it were me, I'd put myself at sedentary, and then just add the exercise I do.

Ditto, but I have a desk job.

@ri228 - what do you do for work?

DeguelloTex

A fitness tracker really, really gave me targets that got me up off the couch and moving more, even when I was already moving a reasonable amount. It might not work the same way for you, but it might be worth considering.

CarolinaCricket

when I first started having a fitness tracker encouraged me to meet those daily goals and then one day it was just second nature. Mileage may vary.

tomnev1

Cycling is great. It's low impact and it's cheap. You'll pick up a second hand bike for 50 eur/usd and can do just a couple of miles at a time if you don't want to splash out big bucks just yet.

jgnatca

Walk to the store or park farther away. I think your day could use a little more cardiovascular activity. Like running up and down the stairs a few times until you are puffing. As a rough guide, twenty minutes of vigorous activity (some puffing, difficult to talk) is one cookie.

AlabasterVerve

Do something useful with your free time -- make, fix or clean something. Start a long term project that adds some extra activity into your day. Plant a couple of vegetable plants, take care of them, harvest them, prepare and cook them in different ways.

The point is to just keep moving throughout the day. It doesn't have to feel like a workout or be purposeful exercise in order to increase your TDEE.

Kalikel

Park at the back of lot, take the stairs, clean your own house, mow your own grass. If the store is close enough, walk there.

Or just do exercise for the sake of doing it. Go for a walk. It's a better way to spend an hour than parked in front of the TV.

I have seen people actually stand in line, stopped and waiting, to take an escalator when the stairs are right there, next to it. I was like, "What is with these people?" and then I realized that a few years ago, I'd have done that. Now, even if the escalator was empty, I'd take the stairs.

You just develop new habits and ways of doing things.

Asher_Ethan

I always park the farthest away when I go to the store. Anything that is less than a mile away from my house, I make myself walk instead of taking the car.
What do you do for work?
I ask because I feel like you should set your activity level to sedentary as well.
My sons school is .5 miles away. I walk him to school every morning and I walk to pick him up every afternoon. I teach dance twice a week as work but I mostly stay at home cleaning and taking care of my toddler. I have my activity level set to only lightly active.

I_Will_End_You

Get a dog. Ever since I got a dog, I added an additional 3 miles of walking to my days.

That's probably not a practical solution, though. I'll second the Fitbit or activity tracker.

lorrpb

Just as exercise foes not contribute a lot of calorie burn to weight loss, it's not going to enable you to eat a lot more either. Endurance runners are about the only people I've ever heard say they run so the can eat what they want to. Some of my Crossfit friends claim this as well, but their physique does not back
It up.

DeguelloTex

lorrpb wrote: »

Just as exercise foes not contribute a lot of calorie burn to weight loss, it's not going to enable you to eat a lot more either. Endurance runners are about the only people I've ever heard say they run so the can eat what they want to. Some of my Crossfit friends claim this as well, but their physique does not back
It up.

My BMR is around 2100. My maintenance is about 4000. I can't eat whatever I want, but exercise enables me to eat a lot more. That's why I do a big part of it.

choppie70

My Fitbit has really helped me to move more. If I am low on steps or stairs I will walk up and down the stairs a few times . I will also march in place during commercials if I am watching TV.

kshama2001

ri228 wrote: »

Hey all, I would like to know the various ways to incorporate more movement in my day..!!

You can be less efficient. For example, I need to go down to the garden for a number of things and normally would do all of them at once, but to get in some extra up & down the stairs, I'm just doing this as I need to.

I work from home and plan to not go to the mail and take out the trash in the same trip but to do them separately so I get out of my chair and interact with gravity more frequently.

Lounmoun

I agree with being less efficient.
Park farther away from places, use the stairs more, walk around during your lunch or breaks
Do more things yourself- yard work, cleaning, errands, dog walking
Volunteer to play with some active toddlers
Hang clothes on a clothesline instead of using a dryer

airbent

I_Will_End_You wrote: »

Get a dog. Ever since I got a dog, I added an additional 3 miles of walking to my days.

That's probably not a practical solution, though. I'll second the Fitbit or activity tracker.

I second this, my dog gives me the most adorably pitiful look if I haven't walked her. "mom? what's going on? did i do something wrong? is that why you're sitting here when my leash is right over there?" :P

I'm dreading the winter months when it'll be harder for me to take her on longer walks but we're going to tough it out as much as we can.

eshnna

I too have a desk job and ever since I got my fitness tracker I have been trying to put my 12k daily. In fact I do better during the workdays then on the weekends now. I have a scale and weigh most of my food. This is what is working for me.
- On days I know I want a special treat for dinner I eat shirataki noodles with about 150 grams of chicken. Very satisfying and the noodles are 0 calories!
- I always have a low calorie snack around. Jicama is my go to these days (with lots of chile and lime juice), other favorites are strawberries and blueberries.
- I get up every hour and do a quick walk around the office.
- I walk during my two 15min breaks. Take your breaks if you have them!
- I do 20 mins of exercise during my lunch break. - Then I get home and do at least 20 mins of exercise and then play chase with my daughter. I like to walk to jessicafitnesstv videos if I wake up in the early morning. She has the greatest walking videos.
- Lastly, I bought an under-the-desk strider (Stamina is the brand) for when I am too busy to get up for my walks. It is great because it also counts my steps.

lemurcat12

Just walk whenever you possibly can. I figured out I was lightly active just based on that (I live in a city, though, which makes it easier), despite having a desk job. It sounds as if you are more active than the average person already, with the standing vs. sitting on the job.

TnTWalter

i put sedentary and then log my exercise. i typically exercise 5-6 times per week for >1 hour.

kshama2001

Yes to drying clothes on clothesline!

kimcalica

Oh come on guys!! Why so stuffy!!! We all have houses it apartments.. We all need to clean them.. Now.. Add music.. And stop focusing so much on getting everything done.. Incorporate dance and joy into the work.
Set a timer for an hour.. Maybe two..
Turn on music
Swing to the beat
Focus on whatever is bugging you
Attack!!!

Once your endorphins get up, you'd be surprised at what you'll get motivated to tackle!

And how productive using your housework as a burn..

I mean, what are we getting in shape for?
What are we training for?
We want to be able to do this stuff without hating it.. Train ourselves to be able to do it with ease and joy..
Find the burn everywhere!!

dubird

Second to not being efficient. My office at home is upstairs and I don't keep food or drink in there. If I want something, I have to go down and get it. I park in a place where I have to walk into the building and take the stairs instead of where the other employees park and take the elevator. When grocery shopping, I walk down EVERY aisle, even I'm there for just one thing. Granted, that can backfire if you're hungry, so don't do that unless you've eaten recently! XD

Also, I love my Fitbit. While the badges and goals aren't really what motivates me to move, it's handy for me to see just how much I burn during the day, and if it's lower than my norm, I can do something to get it back up. And I'll admit to a little thrill when I get the buzz that says I've hit 10k steps for the day.