NEAT Improvement Strategies to Improve Weight Loss
Replies
-
bump = Important at any time, but especially at the beginning of a month ...3
-
My cat died in March and I adopted a kitten two weeks back who is 12 weeks old and fast as the Flash. He is a lot of work and playing with him 30 minutes, twice a day has me sweating always.8
-
bump - If you have been working from home for a while now - what did you do to compensate for lost "trips to the photocopier on the far side of the floor" and other step-stretching NEATs-at-the-office strategies?2
-
bump - If you have been working from home for a while now - what did you do to compensate for lost "trips to the photocopier on the far side of the floor" and other step-stretching NEATs-at-the-office strategies?
I may have posted this before, but pacing and going up and down the stairs while on the phone. One conference call can be a lot of steps! (I'm now retired, but I still do this when talking on the phone.)
3 -
Instead of trips to the water cooler, now that I WFH I make excuses to go outside. Has the mailman been by? Walk out to the box to check. Might take a few tries. My container plants get watered every day, sometimes twice. I didn't turn on the in-ground sprinkler system this year so I may have to go out a couple of times to move the rainbird on the lawn. Have to go out to the porch to pick up deliveries (thanks to Amazon Prime and grocery drop-off). We live in a three story house so I'll make excuses to go up and down the stairs. All this movement makes me want to move more.3
-
A few things I'm doing lately to increase NEAT:
- Shopping with a hand-basket instead of a cart whenever possible . . . sometimes when barely possible (milk and yogurt are heavy!
) - Doing routine chores as quickly and vigorously as possible, even using unnecessary extra movement ( ) which makes more time for . . .
- Catching up on procrastinated home repair and improvement projects.
- Doing minor, often nearly-invisible exercises during wait times, such as standing
(barely) on one foot while waiting in line, lat contractions against the steering wheel at stoplights, calf raises while chopping veggies, etc. (these burn tiny calories but help me with other objectives, too, like balance and lat recruitment).
Hi Ann
What are lat contractions against the steering wheel? Please and thanks.1 - Shopping with a hand-basket instead of a cart whenever possible . . . sometimes when barely possible (milk and yogurt are heavy!
-
A few things I'm doing lately to increase NEAT:
- Shopping with a hand-basket instead of a cart whenever possible . . . sometimes when barely possible (milk and yogurt are heavy! )
- Doing routine chores as quickly and vigorously as possible, even using unnecessary extra movement ( ) which makes more time for . . .
- Catching up on procrastinated home repair and improvement projects.
- Doing minor, often nearly-invisible exercises during wait times, such as standing
(barely) on one foot while waiting in line, lat contractions against the steering wheel at stoplights, calf raises while chopping veggies, etc. (these burn tiny calories but help me with other objectives, too, like balance and lat recruitment).
Hi Ann
What are lat contractions against the steering wheel? Please and thanks.
Your lats (latissimus dorsi) are muscles that run from the front of your body down and around to the mid/low spine.
Put your hands on the steering wheel, separated (in clock terms,10 and 2, or 8 and 4, or 9 and 3 - however you'd normally do it). Keep your shoulders down, don't let them come up toward your ears.** Then just try to contract the lats, holding your arms firm/steady. Try to feel like you're pulling your shoulder blades simultaneously back and down. It will pull your body just that little bit toward the steering wheel - only like half an inch or inch, maybe. (It may also make you feel like you're sitting up just a tiny bit straighter.) That's it.
I started doing that specific movement because lat engagement is really important to my sport, rowing (I won't go into all the details of why, at least not unless someone asks , but trust me, it is). So, since I started rowing years ago with essentially zero body awareness, doing things like this helped me find my lats, feel them move, and be able to engage them in the way I needed to improve my rowing.
** If you raise your shoulders, it doesn't make it not worth a few calories a decade, just like using lats would (although the lats are a bigger muscle, so maybe one more calorie a decade
). It just emphasizes different muscles in the shoulders, rather than the lats. Any isometric-ish thing against the steering wheel would be similar as a potential fidget move, even holding the back/core firm and letting the arm muscle contract to pull against the wheel (rather than hold steady so the back muscles work instead).
Now that I think of it, if body awareness is something a person is working on, it could be useful to see what different muscle groups feel like, when pulling against the steering wheel, if you emphasize and focus on different ones (or hold others steady vs. let them work, such as the shoulder raising difference).
5 - Shopping with a hand-basket instead of a cart whenever possible . . . sometimes when barely possible (milk and yogurt are heavy!
-
I have been trying to make daily habits a bit more inconvenient. Storing toothbrush and toothpaste in cabinet instead of on the sink, milk in back of fridge, tea bags in back of cupboard so I have to root around. Knife block further down the counter. It’s really counterintuitive and I suspect also exercises the brain!3
-
A few things I'm doing lately to increase NEAT:
- Shopping with a hand-basket instead of a cart whenever possible . . . sometimes when barely possible (milk and yogurt are heavy! )
- Doing routine chores as quickly and vigorously as possible, even using unnecessary extra movement ( ) which makes more time for . . .
- Catching up on procrastinated home repair and improvement projects.
- Doing minor, often nearly-invisible exercises during wait times, such as standing
(barely) on one foot while waiting in line, lat contractions against the steering wheel at stoplights, calf raises while chopping veggies, etc. (these burn tiny calories but help me with other objectives, too, like balance and lat recruitment).
Hi Ann
What are lat contractions against the steering wheel? Please and thanks.
Sorry, there was supposed to be a lat image in there, but I copied the link incorrectly. This is it:
1 - Shopping with a hand-basket instead of a cart whenever possible . . . sometimes when barely possible (milk and yogurt are heavy!
-
bump1
-
-jog in place when flossing teeth
-squat when brushing teeth
-use a carry grocery basket instead of cart
-go down all the isles of the store
-always use the stairs when they present themselves (I live in a condo - only on the sixth floor though) so I walk ---each hallway too up to my suite
-do jumping jacks or lunges waiting for the water to boil for tea or counter push-ups or side leg lifts
-vacuum every day
-I try to ensure I'm sitting up straight - engage abs
-when I'm cleaning up the kitchen I will do each movement with 'extra energy' (tip toes, reaching, etc., )
-I spend a great amount of time in the afternoon prepping dinner/snacks etc., so that helps too
I'm sure all these were said before
6 -
*bump because during covid lockdown its nice to find easy ideas*
-stand at my stand up desk at work at least 50% of working hours
-walk around while responding to phone calls
-use the farthest away printer always
-vaccum every day (to be fair I have a german sheppard x gold lab so its required haha)
-heel raises when I am cooking (rocking back and fourth between standing flat and tippy toes).
-Walking to work Mon/Wed on the days I work at the office close to home7 -
MeganD1704 wrote: »*bump because during covid lockdown its nice to find easy ideas*
-stand at my stand up desk at work at least 50% of working hours
-walk around while responding to phone calls
-use the farthest away printer always
-vaccum every day (to be fair I have a german sheppard x gold lab so its required haha)
-heel raises when I am cooking (rocking back and fourth between standing flat and tippy toes).
-Walking to work Mon/Wed on the days I work at the office close to home
Thanks for the bump (to all PP above)!
Yeah, the pandemic situation limits some of the options, but happily not all. One of my latest variation is doing side leg raises while pulsing my coffee grinder, one raise per pulse, 20 on one side, then 20 on the other (fine grind!). 😆 Good for balance, too, if the other hand is free.3 -
moogie_fit wrote: »How are folx increasing they're neat during coronavirus
I've been catching up on some long-neglected deep-cleaning and decluttering. I set the timer for 30 minutes, crank up the tunes, and go to town.
I'm also doing more complicated cooking, now that I no longer have a job that ends shortly before dinner time.
Normally, my OH does the post-dinner dishes, but I've been sending him out to walk the cat and I do them.2 -
For me a lot of it comes down to living inconveniently and inefficiently. I put away the remotes for everything that has buttons. I avoid shopping online. I do not stock my pantry as much. When I cook I avoid doing a mise en place. I use much smaller cups. I use the garage refrigerator more. I avoid motorized tools when possible.
Surprisingly I do not see much of a time drain living this way. I just have a little less time being and doing sedentary things.
I think those are good points, and I'd agree that I don't seem much time penalty in the extra movement I try to do, either. It seems like some of the "convenience" things people do as time-savers don't really save much time, they're just lower effort so it feels like less time. I've started watching the drive-up line occasionally at a coffee shop I drop in to once in a while. Most of the time (not always), if it's even a remotely busy time, I'm running in and coming out with my coffee, and some of the same cars are still in the drive-up line. They're just sitting, listening to the radio (or whatever), using up some gasoline ( ), while I'm running in and ordering.
I'm surprised to read you say that mise en place takes you less movement. For me, I think it would be slightly more . . . maybe because I do all the dishes by hand? (Not for calories, BTW: I don't have a dishwasher.) The storage areas in my kitchen are all short walk-routes, too, so mise en place wouldn't save much walking. Whatever works in one's own life is the good solution, though! :flowerforyou:
I try to go in everywhere too now. It has two benefits. It keeps me moving and when it is a situation that involves food from a fast food place it adds a layer to make sure I really want it and I am not just settling. I still eat fast food but since I was quick to settle in my gaining years I want to actively avoid doing it now. I have also noticed I get serviced faster at least some of the time.
I said that I avoid doing a mise en place. This creates more movement because I am consistently returning to a place where I have already gotten an ingredient. Sometimes that is a step or two sometimes it is a trip back to the pantry area. Every step adds to the collective.
I own a dishwasher but I have always preferred to do most of my dishes by hand. I have always felt the dishwasher was overkill for many dishes that require very little effort to clean. Also washing the dishes by hand keeps me efficient in usage which is one of the few areas I do not wish to increase my NEAT. I always re-use a dish if I can and most of the time it is possible with just a quick rinse.
I too have a dishwasher but seldom use it. I feel like it is a waste of water and energy, and would rather spend the energy myself.0 -
I have a 'cobbled from items around the house" stand-option for my work-at-home computer-work desk.2
-
When watching Netflix etc at night I sit up straight, legs hip distance apart, soles together and clench and hold the butt cheeks over and over. 🍑4
-
5 -
I have a 'cobbled from items around the house" stand-option for my work-at-home computer-work desk.
I love this, may need to find a surface to use my laptop while standing. I like the improvisational aspect, too. There's been discussion over on one of the coronavirus threads about ergonomics problems with WFH home office substitutes. MacGyvering some improvements is a really good thought!0
Categories
- 1.5M All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 387.1K Introduce Yourself
- 42.7K Getting Started
- 258.4K Health and Weight Loss
- 174.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.1K Recipes
- 231.8K Fitness and Exercise
- 316 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.4K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.1K Motivation and Support
- 7.4K Challenges
- 1.2K Debate Club
- 96.1K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 2.1K MyFitnessPal Information
- 20 News and Announcements
- 562 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 1.5K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions