Your NEAT Tips (Non-exercise activity thermogenesis & ways to increase your activity)

Orphia
Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
How do you manage to increase your daily activity levels without going to the gym or purposefully exercising?

Give us your tips!

I'll start:
  • Walk to and from work instead of going by car
  • Bring my lunch to work so I can get it eaten in less time, and spend the rest of my lunch hour walking/window-shopping
  • Put dishes away one at a time
  • Walk to the shops when I need to buy something rather than drive when I've got a long list
  • Stop whining to others to do the household chores and get off my butt and do them myself.

Replies

  • tbensonmba
    tbensonmba Posts: 1 Member
    Excellent
  • borninthemiddle
    borninthemiddle Posts: 4 Member
    I am finding sneaky ways to add up to a thousand steps to my totals daily. Getting up on every commercial break and walking for the duration. Making multiple trips to do things I could do in one ie. putting away laundry, etc. Walking throughout my house constantly any time I'm on the phone. Every step adds up!
  • cool_chick_47
    cool_chick_47 Posts: 11 Member
    Take the stairs when it's an option. Recently, I asked a hotel where their stairs where. Three employees had to find someone who knew. Worth the effort.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,232 Member
    I spent years perfecting how to accomplish the most with the least amount of movement.

    I am now dedicating the same processing to figuring ways to accomplish it all with MORE movement!
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  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    Thanks all, very much!
  • x_blackrainbow
    x_blackrainbow Posts: 439 Member
    edited July 2015
    I used to carry all the laundry at once when I needed to put it away. Now I carry one type of item (socks, for example) and put that away. Then I go back and repeat the process until all my laundry is put away.

    At work I have to put ashtrays on each table prior to opening. I used to carry a stack of six to minimize trips, but now I put them out one at a time. I also volunteer to go downstairs when the bartender needs something from the walk-in so I can work toward my stairs goal.

    I might start bringing in the grocery bags one at a time now that I think about it. I'm used to grabbing all the bags I can to do it in one trip, and I'm not doing anything for my step goal that way.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    marilynxmonster wrote: »
    I used to carry all the laundry at once when I needed to put it away. Now I carry one type of item (socks, for example) and put that away. Then I go back and repeat the process until all my laundry is put away.

    I'm going to do that right now! Thanks for the tip!
  • rainbow198
    rainbow198 Posts: 2,245 Member
    edited July 2015
    Thank you for this thread. I get a lot of exercise/activity in daily, but my NEAT is pretty terrible. I want to change that!

    Here are some things I've been incorporating:
    • Sometimes I will do squats while getting clothes in and out of the washer/dryer and while doing putting dishes away.
    • While cooking I will sometimes do calf raises.
    • I will park further in a parking lot and walk instead of trying to get the closest spot.
    • If my guy needs something on another floor (i.e. forget keys, a glass of water etc.) I would volunteer to get it. Well most of the time. :)
  • barbecuesauce
    barbecuesauce Posts: 1,771 Member
    I keep sneaking weeding/gardening sessions in the evenings instead of waiting for the weekend to do them all. I think this burns more calories overall because I'm "fresher" and more energetic weeding a small patch rather than a large one at once, as well as whatever you get from afterburn.

    For a while there my house was much cleaner than it had ever been (I'm not a slob by any means, but I don't take the time to wipe baseboards, etc as often as I could usually). I've backslid recently though. Now my house is just regular-person clean :(

    And I won't watch TV without doing some movement, even if it's lazy curls with 2 or 5 lb weights.

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