NEAT Improvement Strategies to Improve Weight Loss

jdog022 wrote: »

Have kids. You’ll never sit down again

Accurate!

If I'm upstairs and need the loo, I'll go to the downstairs one, and vice verse. 3 lots of stairs each way has got to add something, right? 😁

I have now improved my NEAT by an average of 350 calories per day.

Bigger Things I have done so far:
1) Lose weight. I feel better so I move more. I know the goal is to eat less, move more to lose weight but since my BMR calories keep going down I appreciate that my NEAT is going up as a result to buffer.
2) Got a step tracker. Giving me a steps challenge makes me think about walking around more even when I don't have a good reason.
3) Got a puppy. My last dog died some time ago and I have missed having one but I admit that moving more was an added incentive and I made sure I got one large enough to handle walking. My activity spiked suddenly and I was actually losing weight too fast for a few weeks. It should go without saying though that NO ONE should consider getting an animal purely for weight loss purposes. A puppy especially can be and almost always are a MAJOR hassle at times.
4) Outdoor hobby for summer - gardening.

Changes in mindset:

1) Be less efficient - I am working on stopping my natural instinct to maximize my loads when carrying things. Multiple trips are better.
2) Do not let my wife bring me things - No more "while you are up can you..."
3) Cut back on home automation use - it is surprising the number of things I can control from my chair but now I get up
4) Park further away (weather permitting) - an oldie but a goodie
5) Do not get mail from vehicle (weather permitting) - now I walk back down the driveway to retrieve it


My next strategy is to read this entire thread and look for more ideas.

AnnPT77 wrote: »

NovusDies wrote: »

I have now improved my NEAT by an average of 350 calories per day.

Bigger Things I have done so far:
1) Lose weight. I feel better so I move more. I know the goal is to eat less, move more to lose weight but since my BMR calories keep going down I appreciate that my NEAT is going up as a result to buffer.
2) Got a step tracker. Giving me a steps challenge makes me think about walking around more even when I don't have a good reason.
3) Got a puppy. My last dog died some time ago and I have missed having one but I admit that moving more was an added incentive and I made sure I got one large enough to handle walking. My activity spiked suddenly and I was actually losing weight too fast for a few weeks. It should go without saying though that NO ONE should consider getting an animal purely for weight loss purposes. A puppy especially can be and almost always are a MAJOR hassle at times.
4) Outdoor hobby for summer - gardening.

Changes in mindset:

1) Be less efficient - I am working on stopping my natural instinct to maximize my loads when carrying things. Multiple trips are better.
2) Do not let my wife bring me things - No more "while you are up can you..."
3) Cut back on home automation use - it is surprising the number of things I can control from my chair but now I get up
4) Park further away (weather permitting) - an oldie but a goodie
5) Do not get mail from vehicle (weather permitting) - now I walk back down the driveway to retrieve it


My next strategy is to read this entire thread and look for more ideas.

Bolded #1: I love that one so much! I never noticed, when I was fat, how much I was rationing trips up and down the stairs (in my 2-story house with living areas on 2nd floor) . . . until I lost weight and stopped doing it (without really planning it). Now I'm up and down all day. I think it's underappreciated, when one has gotten overweight (especially if one has done so gradually, or has always been overweight), how much easier it is to move when smaller. Some of that "move more" just happens automatically, when smaller! (But it's easy to add onto that, too, as you observe.)

Bolded #2: Love that, too! Next, you could start offering to bring her things . . . nah, that would be selfish NEAT-hoarding, wouldn't it?

My first 150ish improvement happened without me even realizing it was occurring. I started seeing in my spreadsheet and then one day I decided to adjust my thermostat with my phone and while I was doing it I realized it had been at least 2 months since I used that app. I had been getting up and going to the thermostat. Obviously that didn't account for the full 150 but it is what made me realize that I was moving a lot more than I had been.

I do go out of my way to bring her things. Hadn't really thought of it as NEAT hoarding. I may not be a good husband.

Here are things that result in my higher NEAT.

1. One of my weird quirks is that I pace while I think and flap my hands around. It looks strange and I've trained myself to only do it at home (in public I rub my hands together instead, which makes people think that I'm cold, but it's just my 'thinking thing'). I used to be self-conscious about it but hey, it probably ads to my NEAT so whatever.
2. We had an exercise bike I could never be bothered using except occasionally when I watched TV (but it was annoying to drag it out of the spare room and then put it back, so I was often too lazy). I got a drop down shelf desk from Amazon, installed it on the wall, and slid the bike under. Now I have a bike desk. I go through periods where I use it more than others. On a rest day like today I'll use it so my legs muscles get some gentle movement. (Hello from my bike desk)
3. I live in Edinburgh, don't have a car, and walk a lot of places. I usually walk home from work when the weather is nice, which is over 3 miles, but it takes me through the centre and I get to stare up at the castle and it's pretty great. A good way to sort of come down from a day of work and prepare to relax at home. I'll be sad when it gets cold/dark again and I'll have to take the bus. In Scotland it gets dark at like 10 pm in summer so it's easier to do various outdoor activities longer.
4. I live on the 2nd floor and have to climb 60odd steps to get to my house.
5. Inefficient with cleaning etc as discussed.
6. A gym opened up a 5 min walk from me, so it's much easier to go 'oh I wonder if any classes start in 20 minutes...' and just go spontaneously if I feel like it.
7. Stretching while watching TV.