"...Tests on slim and overweight people who all described themselves as 'couch potatoes' showed the main difference between the two groups was how long they spent sitting still.
"Our study shows that the calories that people burn in their everyday activities are far, far more important in obesity than we previously imagined," said Dr. James Levine of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, who helped lead the study.
His team recruited 10 normal-weight and 10 obese men and women for their study, persuading them to wear special underwear with sensors that logged every move, however small.
They found the obese people spent, on average, more than two extra hours a day sitting still compared with the lean volunteers. That did not include sleeping time, which was the same between the two groups.
The difference in activity accounted for about 350 calories a day -- enough to add 10 pounds a year..."
I have never been a fidgeter or a pacer until this year. Not even all of last year when I dropped all that weight. Exercising happened first thing in the morning, and sometimes DF and I would go on a big walk (we don't have a car, so we rely on the CTA or our own two feet), but I never really thought about what I was doing during the rest of the day. And even with all the weight gone, I was still crazy-tired most of the day.
I've done two things this month that changed that: 1) started taking B-complex vitamins (apparently a lot of women on the Pill have difficulty absorbing B-vitamins) and 2) got a pedometer. I was shocked to find that I was barely getting 4 or 5 thousand steps in a day-- and more than half of that was from walking to and from the El for my commute! I found a lot of ways to sneak more steps into my day, and out of nowhere I've discovered that you are how you act-- if I zip around the office and bounce my feet at my desk like one of those over-energized people then I am more energetic. It's a crazy cycle. Who knew?
So hooray for fidgeting! Fidgeting and pacing and zooming around the office has started keeping me a LOT less stressed, I'll tell you. And just adding this into my day has apparently made it so my metabolism is "up" constantly-- I'm always energetic and I'm starting to take off that Halloween-Thanksgiving-Christmas weight!
Posts: 149 | Location: Chicago | Registered: January 24, 2005
Yeah, I think that's why my yoga ball works so well for me. I use it when ordinarily I'd be sitting on a chair (only time I don't is if I am reading a book) It just adds that extra level of stimulation. I can bounce up and down, do a situp while waiting for a page to load, do situps while waiting for the commercials to be over...
"This is not a 'fidget more' story. It's a 'get off your bottom' story," says Levine. What makes a difference is getting up and moving, not just tapping your toes, he says."
I'm not surprised by this at all but I wonder how much of this difference has to do with energy level. When I was heavy, I was a total couch potato. Since losing my weight, I'm much more active because I have more energy. It's actually hard for me to sit still these days which never used to be the case.
Out of our beliefs are born deeds; out of our deeds we form habits; out of our habits grows our character; and on our character we build our destiny.
Oh, I didn't realize he'd been home all day. That makes a difference. Yep, I can get tiny numbers of steps if I stay at home. Glad it was a good wake up call. I have another friend who gets just tiny numbers of steps. Unfortunately, I don't think it's a motivator for her...just discourages her.
Denise, He may not be getting an accurate reading. It is sometimes hard to fit a pedometer with a protruding belly or if his waistband is folding over. It's pretty tough to only get 275 steps. He might need to wear it more to his side, on the back of his waistband or need to wear a belt to keep it upright. Test it by walking 100 steps. If he is within 5-10 +/- steps of the 100 it is reading correctly. If not, try another position. They can be a bit persnickety.
I got dh a pedometer. The first day, he had walked 275 steps by 5pm, then went to the store and ended the day at about 600 steps. He was shocked... The 275 steps in 8 hours was especially shocking!
To his credit, he has increased his steps a LOT and is up to 3,000-4,000 (which is below the 10,000 steps recommended).
I get about 1,000 steps before breakfast. I don't know what I'm doing... I don't really get anything done... but I usually end the day between 8,000 and 15,000 steps...
That might help explain why I can lose weight on 1600 cals a day... I don't know. (We all know I spend too much time on the computer...)
