As I recently posted, I am working on getting more NEAT into my day. This process has been pretty easy. I reached my goal of 3000 calories burned each day last week (I use the caloriecount site to track this once a day or a couple times a day. It's painless and easy and works well to motivate me). So, this week, I'm taking that up to at least 3100. I noticed how much happier I have felt since standing, walking outside in spurts, going to the park and walking or standing, just doing more. Some days it's been more shopping or cleaning. Last night, it was over an hour of Christmas caroling among other things. It is pretty obvious to me. I am also not sleepy in the afternoons now-- no desire to take a nap AND I'm falling asleep quickly at night. I had been going through a few weeks of tossing and turning (which I blamed on the season and light issues/rain). Now, I'm thinking my body is saying, "yes, I'm tired and ready to sleep. Thanks for the wonderful extra movement today."
This morning and afternoon, my daughter and I baked Christmas cookies. That is a real love of hers: cooking. So, we did that for almost two hours-- all NEAT time. I noticed how easy it was for me to do-- the standing, etc. was not tiresome for me. I'm thinking my body is adjusting to new movement levels and really liking them. We took 3/4 of the cookies to neighbors and wrapped the rest up to have with meals. :)
I don't weigh but a couple times a week, so I'm not really worried about that aspect of things. As I have mentioned before, I have to be careful to keep my focus primarily on doing the steps, eating a reasonable amount, and moving. If I start fixating on numbers too much, I think about how I can speed things up or whatever. I do much better living in the current day and working on health. The times I do see a drop in weight is at those times-- when I focus most on health.
I can tell my body is happy moving like this, and it now sends me messages of ok, time to get up and move. You've been sitting for twenty minutes or thirty minutes. I don't think I've had a two hour block of sitting this whole week! And I have not had to prod myself once or say ok, time to exercise.
If anyone reads this blog, I want to wish you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. :) My family and I will be traveling on the 24th, and my blogging will be null or scarce until January 5th. Until then, eat well and move well. :)
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
More about NEAT
So, I have been trying to put into practice what I know about nutrition and movement along with the steps as usual. I see several options for being healthy and losing weight (slowly). One option is very low calorie eating with little movement other than some NEAT (non-exercise thermogenic activity). Low calorie (very restricted calories between 1500-1900 per day) has never worked for me and was what led to my terrible bingeing/regain last time around. So, I have been cutting calories from a very high level. I have made good strides on that. I am now looking especially at adding more NEAT movement into my life. I am making it to the gym three times a week right now as well.
I think the NEAT movement is the key for me. I have packed on the most weight over the last five years. When my daughter was smaller, I was smaller. I was moving more-- period. I got a lot of compliments on my appearance in the year following her birth, and I was not working out at the gym. I still weighed around 200 lbs. Then, as she got older, I got much more sedentary again. I can sort of see all of this now very clearly. And the weight climbed with that and my unhealthy eating habits (which I always had but which movement helped cancel out to a small degree).
I read a story about a woman who started going to the gym and expended calories and energy there; then, she was so tired the rest of the week, she barely moved. OR she justified barely moving with, "I've already exercised." And guess what? She actually GAINED weight while going to the gym. I also read many, many stories of folks who ditched the gym totally for NEAT and have lost weight and feel great. I think for me, the best thing is to combine the two. I realize the NEAT is the tough one for me, as strange as that sounds.
The small steps I'm taking to get more NEAT in my life are these: get up every 15 minutes and move if I'm on the computer, keep the house as clean as I can on my own with doing chores each day (I have my house cleaned every two weeks so there is always plenty for me to do between times!), shoot for burning at least 3000 calories per day in movement overall. I track movement and calories on caloriecount, and that works well for me to show me the reality of what I'm eating and doing (or not doing. heh).
For now, that is a modest goal. As I have mentioned I was VERY sedentary in the past, and I suspect, I am one of those folks who is biochemically less prone to movement. :) James A. Levine and the NEAT Mayo folks have written about these folks. I'd also say it goes hand in hand with most sugar sensitivity. So, the trick is to be aware of that propensity to couch sit and fight back. Some things I am doing/planning to begin for NEAT each day:
1. Get up and walk/move every 15 minutes.
2. Do at least one load of laundry per day.
3. Do some dishes each day.
4. Cook when I can rather than going out.
5. Take a walk at night for ten or more minutes.
6. Work on a project for 15 minutes at least once a day (wrapping presents, for example)
7. Make my bed each morning.
8. Take a short walk during the day whenever I feel like it (even for 5 minutes).
9. Stretch for five or ten minutes when I feel stiff.
10. Play at the park with my daughter or walk there while she plays.
11. Go to the store and shop (yes, this counts as neat movement).
12. Park far away and walk (I do this much more often now. I used to try to park close. I really was sedentary!!).
And there are many more... I'll add to a list as I find others that I do.
So, my goal from now to Dec. 19th is to expend 3000 calories or more per day. I'll report back on how that went and changes I feel/see if any. Then, I'll see how easy/tough that was and up it slowly. And now, I'm going to get up... and move! :)
I think the NEAT movement is the key for me. I have packed on the most weight over the last five years. When my daughter was smaller, I was smaller. I was moving more-- period. I got a lot of compliments on my appearance in the year following her birth, and I was not working out at the gym. I still weighed around 200 lbs. Then, as she got older, I got much more sedentary again. I can sort of see all of this now very clearly. And the weight climbed with that and my unhealthy eating habits (which I always had but which movement helped cancel out to a small degree).
I read a story about a woman who started going to the gym and expended calories and energy there; then, she was so tired the rest of the week, she barely moved. OR she justified barely moving with, "I've already exercised." And guess what? She actually GAINED weight while going to the gym. I also read many, many stories of folks who ditched the gym totally for NEAT and have lost weight and feel great. I think for me, the best thing is to combine the two. I realize the NEAT is the tough one for me, as strange as that sounds.
The small steps I'm taking to get more NEAT in my life are these: get up every 15 minutes and move if I'm on the computer, keep the house as clean as I can on my own with doing chores each day (I have my house cleaned every two weeks so there is always plenty for me to do between times!), shoot for burning at least 3000 calories per day in movement overall. I track movement and calories on caloriecount, and that works well for me to show me the reality of what I'm eating and doing (or not doing. heh).
For now, that is a modest goal. As I have mentioned I was VERY sedentary in the past, and I suspect, I am one of those folks who is biochemically less prone to movement. :) James A. Levine and the NEAT Mayo folks have written about these folks. I'd also say it goes hand in hand with most sugar sensitivity. So, the trick is to be aware of that propensity to couch sit and fight back. Some things I am doing/planning to begin for NEAT each day:
1. Get up and walk/move every 15 minutes.
2. Do at least one load of laundry per day.
3. Do some dishes each day.
4. Cook when I can rather than going out.
5. Take a walk at night for ten or more minutes.
6. Work on a project for 15 minutes at least once a day (wrapping presents, for example)
7. Make my bed each morning.
8. Take a short walk during the day whenever I feel like it (even for 5 minutes).
9. Stretch for five or ten minutes when I feel stiff.
10. Play at the park with my daughter or walk there while she plays.
11. Go to the store and shop (yes, this counts as neat movement).
12. Park far away and walk (I do this much more often now. I used to try to park close. I really was sedentary!!).
And there are many more... I'll add to a list as I find others that I do.
So, my goal from now to Dec. 19th is to expend 3000 calories or more per day. I'll report back on how that went and changes I feel/see if any. Then, I'll see how easy/tough that was and up it slowly. And now, I'm going to get up... and move! :)
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Back to Basics...
As a person with addictive biochemistry, I constantly have to return to basics. That means remembering that above all I choose that:
My life will be shaped by recovery.
If I let it, other obsessions will come right in and try to get my focus off of recovery (calorie counting or cutting portions or restriction of some sort will become a main focus). And every time, I will feel worse rather than better. For example, if I focus too much on calorie counting, I will only want that or weight loss. Then, recovery takes a back burner, and for the addict, this begins the slide into sugar, depression and other life/radiance killers.
So, today, my recovery steps were on step 4: eating a good breakfast within the hour, solid lunch, plenty of water, fish oil and vits, exercise at the gym and NEAT movement more purposefully, paying attention to portions/calories.
The portions/calories stuff takes its rightful place as one of the LAST things for me to focus on. If the program stuff is not happening, I can guarantee that the calories and portions will be crazy (and I see a correlation between sloppy program and overeating. Wow. Shocker!)
So, what I'm seeing again (and again and again? LOL as a slow learner) is that the program is the foundation for me. There is nothing like it in terms of what it has done for me and what it continues to do. Any other things I do are just small blocks I've added, but the foundation is the core. If I make something else a core, it is a warning to me that I'm looking for a "hit"-- some excitement rather than doing the work of recovery.
In the past, all diets have given me "hits" because they were short term and gave some results quickly in terms of pounds. Recovery is for life. It is like time released happiness. :) But it does NOT provide the hits that living in addiction did. Being mindful of this difference is key for me.
So, feeling radiant today and thankful...
My life will be shaped by recovery.
If I let it, other obsessions will come right in and try to get my focus off of recovery (calorie counting or cutting portions or restriction of some sort will become a main focus). And every time, I will feel worse rather than better. For example, if I focus too much on calorie counting, I will only want that or weight loss. Then, recovery takes a back burner, and for the addict, this begins the slide into sugar, depression and other life/radiance killers.
So, today, my recovery steps were on step 4: eating a good breakfast within the hour, solid lunch, plenty of water, fish oil and vits, exercise at the gym and NEAT movement more purposefully, paying attention to portions/calories.
The portions/calories stuff takes its rightful place as one of the LAST things for me to focus on. If the program stuff is not happening, I can guarantee that the calories and portions will be crazy (and I see a correlation between sloppy program and overeating. Wow. Shocker!)
So, what I'm seeing again (and again and again? LOL as a slow learner) is that the program is the foundation for me. There is nothing like it in terms of what it has done for me and what it continues to do. Any other things I do are just small blocks I've added, but the foundation is the core. If I make something else a core, it is a warning to me that I'm looking for a "hit"-- some excitement rather than doing the work of recovery.
In the past, all diets have given me "hits" because they were short term and gave some results quickly in terms of pounds. Recovery is for life. It is like time released happiness. :) But it does NOT provide the hits that living in addiction did. Being mindful of this difference is key for me.
So, feeling radiant today and thankful...
Monday, November 30, 2009
Update post Thanksgiving :)
The holidays went well. I maintained my weight and actually lost an inch over the last week or so (I measured this morning, and I weigh a few times a week and average my weights). With my daughter having the flu and little scheduled "formal" exercise/movement time, I was happy with that. It is really clear that just paying more attention to what I eat and how much I move regularly makes a HUGE difference. I just needed to "get real" as folks say with how much I was eating that I did not or do not truly need.
I find it interesting to integrate the calories in with RR and also just knowing when I'm full. My breakfast and the steps are still non-negotiable. There is NO diet or quality of life or calorie aswareness or anything without the foundation of my steps! Just one morning of a late breakfast last week reminded me of that. The whole day was off, and I remembered how I once felt every day! My step 4 is also still going well, and I'm looking toward the step 5 again-- perhaps beginning to really look at it closely in the next few days.
I find it interesting to integrate the calories in with RR and also just knowing when I'm full. My breakfast and the steps are still non-negotiable. There is NO diet or quality of life or calorie aswareness or anything without the foundation of my steps! Just one morning of a late breakfast last week reminded me of that. The whole day was off, and I remembered how I once felt every day! My step 4 is also still going well, and I'm looking toward the step 5 again-- perhaps beginning to really look at it closely in the next few days.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Results
Well, it is obvious that just being aware of how much I'm eating along with exercise and NEAT movement is paying off quickly. I started logging in to caloriecount.com on 11/10. From my starting weight, I'm down 1.5 pounds and several inches off of my chest, waist, and hips. Not bad. And I have not been starving (not even close) to do this. In fact, I still have a way to go with cutting my calories down a bit more, but for me, easy does it.
I am working hard not to trigger unhealthy obsessions with going lower and lower with calories. So far, I am having no such troubles, but when I counted calories about 13 years ago and lost over 40 pounds one summer, that was my trouble. I listened to folks who did not know much about how much the body burns and true calorie needs. I ended up eating 1200 calories per day and weighing 124. I was moody, my hair was falling out, and I was bordering on anorexic behaviors. Now I understand why. At my age of 19, I probably never should have gone below 2000 calories per day, due to my young age and especially with the amount of exercise I was doing. Eventually, my body and mind tired of starvation mode, and I put much of the weight back on.
I am still eating a lot at this point but am down 800 calories or so each day from where I started almost a week ago with awareness of how much I was truly eating. I am glad to be seeing results, and I see the basic components of what I'm doing as 1. eating for my biochemistry (I had a shake this morning and am still doing RR food and steps). 2. counting calories to make sure I am not eating a lot more than my body needs 3. exercising a few days a week (at least four) 4. NEAT movement 5. plenty of water 6. vitamins and fish oil
It is nice to feel good-- not hungry and also energetic-- while making progress. If something is punitive, I will not stick with it. Perhaps that is why this works for me; it is based on energy input and output and on fueling the body in the ways that will make it perform best.
I am working hard not to trigger unhealthy obsessions with going lower and lower with calories. So far, I am having no such troubles, but when I counted calories about 13 years ago and lost over 40 pounds one summer, that was my trouble. I listened to folks who did not know much about how much the body burns and true calorie needs. I ended up eating 1200 calories per day and weighing 124. I was moody, my hair was falling out, and I was bordering on anorexic behaviors. Now I understand why. At my age of 19, I probably never should have gone below 2000 calories per day, due to my young age and especially with the amount of exercise I was doing. Eventually, my body and mind tired of starvation mode, and I put much of the weight back on.
I am still eating a lot at this point but am down 800 calories or so each day from where I started almost a week ago with awareness of how much I was truly eating. I am glad to be seeing results, and I see the basic components of what I'm doing as 1. eating for my biochemistry (I had a shake this morning and am still doing RR food and steps). 2. counting calories to make sure I am not eating a lot more than my body needs 3. exercising a few days a week (at least four) 4. NEAT movement 5. plenty of water 6. vitamins and fish oil
It is nice to feel good-- not hungry and also energetic-- while making progress. If something is punitive, I will not stick with it. Perhaps that is why this works for me; it is based on energy input and output and on fueling the body in the ways that will make it perform best.
Friday, November 13, 2009
NEAT
Have you ever heard of NEAT? I had not either, but I'd heard of similar concepts. Basically, NEAT is Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis.
The Mayo Clinic and researcher James Levine did a ten year study on the movement of obese/overweight folks and regular weight folks. The study itself is fascinating and accounted for most every type of error. There were surprising (or maybe not so surprising) findings:
http://mayoresearch.mayo.edu/mayo/research/levine_lab/about.cfm
People have a tendency to move more or less. The study found that obese folks in this study (even after they lost weight due to a 1000 calorie cut during the study) STILL moved less than their regular weighted counterparts (who were given 1000 MORE calories during the study). In fact, many of the "more moving" thinner folks who had no idea they had been eating 1000 more calories per day moved MORE and did not gain much weight. It was like their body intelligence told them to move more to compensate for those added calories. The researchers note that this awareness seems to be absent in folks who are obese or very overweight-- the awareness of how much they should move or that they need more every day movement.
So, it seems that some of us are born wanting to move a lot. Others are not. I'm one of the not ones. :) I prefer to read, sit, relax. I have never been fast moving-- even in my dancing and aerobics days. My sister was the runner-- not me. ;)
What the research stressed is how important NEAT is to burning calories, losing weight, and maintaining weight. Just hitting the gym for an hour or so five times a week or taking a walk each day will not cut it if you spend the bulk of the rest of your hours sitting, on the computer, reading, watching tv, doing nothing or sleeping. You must get off of your butt more often in any way you can. It ALL counts.
For me, this is motivating and interesting, and I know it's true.
In this past year, I've dropped five pounds or more in a week stretch due to moving more for various reasons. And I could correlate and see that. I was not exercising formally more than I had been during these times-- sometimes even the opposite. I was so busy I had to forgo my evening or afternoon walks. I've taken a twenty or thirty minute walk at least five nights a week for years now. No, it was the very activities of walking/moving/cooking/cleaning/playing/doing/sightseeing more that took the weight right down. And when I slowed down again back to "normal", it crept right back up. :) So, I decided to take a hard look at how much I'm eating AND how much I'm moving/doing/burning. The results show exactly why I am not losing weight but am maintaining right now and have been within a couple pounds for a few months (even that is surprising). Dear readers, please be kind to me. Many days, I was eating over 4000 calories +. My body on a very inactive day burns about 2900 (and that's because I'm quite large). There's the math-- even on days I was exercising, add just a few hundred burned calories. So, my dear body has a very FAST metabolism, I'm realizing. It is my sedentary nature that is the problem (along with being very unaware of portion sizes or little bits-- ha-- of food I ate between meals).
I have begun applying this information and keeping up with my activity during the last week. It has been an eye opening/get real experience. I know I have begun moving a lot more since learning this information. I get up every fifteen minutes and do something when I'm working/on the computer. I walk more. I take short walks just because. I simply have not been moving enough. I knew it already, but the study I read and others since then really stressed the importance of being a mover.
I know some of my blog readers move-- a lot! I was thinking about many of the thin folks I know, and I know they get lots of NEAT activity. One of my friends is tiny and she is almost ALWAYS on the move. She eats a good diet, but she still has chocolate and other junk. And she rarely does organized exercise other than walking to and from the bus stop. Hmmm. I can think of many others I've known just like her.
So, here's to more non-thermic movement in our lives.
The Mayo Clinic and researcher James Levine did a ten year study on the movement of obese/overweight folks and regular weight folks. The study itself is fascinating and accounted for most every type of error. There were surprising (or maybe not so surprising) findings:
http://mayoresearch.mayo.edu/mayo/research/levine_lab/about.cfm
People have a tendency to move more or less. The study found that obese folks in this study (even after they lost weight due to a 1000 calorie cut during the study) STILL moved less than their regular weighted counterparts (who were given 1000 MORE calories during the study). In fact, many of the "more moving" thinner folks who had no idea they had been eating 1000 more calories per day moved MORE and did not gain much weight. It was like their body intelligence told them to move more to compensate for those added calories. The researchers note that this awareness seems to be absent in folks who are obese or very overweight-- the awareness of how much they should move or that they need more every day movement.
So, it seems that some of us are born wanting to move a lot. Others are not. I'm one of the not ones. :) I prefer to read, sit, relax. I have never been fast moving-- even in my dancing and aerobics days. My sister was the runner-- not me. ;)
What the research stressed is how important NEAT is to burning calories, losing weight, and maintaining weight. Just hitting the gym for an hour or so five times a week or taking a walk each day will not cut it if you spend the bulk of the rest of your hours sitting, on the computer, reading, watching tv, doing nothing or sleeping. You must get off of your butt more often in any way you can. It ALL counts.
For me, this is motivating and interesting, and I know it's true.
In this past year, I've dropped five pounds or more in a week stretch due to moving more for various reasons. And I could correlate and see that. I was not exercising formally more than I had been during these times-- sometimes even the opposite. I was so busy I had to forgo my evening or afternoon walks. I've taken a twenty or thirty minute walk at least five nights a week for years now. No, it was the very activities of walking/moving/cooking/cleaning/playing/doing/sightseeing more that took the weight right down. And when I slowed down again back to "normal", it crept right back up. :) So, I decided to take a hard look at how much I'm eating AND how much I'm moving/doing/burning. The results show exactly why I am not losing weight but am maintaining right now and have been within a couple pounds for a few months (even that is surprising). Dear readers, please be kind to me. Many days, I was eating over 4000 calories +. My body on a very inactive day burns about 2900 (and that's because I'm quite large). There's the math-- even on days I was exercising, add just a few hundred burned calories. So, my dear body has a very FAST metabolism, I'm realizing. It is my sedentary nature that is the problem (along with being very unaware of portion sizes or little bits-- ha-- of food I ate between meals).
I have begun applying this information and keeping up with my activity during the last week. It has been an eye opening/get real experience. I know I have begun moving a lot more since learning this information. I get up every fifteen minutes and do something when I'm working/on the computer. I walk more. I take short walks just because. I simply have not been moving enough. I knew it already, but the study I read and others since then really stressed the importance of being a mover.
I know some of my blog readers move-- a lot! I was thinking about many of the thin folks I know, and I know they get lots of NEAT activity. One of my friends is tiny and she is almost ALWAYS on the move. She eats a good diet, but she still has chocolate and other junk. And she rarely does organized exercise other than walking to and from the bus stop. Hmmm. I can think of many others I've known just like her.
So, here's to more non-thermic movement in our lives.
I fired my trainer! :)
I fired my trainer last week, but I'm still enjoying the gym. She was doing things with me that were just too strenuous. I had soreness like I've never experienced and then thought, "I don't feel like going to the gym." A sure sign of burnout. Also, she told me I should have have any fat in my diet. LOL.
After that, she was a goner. I politely told her that I would not be training with her anymore. I will find someone else to do the three sessions I have left-- when I feel like it. For now, I have plenty to keep me busy, and I feel comfortable with most of the equipment, machines, and free weights at the gym.
I'm sure she was flabbergasted that the fat lady was declining her expertise. I know a little about nutrition and common sense in training-- though I am large.
On another topic, I am also looking at HOW MUCH I eat each day lately. I am eating too much food. The steps are going fine. :) I'm on step 4, but I realized it is now easy for me to cut out/back or add in better foods. It feels like a lifestyle thing and not a restrictive thing. So, I got honest with myself on caloriecount.com. I am still eating my three meals and a snack if I need them along with the rest of steps 1,2,3, and 4. I am just moving more each day (not just gym movement, but NEAT) and I'm working on getting calories down to a level that I'll burn more of them.
What I realized is this: I can't blame my body or metabolism for my weight. In fact, my metabolism is very fast! I have been eating a lot of food portion wise, and my weight has been within a five pound range for months now. It drops more with more NEAT. I finally put two and two together there. And I'll post more about that next...
After that, she was a goner. I politely told her that I would not be training with her anymore. I will find someone else to do the three sessions I have left-- when I feel like it. For now, I have plenty to keep me busy, and I feel comfortable with most of the equipment, machines, and free weights at the gym.
I'm sure she was flabbergasted that the fat lady was declining her expertise. I know a little about nutrition and common sense in training-- though I am large.
On another topic, I am also looking at HOW MUCH I eat each day lately. I am eating too much food. The steps are going fine. :) I'm on step 4, but I realized it is now easy for me to cut out/back or add in better foods. It feels like a lifestyle thing and not a restrictive thing. So, I got honest with myself on caloriecount.com. I am still eating my three meals and a snack if I need them along with the rest of steps 1,2,3, and 4. I am just moving more each day (not just gym movement, but NEAT) and I'm working on getting calories down to a level that I'll burn more of them.
What I realized is this: I can't blame my body or metabolism for my weight. In fact, my metabolism is very fast! I have been eating a lot of food portion wise, and my weight has been within a five pound range for months now. It drops more with more NEAT. I finally put two and two together there. And I'll post more about that next...
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