You Don't Get the Ass You Want by Sitting on It!
How to Not Get as Fat This Holiday Season Part 2: Boost Your Metabolism
The holiday season is here. Let the fattening begin!
There are several reasons why we are all probably going to gain a few pounds before January:
Tasty treats
Big family meals
Extra drinks
Sitting around
Sitting around
Sitting around
Sitting around
Yup. It’s winter. We spend a lot of time inside. Sitting around.
We’ve been trained from birth to sit around. Society has wasted countless hours forcing us to conform and just sit still.
Big mistake!
“Stop moving! Sit Still, you little monkey! Be quiet. Go to your room. Don’t run in the hall! Sit still at the dinner table! Keep your seatbelt on. Stay in your chair. Save your energy. Put that down! Don’t climb on that. Act like a human being!”
We’ve been brainwashed so well, we’re all conserving energy like good little robots. But we really don’t need to conserve. What we need is to burn it off.
Especially at this time of year, with all of these holiday treats we’ll be jamming in our faces.
The body says: “No problem! Surplus energy? We can just save it all as fat. Crisis averted.”
Wanna hear something NEAT?
There’s a way to get healthier, burn more calories, and boost your fitness. And you don’t have to go to a gym or change your diet. In fact, you could burn more energy through NEAT and do more for your overall health than any gym time ever could.
Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT): energy expended in activities that aren’t on-purpose workouts, sleeping, or eating.
We need to move more. A lot more. Modern society has us sitting around a ton. Compared to our ancestors, we’re lazy sloths.
A common mistake is ONLY working out once or twice a week, at a gym, and expecting to keep those pounds off.
Saving all of your exercises up for one special time is like cramming for an exam in the last few hours instead of studying bit by bit every day. It’s like doing your shopping on Christmas Eve.
It's like waiting for the timer on the bomb to count down to 4 seconds before snipping the red wire. (Not the blue wire, for Dog’s sake! The red wire! I can’t look.)
Using NEAT to boost your fat burn isn’t complicated. Spread activity throughout the day instead of trying to jam it into one little block, and you’ve got it!
This includes walking, fighting clowns, doing housework, and poking your little cousin. Even the smallest movements—chewing gum, bouncing your leg, getting up every ten minutes and sitting back down, or smacking your significant other when they're sassy—will affect the bottom line and how big your bottom gets.
Cardiovascular Health: The more often we walk, stand, fidget, and move, the more blood flows. This increased circulation can lower blood pressure and give the whole system a low-level workout.
The Lymph System: The secondary circulatory system, the lymph, has no heart and is pumped by muscle movement. So when we sit around like a lump on a log, the lymph is stagnant, can’t efficiently defend us with antibodies, and collects toxins that it can’t get rid of.
Metabolic Diseases: Consistent low-intensity movement throughout the day helps prevent conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease.
Mental Health Improvement: Regular movement throughout the day can have a huge impact. It boosts endorphins and lowers stress levels, which can alleviate depression and anxiety. What sounds like it will be better for your mood, sitting there with your shoulder slumped, or walking around on purpose?
Fight Back Against Damage From Sitting: We all know that sitting is the new smoking. Movement is the cure for our sedentary ways.
Improved Quality of Life: higher levels of NEAT correlate with longer lives and better health. More movement keeps us from losing muscle as we age. Use it or lose it! So, use those muscles by moving around.
All right, Tim. You’ve convinced me. So, how do I get more NEAT?
Here are a few ideas. Remember, it’s especially important to make an effort in the winter and during the holiday season. That’s when we gain weight and get the most out of shape, so move more!
Set a step goal for the day and try to complete as many steps as you can before noon. Use your phone or smartwatch to keep track.
Get on the floor and play with your dog/ cat/ tiny human. They love this kind of attention, you love giving it to them, and all movement counts.
Start a game of Twister, tag, or hide-and-seek at the family gathering.
Challenge someone to a dance-off. The loser does dishes. Imagine how much fun you could have with it!
Park farther away from the door. If you park on the street, park a block over.
Add a few dance moves to your household cleaning.
Go for a walk after the big dinner.
Get a takeout coffee and meet your friends for a stroll around the neighborhood.
Don’t just sit there—get up! Move around the room and change locations and positions. If you’re on a phone call, listening to a podcast, or an audiobook, get up and move then too.
Is your gym close by? Then don’t drive, walk there…
When shopping, carry your groceries in a basket or bag instead of pushing a cart. Why are we seeing fully grown men put a tiny little bag in a cart and push it out to their car? They’ll do anything to avoid burning even one little extra bit of energy.
Always take the long way — no shortcuts! Walk around the back from the front, and vice versa.
Do I have to say it? TAKE THE STAIRS.
Is it cold, dark, and scary outside? Try an indoor walking routine.
Got any other ideas for how we can get more movement in a day? Leave them in the comments!
This is Time2Thrive, a newsletter that helps people find simple ways to get healthier, eat with intention, and care for their bodies.
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How Not to Get as Fat This Holiday Season: Part 1
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Here’s another little fact about moving your body. It is actually a good workout to walk outside when it is cold..I know sounds crazy. But our heart is actually working harder to keep our body warm and move at the same time. So bundle up and get outside for a 30 minutes walk and it will be like you walked for an hour.
I dunno about anyone else, but I fought 14 clowns by noon today 😆😆
All so true though. Even in cold ass winter. It's -18 today, so I drove to the hardware store to take my dog for a walk. I love stores that allow dogs!