Manic Monday ~ Moving for Metabolism

There once was a time when I thought that those little "extra" steps in my daily routine really didn't matter. I mean, come on..... park at the far end of the grocery store parking lot and burn an extra 25 calories? Really? Or, how about walking the long way to your office room....an extra 15 calories? And then pop a piece of gum into your mouth and it's a wash! Well....honestly, it really DOES matter. When I was in deep with my career I was promoted to our fitness club's top position as the club director. With this wonderful job came a ton of office time, not to mention a 55-70 hour work week. My desk was piled with daily membership reports, worker schedules, exercise and personal training department needs, and a budget. I had complete access to the gym. Every piece of machine and exercise class was at my fingertips. But, just as I would get ready to hop on a treadmill or lift a weight.....I would get approached by a sweet member (or staff). It became predictable. There was a stretch of time that my exercise sessions were very limited. My eating plan has always been pretty much the same. I eat every 2-3 hours. My mini meals and snacks include high protein or healthy fat and a clean carbohydrate. This has been a part of my life for over a decade. So eating hasn't changed much at all for me. But, I had to do something! Changes began to happen as I began to assume more time out of my office chair and more time walking around our facility. I began to have more of a "hands on" approach by helping out our idling Personal Training department. I decided to run some programs myself which pushed me out of my seat. By the end of the quarter I went from being at my desk 75-80% of the time to being at my desk for only 50-60% of the time. The simple small change of moving more actually reflected my scale as well. I lost 9 extra pounds in three months by only changing my activity level during WORK. Maybe work won't allow for you to increase your activity level, however .....home is a great place to elevate your daily activity. I know it sounds crazy (maybe not), but cleaning up my house is a DAILY event. I have two boys ...(one and four years) at home while the rest of the older kids are at school. Let me tell you, it's work! It's pure JOY...and work! Those brave, free spirited boys explore every ounce of our house. Dumping cereal and crushing it like a T-Rex is an often occurrence. Some days it's unraveling toilet paper, perhaps even filling the toilet will globs of it. You get my point. Amongst all of the other daily "to-dos" of running the kids to school, laundry, food prep, dishes, homework, kids activities, baths, and running a side business, the day goes by super fast. I have to say I'm at the equivalent of my "office chair" only 10% of the work day....and it's when I'm sitting in the driver's seat taking and picking the kids up from school. My point with this, is that movement counts! Every motion, every action....it all adds up and it matters! Knowing this really gives a positive perspective on keeping active. Not just with exercise sessions, but with daily activities. I really don't mind cleaning my house or chasing after my kids. I have even found that walking around the gym or ball diamond while my kids practice allows me to watch my kids AND get moving. Think about all of these little "extras": park at the far end of a parking lot (25 cal), extra cleaning for 45 minutes (250 cal), substituting watching an evening tv show for a project that requires a little elbow grease (150 cal), walk around your neighborhood or kids sport practice location for 20 minutes (150 cal). The total is about 550-575 extra calories expended. Let's say you did this just 5 days a week. You burned an extra 2,750-2,875 calories!! In one month, you will lose approximately 3-3.5lbs!!!! Moving increases your metabolism for the time you are in motion. Get a moving metabolism. A few changes will offer good results. Keep it up, and in 2-3 months you will see and feel the difference!! So enjoy cleaning that house! (; Move, move, move.......... And have a GREAT week doing it!! Rachel Zimmerman, Certified Personal Trainer and Life Coach ACE/NSCA Wife, Mother, and Friend