How can I burn more calories without realising?

[IsTheRainEverComingBack]

So I’m getting fatter and fatter. BMI is nearly 30, I’m uncomfortable, miserable and annoyed. My diet isn’t that bad, minimal ‘treats’ mostly lots of plants, I’ve stopped drinking. The weight is not coming off.

The main reason is I burn hardly any calories. I work from home and have no kids, so it’s easy to not leave the house for days. 2500 steps is a good day. I used to go to the gym and do yoga but now it just seems overwelming. Deliberately exercising is hard to get motivated for, I like walking but waking round my concrete suburbia is a bit dreary.

I’d love your tips on how to get motivated or get moving in a way that feels like just a part of my day. If that’s even possible...

IsTheRain I have been eating lots of protein (meat and fish), salad and veg. I eat all meat and fish, so anything from tinned salmon and tuna to fillet steak. Porridge for breakfast with blueberries, or very low fat yoghurt and cherries. Occasional ryvita. Not much fruit. No dairy, just skimmed milk in tea and coffee. Occasional diet Coke. No sugar.

I don’t like eggs, but I think they would be a great thing if I did.

I wouldn't rely on your fitbit to tell you how many calories you're burning. It uses the idea (roughly) that walking a mile burns 100 calories when it's actually more like 50.

Far better to track your calories on MFP and work out manually how many calories you burn on an average day (bmr plus 50 cals per extra mile)

For example. I walk about 5 miles per day (250cals) and my bmr is 1600 cals. So I need to eat about 1350 (1850-500) cals a day to lose 1lb a week.

Eating less is key. I suspect you've been over--estimating your calorie burn and therefore overeating.

Bonnie/ milady

I ran 10.5km today which is around 9500 steps and it burned 700 cals, so I agree that that estimate of 900 cals is high. Plus consider the little steps you do around your house, while filling the dishwasher for example, compared with the long strides that get you out of breath when running or walking.

30 minutes of heart raising exercise every day is a good start. Put workout into YouTube and see what comes up, there’s so many on there. Or walk/jog/run?

A midday walk would do you good mentally and physically and but the sad truth is to lose weight you need to eat less.

Unless you start training for a marathon (or similar I. E. Intensive exercise several hours a week) calories burned are never going to be enough to make a difference. Walk for 30 mins, you've burned c. 120 calories which is approximately a banana or less than two digestives.

JeremyCorbynsBeard that’s interesting, thank you. I think I probably only need 1000-1200 calories, my TDEE is about 1600. It’s the age old ‘eat less, move more’ really. I think moving to work from home has really done me in. My diet IS still generally good as they go, but could still be too much. I’ve veen the same weight most of the year so it’s not going up, just not going down.

WellTidy thanks for sharing. I don’t eat meat but do eat fish (a bit) and like eggs.

I don't actually see walking as exercise and definitely not something that will help weight loss (unless it's a 12 mile hike, etc.) Surely walking is something we should all be doing anyway?

I do a shed load of exercise - cardio/HIIT/weights - any walking is just part of everyday life. To lose weight or at least maintain a current weight, you need to look at a low calorie diet or even better, low carbing and the weight will literally fall off.

Start playing pokemon Go. It'll give a purpose to walking, however dreary you feel your surroundings are.

Surely walking is something we should all be doing anyway?

And OP isn't doing any.

Getting your 10k steps in still consumes a few hundred extra calories over being completely sedentary. It also feels good to have got outside and done that walk.

Our bodies are designed to move.

Sitting for long periods is terrible for your physical and emotional health. You may not feel depressed, but lack of movement will make you unhappier and will cause loss of motivation - a vicious cycle. You MUST try to get out for 20 minutes each day to start with, you will feel better from the exercise, the sunlight, just being outside.

Yes I know I need to be walking. I’ve felt so crap physically this year it’s been a slog just getting through the day a lot of the time. I miss having the travel too and from an office (never thought I’d say that) I’m really conscious of not wanting to be still too long, I’m always up and down from my desk.

I’m sure you’re right about motivation cycle Spaniel this year has been tough the whole way through and whilst I’m definitely not depressed I’ve been very up and down and wanting comfort first of all. My body shows it.

Taking it easy and not going out much is only comfortable in the short term, as you've discovered.

Fitbits - and other fitness trackers - are not accurate. Don't depend on them to calculate calories burned, or anything else.

HIIT is excellent for CV fitness and something to work towards, but if you go straight to it now, after such a long sedentary period, it is likely that you will either a) get injured, which will prevent you from reaching your goal or becoming more active or b) just have a really unpleasant experience,
which will also put you off.

It's easiest to exercise if it is a habit. A habit is something you do so often, or have done for so long, that you don't even need to think about it. To create an exercise habit, arrange to day, walk for 10 minutes 3x a week. Probably easiest to get it done first thing in the morning, so you don't spend time thinking about it first. Get whatever you're going to wear out the night before, so you don't have to faff around on the day. Don't worry about speed or distance - that will come with time, and building the habit is your priority in the beginning. Just go.

Personally, I hate walking with no purpose, so I'd never do it. I'd also grudge "wasting" hours every week on something with relatively minor gains in terms of calorie burning/muscle creation.

But that's just the point - it's all highly personal and you have to find something you enjoy doing, so you can stick at it.

Strength training (with occasional HIIT cardio) changed my body beyond recognition and I love doing it. I started with Body Pump and Grit classes, if that helps.

Some of the attitudes on this thread are so unhealthy! Don't cut your calories to below 1000 a day, don't go to bed hungry! I think that counting calories exactly is also really bad for your mental health, it really doesnt help mine! Please don't do this op, I don't think you can class yourself as healthy if the only way you can maintain your weight is detrimental to your mental health, make yourself uncomfortable by going to bed hungry.

If you move more you will increase your calories burnt, yes it might not be masses but it's a start, if you increase your calories burnt logically you will end up in a calorie deficit. If you do no exercise then walking is a really good idea. It's also so much better for your body to keep it moving so even if you don't lose much weight you will be healthier and that's really why we should be losing weight anyway. Even if you only burn 50kcal a mile that's 200kcal for 4 miles, which is 2 half hour sessions, and that could take your daily calorie needs from say 1500-1700, combine that with a bit of dancing in the living room a bit of yoga and that's an extra 300 a day, or 2000 a week, which is a pound every 2 weeks, it's not fast weight loss no but it's easy to stick to and better long term. It can be a real

MN can be so black and white when it comes to health and fitness, when the reality is our body is not black and white. Weightloss is mostly diet yes but adding exercise in does help, it doesn't mean that we should just no exercise ffs!

I have changed job and I have to drive to work instead of walking which has meant that whilst I am eating the same as always I have gained weight, because i am burning less calories so now I am making sure I go for a walk in the evening. I do one exercise class a week and go swimming 2x a week. This is really simple to stick to, it's nothing crazy, t doesn't take much time out of my day and I am no longer gaining weight.

What about going for a walk at lunch time? Or try hiking at weekends type thing? Even just browsing the shops is moving!

Some of the attitudes on this thread are so unhealthy! Don't cut your calories to below 1000 a day

Erm excuse me, do you mind? I am not unhealthy I'm doing an excellent job of losing weight at 52 which is probably the absolute best thing I can do for my health.

If you actually work out the number of pounds overweight you are, across the number of years/months of adult life, you will quickly realise that the difference between fat and slim is something ridiculous like less than a biscuit a day.

That’s why exercise is the only way to keep slim long term, in tandem with an overall healthy diet, because it will increase your metabolism and BMR, not because the exercise itself burns X calories. It’s very easy to eat the calories burned from exercise and some, because the workout increases your appetite.

I can run 10km, and eat the calories I’ve just run off while grazing at the fridge deciding what I’m going to eat. But because I run every single day, my overall energy consumption (even while asleep or sedentary) is higher than someone who doesn’t.

I also work from home and the best thing I ever did for my physical and mental health was to get a rescue dog. I have a sighthound so he is happy to sleep while I am working, but I can't not go for walks and usually do at least 10,000 steps a day. I have discovered new places, talk to people I would never usually talk to and have lost 2 1/2 stone since getting him. And seeing the difference in my health motivated me to take extra steps to maintain it.

He is my best mate, someone to talk to when on my own all day, and provides unconditional love . Of course getting a dog is a big commitment and shouldn't be done lightly, (and I would beg you to consider rescue or at least research and find a responsible breeder) but after numerous attempts to lose weight and get healthy that is what worked for me.

Book expensive exercise classes like in spin studios. Then you don’t need motivation you HAVE to go.

Or reduce your calorie intake.

Or book a personal trainer for 3 sessions a week. Huge accountability so you won’t want to cancel or cheat.

Excercise makes a huge difference to weight. I started properly exercising 4 days a week and lost a stone in 6 months without really trying . I have never ever dieted in my life and changed nothing about the way I ate.

Work out your TDEE (there are calculators online). I think you’ll be surprised and see that 2000 calories is too many for you.

To lose weight, subtract 500 from your TDEE total, or continue eating the amount of calories it gives as your maintain amount and start excercising to burn those extra calories, but you’ll need to do more than just walking or yoga.

There are some really good workouts on YouTube that you could do at home.

Just want to say thanks all for your suggestions. I worked out my TDEE (about 1600), connected my Cronometer app to Fitbit and have been having about 1300 cals a day plus lots more walking so I’m using about 1800-2000 cals. I’ve also bought a much more sensitive digital scale and I’ve been weighing everything.

I’m now 4lb down in a week and feeling motivated!

Stand up

• get a standing desk
• If sitting, use a swiss ball at your desk rather than a chair
• In normal chairs, try not to let your spine tough the back of the chair
• when waiting for the kettle to boil, march on the spot
• stand on one leg when brushing teeth / washing up
• when on the phone, stand up
• when on the internet, stand on one leg

those will add to your muscle tone
and your calorie burn (but DO NOT eat more to compensate)

Small steps (excuse the pun).
Week 1: step away from your desk for 5 mins every hour and do something physical. That's it.

Do that and then come back here and see how you feel.

Well done! Great result. Do you feel better for it?