An important reason I find it easy to keep my weight down is that the way I eat my food is different from those who put weight on it. I’ve talked about setting aside specific time to eat and doing nothing else. That’s one way, but lots of people do that, and I’m not talking about eating upside down either if you thought it would be silly :-).
What I am talking about is, of course, something simple that anyone can do, but the general advice from experts, until recently, is not to do it. They were adamant that it wouldn’t have much impact on weight loss. Have you guessed what it is yet?
The secret
Moving. Yep, it’s as simple as that. Walking, dancing, playing—anything that gets you physically active. Just try and move any chance you get. An obvious idea is to move while you eat, instead of sitting down to eat. Stand or, better, move around.
There are a few gotches, though, so I’ll go through a little of what I have found in my years of moving while eating. I do it all the time, but I’ve spent time learning how to do it right.
I often move while I eat. Sacrilege I know but because I know sports science and know why it can be bad for you I also know how to make it work and get around the bad aspects so it won’t hurt you.
Burn calories while you consume them
The basic advantage of eating while moving when considering weight loss is relatively obvious. If you burn calories while you consume them, then you’re obviously having a dent in your energy balance. However, this is no use if it is the only time you move or you move less at other times of the day as a result of moving while eating. The idea is just about increasing the opportunities in your day to burn calories. Make this effortless, and the weight will simply come off. Sounds too simple to work, but it does for me, so why won’t it for you?
Over the years I’ve found so many situations where this works perfectly, complementing my life and even making me appreciate my food more instead of less.
I’ve been doing this for years without problems so I feel ready to share. I just need to explain why it can be bad for you so you can learn how to do it without problems too.
There are a number of reasons why eating on the move could be a problem. Firstly you should know the basics of what eating on the move means to me.
Health and Safety
I only eat while moving slowly and where it won’t be a safety hazard. As silly as it sounds its important to make this point.
Normal rules apply. Use common sense. If I’m doing something potentially dangerous like DIY I don’t technically eat and work at the same time. For example, I will do some drilling, stop, put the drill down, have a nibble or a drink, put the food or drink down and resume drilling.
I’m pretty safety conscious and I know what I am like when I am busy and follow someone elses instructions I can easily misinterpret things so I feel it’s worth being pretty clear.
What situations?
The main situations I eat while moving are while doing housework, particularly:
- washing up,
- loading the dishwasher and washing machine
- cooking.
Though not while doing things where my hands won’t be clean, like
- hoovering
- cleaning
I only do certain types of activities when I eat and generally, it’s stuff that:
- has low intensity
- doesn’t require much thought
Enjoy the experience
That means I can focus most of my attention on my meal and thus fulfil the principle I laid out of setting aside time specifically for eating so you can enjoy the experience.
Kick back
These mundane chores are now a chance for me to kick back and do something I enjoy. My senses tune into the food, not the boring task at hand. At the same time I get something done that needs to be done.
Multitask: Don’t add work more to your busy day
This fulfils the next principle of not adding even more work to your day. Quite the opposite. You have now combined tasks, eating, and chores and burned calories in the process, achieving three tasks for the price of one.
Multitasking. That’s how I roll and why it works. Over time I have found more and more situations where this works and so my life has become easier and easier. Weight loss and the strengthening act of moving is built more and more into my day.
Putting it to work
Thanks for popping by. I hope this helps and please let me know what you do with this information. These points have freed up my life a lot. I just get stuff done and have more time for fun yet I’m much more active throughout the day. Though it’s taken time to figure out how to apply the ideas. Absolutely get in touch if you want to know more.
Want more?
This is the first in a series of posts on weight loss. If you like this, then check out the other articles listed below.
- why can eating while moving be bad for you?
- find out how I have learnt to deal with stomach pains from dehydration
- how this knowledge helps me enjoy everyday activities more.