Fidgeting can Help You Lose Weight

A recent study by the Mayo Clinic has shown that fidgeting can help you lose weight and stay lean. Researchers selected 10 lean men and women and 10 slightly obese people who self described themselves as couch potatoes. They had both groups wear underwear with motion sensors built in and measured their movements and fidgeting. They found that the lean people spent 2 extra hours a day on their feet and burned an additional 350 calories a day, which would be 36 pounds of weight loss a year.

The researchers were able to determine that people have a genetic predisposition to fidget and move or to be sedentary. While I believe that is true that we a genetically more or less likely to fidget, I do think we have control over our movement.

I am already a pretty active person, I work out almost every day and try to walk as much as I can during the day. When I read this study I decided to try to use fidgeting to stay as lean as possible. I have found the best way to fidget while at work is to either tap your feet or bounce your legs while you are at your desk at work (but not in meetings, you don’t want to be that weird person). I spend about 4 hours a day sitting in my desk and if I spend that entire time tapping my feet, I will probably burn an extra 400 or so calories a day.

I have been experimenting with this for the past week or so and to be honest at first I often forgot to tap my feet when I got back to my desk. My solution was to listen to music. I turned on Pandora and it became really easy to just keep tapping my feet. I have no scientific way of measuring the impact of me adopting this fidgeting program but I do believe this it is making a difference. If you rarely have the time to get to the gym or are trying to accelerate your weight loss give fidgeting for weight loss a try.

Source
http://fitnesswayne.com/2013/01/17/fidgeting-can-help-you-lose-weight/