“Take the Stairs”

I lost two pounds last week without “working out” or “dieting” (a word I very much dislike but that’s another post).  Yep, two pounds.  I even went out for Chinese, Baja Fresh, Subway, and El Pollo Loco throughout the week.  I don’t have an abnormally high metabolism or find some “secret”.  I have to work hard to keep the thighs in check and “secrets” are wishful thinking.  Hard work. That’s why I lost two pounds last week. The tenants moved out of our rental and we had to get it ready for the next tenants. So for a week I cleaned, painted, cleaned and painted.

Typically, I don’t eat out as much as I did but because I was so busy and I have family in town….who passes on a free lunch…I mean…I didn’t have the time to cook. To be entirely honest, I did decide to give up grains this month (except popcorn) so I did order my burrito in a bowl instead of a tortilla, and my chinese without rice, ect.  But the previous week was grain-free too and I maintained my weight with my regular work outs.  The big change last week was an overall increase in activity level.  So what does this mean?  It means I’m no longer going to roll my eyes when some silly article suggests parking far from the store, taking the stairs, or cleaning the house to burn extra calories.  I’ve read “take the stairs” a million times and every time I’ve smugly thought, “yeah right”.  Yep, the eye rolling is going to stop.  As it turns out the increase in activity had more effect on my overall calorie burn than my regular workouts.  In fact, I think I may actually start doing those things regularly because it appears an increase activity level really does make a difference.  Who knew?

Does this mean I’m going to throw out my regular workouts?  Ummm….no.  Normally, I live a “moderately” active lifestyle as a SAHM not a “very” or “extremely” active lifestyle like last week so I need to that extra calorie burn that comes from a good workout.  Plus I have learned I need to resistance training for my mental health (depression), to age well, to fight off disease, to help shape my body and for The Braxtons because vacuuming like a madwoman won’t change the shape of my behind.  Nevertheless, this experience has given me some extra incentive. I still may not like mopping floors, cleaning bathrooms, or dusting but I now see the real benefit of these mundane tasks.  In fact, I may finally paint our hallway, dust the fans, weed the garden, or (sigh) take the stairs.

xoxo
j