Interesting self-discovery: So I got a Fitbit and was confused by how much it reported I was continuously walking. I actually thought it was broken for 2 months, until I finally figured out what was going on.
It turns out I pace constantly. And 80%+ of my daily physical activity comes from this single habit!
I guess I was vaguely aware that I did this. But I didn’t realize how significant it was — or that other people don’t regularly pace 5 miles a day too.
Bonus: I do this so absentmindedly that I have the experience of “not working out” at all.
It may not work for everyone, but if you want to “eat anything without having to workout”, this may be the trick.
It seems simple in retrospect, but this is a good candidate for the “secret” that many of us who can pull this kind of thing off weren’t able to tell you about before the age of quantified-self.
See on www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
6 Responses to “How to eat whatever you want without working out”
December 1
Laura GoossensThat’s funny! I get motion sick when I pace! Like back and forth down the halls a few times and it feels worse than too much tequila
December 1
Erin DevereuxThis is great and I’ll be trying this!
December 2
Josh MorrissI either pace or like to have a soccer ball at foot whenever I’m on the phone.
December 2
Mali BenvenuttiI guess pacing back and forth is good for you, even if it drives other people crazy;)
December 2
Matt SimpsonDoes the fitbit or something similar collect data on how fidgety you are? I think I’m in the same boat as you, though I also notice myself compulsively bouncing my leg or something similar in many situations – usually when I’m essentially a hostage, such as in class. I wonder how much that contributes to total physical activity.
December 2
Lucas ZamprognoAccording to Wolfram Alpha walking 5 miles per day would burn 385 calories (for an average weight male), so that would be around one fairly high calorie muffin burned per day. Seems pretty decent actually.