Our last TOPS meeting was made special by a visit from Shannon Smale from TOPS. It was the first time she has visited us in person since the Pandemic began. Arriving on the early ferry, she had coffee at the Bakery, and toured the island before joining us at the Community Centre for our meeting.
Shannon talked to us about the various chapters of TOPS on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, the diverse natures of the groups, and how there is room for everyone at TOPS. She talked about the need for patience, and that though we might reach a certain weight goal, we receive help from the continued support of our members to maintain it. Sherry liked Shannon’s “emphasis on the fact that our TOPS goals are a journey and that our choices become behaviours and our behaviours become habits. And that we have the power to change our footprint at any time.”
“Everyone can exercise,” Shannon said. Now, we have explored the subject of exercise often and discovered typical ways as well as more surprising ways to burn calories. Looking back, I recalled an unusual exercise: “fidgeting.” It has become recognized as a serious tool for weight loss, self-regulation, anxiety, and stress relief, complete with modern-day products (fidget spinners, squishy plastic ‘stress balls’, beads), experts, and workout programs. Still, fidgeting has been with us forever, and is mostly just about bouncing a leg, tapping fingers on a table, twirling a pencil, pacing, twisting hair, doodling strenuously, chewing gum, shifting from one foot to the other, or bobbing your head.
For a scientific-sounding comment, listen to Harriet Dempsey-Jones, Postdoctoral Researcher in Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford. “Well, it turns out fidgeting while sitting or standing actually increases the amount of calories you burn by 29% and 38% respectively (as compared to lying still). Consequently, it can account for anywhere from 100 to 800 calories burnt off as heat energy per day.” And then there’s this. “Multiple studies have confirmed that fidgeting throughout the entire day can burn ten times more calories than just sitting still; one study from 2005 clocked the number at 350 calories per day, enough to lose 30 to 40 pounds in one year. It makes sense: constant motion, even while sitting, is a form of cardio.”
Besides fidgeting, we can burn 100 calories per hour while cleaning the house. Singing, however, burns around 136 calories per hour. Imagine if you cleaned and sang at the same time. However, sitting, doing nothing else, burns 80 calories per hour. We even burn around 50 calories an hour while we sleep. But if you hug for an hour, you can burn about 70 more calories, and kissing can burn 2 to 26 calories per minute, depending on how passionately you kiss. Then there’s dancing: personally, I’d like to cut in on Ginger and tap with Fred Astaire round the Ballroom to “Never Gonna Dance” for hours.
So really, is there any reason for not burning up those calories?
Join us at TOPS, where you’ll meet a group of kind, friendly, sometimes fidgety people. We meet every Wednesday morning at the Community Centre, from 9:00 to 10:00. We follow all the mandatory Covid protocols. TOPS is a low-cost, enjoyable, international self-help program that welcomes everyone. Check out our website at www.tops.org. (Your first visit is free.) If you want to join us, please call .
Submitted by Amber Harvey
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