I Tried Exercise Snacking for 30 Days- Here’s What Happened
I recently heard about exercise snacking on a podcast, and I’m a little embarrassed to say that my first thought was, “I like snacks”. It’s like when your spouse opens a bag of chips and all of the sudden you perk up instantly to ask for some chips too.
Come to find out, exercise snacking is not what I thought it was. Experts were not giving us the ok to stuff our faces with chips while we walked on the treadmill…. sad.
Instead, they are recommending that we perform small bursts of high intensity exercise periodically throughout the day (How to Work, 2023). Taking a moment or two to jump up and jog in place can help us achieve the 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week recommended by the American Heart Association (AHA Recommendations, n.d.)
I know it can sometimes be hard to squeeze 30 consecutive minutes out of each day to exercise. Following the exercise snacking method will help you achieve your health goals and give you the motivation to not give up. I tried it, and I’m here to report my results!
5:30 AM
My alarm goes off….. nooooo. My dog is in my face, time to go potty. I pull myself out of bed, let the dog out, weigh myself, drink a glass of water, brush my teeth, and head to the kitchen for my morning tea.
This is where my routine began to change. This day, as I was waiting for my tea to steep, I decided I had a good opportunity to work on my goal, exercise snacking. I didn’t want to, not gonna lie. I was stiff and tired, and hadn’t had any caffeine yet. But I took a deep breath and thought about what I wanted the end goal to be and just started.
Right in front of my hot water and half steeped tea, I did jumping jacks. Slow at first…. the dog was really confused… but then as I limbered up, I went faster. One minute went by and I thought, I’m feeling pretty good, let’s go for two.
After two minutes, I was breathing heavy, I could feel my heart beating, and I felt really loose and limber. Honestly, I didn’t even feel like I needed the caffeine. However, I still drank my tea, waste not right?
7:30 AM
I just arrived to work. I’m logging into my computer and notice that my 30 minute commute has kind of made me tired again. Cool…. another great opportunity to work towards my goal. Again, I’m not really feeling it at this moment, but I have a goal…
My computer usually takes me a little over a minute to start up, so I start doing squats. Fifteen squats in, I enter the computer PIN, 15 squats, I enter my username and password, 20 squats, I log into our patient charting system, 30 squats, and I can finally access our schedule for the day.
Now, my coworkers and I are like family. And I’m a little on the nutty side anyway, so this behavior really isn’t startling to anyone. They ask and I explain what I am doing, I receive some nods of approval and everyone goes on about their day.
I get my first patient, and I am noticeably more cheery during our initial interactions. Hmm… I’m starting to notice a pattern.
Day 1
The rest of the day I am more enthusiastic about looking for opportunities to exercise and actually performing the exercise. I came to realize that there is a lot of waiting around in my particular job where I can squeeze in these 1-2 minute exercise snacks.
I’m a cardiac stress testing nurse. Anytime my patient would be getting their nuclear scan or echo images done, I’m jogging in place. Waiting on the doc to read a test? Better do some pushups. Right before I sat down for lunch, I was back to the jumping jacks. Afternoon sleepies? Time to do the squats again.
When I arrived back home that evening after my 30 minute commute, I jogged in place again. During dinner, in between stirring the food, I was doing push ups.
By the time I laid my head down that night, I felt so accomplished and fulfilled. I felt like I had completed everything I wanted to do that day. I think it only took me 5 mins before I was OUT! Slept great that night.
Week 1
Moment of honesty here, I definitely did not want to start my day off with jumping jacks. I did it, but I was grumpy doing it. Immediately after though, I felt better and more ready to take on the day.
I realized I talked more with my patients, not just questions I’m required to ask them, but about their own lives, small talk stuff. And I found I genuinely wanted to know about them too.
I was more involved in our daily huddle meetings. I was happier and joked around more with my coworkers. I found myself bouncing around the department saying hi and good morning/afternoon to everyone I passed. Overall, I felt true excitement and happiness to be at work.
The Weekend
No, not the musical artist. The perfect excuse to fall off the exercise snacking bandwagon.
This was the true test. My weekends are usually a lot less structured than my week. I purposefully did not start my days off with an exercise snack.
I did, however, get some snacks in while cooking my meals, playing with the dog, during TV commercials, and whenever I was waiting for my spouse to get his stuff in order anytime we left the house.
I definitely did not exercise snack during the weekend as much as during the week, but I also had more time during the weekend to get a full workout in.
I still felt successful and proud of my activity during my days off. Let’s go week two!!!
Week 2
Continuing much of the same pattern I had established in week one, I noticed I was mentally more present. By that, I mean I kept up with conversations more, I wasn’t saying “what” as often, and I was quicker to respond to questions.
Also by the end of the week, I realized my problem solving skills enhanced. Prior to starting exercise snacking, I would almost immediately get a feeling of frustration and being overwhelmed when a problem would arise. “What else could go wrong today?” You know we’ve all had those thoughts.
Not this week though. Anytime a coworker needed help or had an issue, I felt calm and was able to think through the situation clearly. Problems were easier to solve and my day could move on!
Week 3
More of the same! Great sleep quality, better mental focus, and overall happier! These benefits only continued to enhance this week, but something new that I didn’t quite expect to happen, happened.
I lost a little bit of weight. I wasn’t necessarily trying to lose weight, but if you increase your activity and keep the same caloric intake, weight loss tends to happen.
Along with increasing my activity, I did realize that I accidentally decreased my snacking and liquid calories as well. Before I started exercise snacking, I would use literal snacks and “fancy coffee” to keep me awake throughout the day.
Fancy coffee is how I describe creamer and sugar with a little bit of coffee. I can’t drink straight coffee…. yet anyway…
So yeah, week 3 and there was a little bit of weight loss, sweet!
Week 4
More energy! By this point in the experiment it was easier to get out of bed, go to work, and still come home feeling energized. Four weeks ago I felt like I needed a nap after work every day, but not now!
Not gonna lie, I was a little annoying to my husband. Mostly because I was up and moving, picking up the house, etc, while he was still trying to wake up. (He works nights and wakes up when I get home from work.) I’ll still count that as a benefit– mild annoyance of spouse ☺️.
Conclusion
DO IT! Don’t think about it, just do it. I tried exercise snacking thinking it was gonna be pointless, but I was so totally wrong.
I noticed the benefits DAY ONE! And those benefits only escalated and multiplied throughout my trial period. Better mood, increased flexibility, enhanced problem solving, more energy, weight loss, and improved mental focus are all waiting to be unlocked when you start your exercise snacking journey.
CONS: you may look silly. Wherever you are performing your exercise snacks, just be mindful people will look at you funny and may ask questions. I am typically not afraid to be weird in front of my family and coworkers, but in public…… I don’t really like to draw attention to myself. So just keep that in mind!
Overall, worth it and I will continue to do my little exercise snacks. Good luck on your wellness journey! Till next time..
Disclaimer: The health and wellness advice provided on this platform is for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the guidance of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read here.
References listed in order of appearance:
How To Work ‘Exercise Snacks’ Into Your Day. (2023). Retrieved from: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/exercise-snacks
American Heart Association Recommendations for Physical Activity in Adults and Kids. (n.d.) Retrieved from: https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/fitness/fitness-basics/aha-recs-for-physical-activity-in-adults
