Sitting is the new smoking

[Vose]

I have been carrying a pedometer on my belt at work. As silly as it may seem, it really motivates me to get up and walk around more. There have been days where I logged over 2 miles at my office job (lots of walking to and from other offices and even to other buildings on my campus), and some where I'm at like 1/10 of 1 mile. It's almost a daily challenge to get my number up - perhaps something you can try!

[GNTLGNT]

...I like sitting in my old smoke...course, if I'd quit buyin' stale stogies....

[kingricefan]

I work retail and am on my feet all day long, running around from one side of the store to the other. I am afraid to wear a pedometer because if I know how much I walk all day it will just make me feel more tired at the end of the day. I have put on about 20 pounds in the three years or so, but that tends to come with age. Also, your body tends to get used to all that walking so it tends to not burn those calories like it used to. I tried a sit down job for awhile but couldn't handle just sitting in front of a computer screen for 8 hours a day. There were some employees who brought in those big exercise balls and sat on them for their whole shifts. Maybe you could try one of those?

[Neesy]

I hadn't heard this. I'd be interested to see what you read.

I do know that sitting is dangerous though. I have a 90 minute drive to work, I sit for eight and a half hours, then a 90 minute drive home. I'm also so exhausted by the time I get home that I lay on the couch as soon as I walk in.

I do, though, try to walk around the office throughout the day. And I am fairly lucky in that often I have to pull samples from our huge warehouse throughout the day so that helps as well.

Shasta! You are going to have to squeeze in more exercise now once you get preggers - for the sake of the baby as well as yourself. This is from four weeks ago (the original post) so I did not know many people on SKMB yet. I am sending you best wishes and hope you are enjoying the "hard work" involved in making that baby!

[Neesy]

I have been carrying a pedometer on my belt at work. As silly as it may seem, it really motivates me to get up and walk around more. There have been days where I logged over 2 miles at my office job (lots of walking to and from other offices and even to other buildings on my campus), and some where I'm at like 1/10 of 1 mile. It's almost a daily challenge to get my number up - perhaps something you can try!

It does not sound silly at all. I bought a good pedometer that I like to wear to keep track of how active I am. On the days where I go to the gym I can have approximately 10000 steps. It makes you more aware of how much you're moving.

[PatInTheHat]

Oh how fantastic, I mean I do both, so now what, reckon I'll just die forever?...hmm, kewl.

[blunthead]

I'm hereby creating a new one, for my own benefit so I feel better and in order to create the ideal excuse: Eating is the New Dieting.

[Todash]

Here's one of many articles on the subject. In my opinion, too much of ANYTHING is bad for you, because standing all day has its drawbacks as well--just ask a waitress!
http://news.yahoo.com/too-much-sitting-kill-study-suggests-200408243.html

I know the standing desks are a trend, but any study I've seen as support for recommendation only say sitting is bad; I haven't seen conclusive proof that standing is better.

However, I DID come across a book (which I haven't yet read) recommended to me by a friend that was . Can't remember what it was at the moment. Anyway, the upshot of it is that you can significantly decrease the risks of sitting by getting in 30 minutes of exercise a day, spread over a few times. That is, three 10-minute sessions are, for the purpose of general health, actually better for you than one 30-minute session or a few hours a few times a week. I will have to see if I can find the book title to make sure I'm remembering correctly, but I think I am.

[Neesy]

I work retail and am on my feet all day long, running around from one side of the store to the other. I am afraid to wear a pedometer because if I know how much I walk all day it will just make me feel more tired at the end of the day. I have put on about 20 pounds in the three years or so, but that tends to come with age. Also, your body tends to get used to all that walking so it tends to not burn those calories like it used to. I tried a sit down job for awhile but couldn't handle just sitting in front of a computer screen for 8 hours a day. There were some employees who brought in those big exercise balls and sat on them for their whole shifts. Maybe you could try one of those?

I saw a girl sitting on one of those when I used to go to a chiropractor after having an auto accident (I got rear ended) plus it was covered by my health plan. She told me one of the patients was so dumb he playfully tried to kick it out from under her (what an idiot). I wish I had one of those treadmill things some people have rigged up for their computers which I have seen online. For now, I just think to myself (Oh what the heck - I can retire in five years!)

[Todash]

Okay, my last post was silly vague. The book is available here: http://www.amazon.com/First-20-Minutes-Surprising-Exercise/dp/1594630933, and I'm quoting this summary point from a really nice, thorough review (as you can see, I kinda got it wrong; quelle surprise). I'm definitely buying the book.

8) Sitting adversely affects the health of even the well-exercised. Even if you exercise one hour a day, it does not counteract the ill effects of sitting for the rest of the day. It's important to break up the long hours of sitting, even if it's for a two-minute stroll. This was probably the most shocking discovery for me, who felt very virtuous by exercising every morning before my one hour drive to work followed by 8 hours sitting on a chair!