Monthly Archives: May 2011

Now that I am totally convinced that every little bit of movement is really important, I found myself asking “how can I move more in a day?”.

I am not naturally a fidgety, animated, high metabolism person.  You know the type I’m talking about, the girl friend who just can’t sit still and never seems to tire.  Yeah, not me.  I’m a mover, yes, I love to exercise and dance and hike but I also really enjoy laying still and vegging with a book or television.   While I know that there is value in rest, I’ve learned that I actually feel better when I am in motion most of the day; my appetite is more steady, I’m more energized, I’m more clear-headed, and I’m more productive.  All of these benefits, along with this article, has encouraged me to become more active in my day-to-day.

Here are some of the ways I am moving more

• Sitting on a ball at the desk.  Is a ball a little too treacherous or low-key for your office?  Check out these awesome ball chairs.
• Planting a garden.  Not only is planting and tending a garden very active but I often step outside during the day just the check on new growth and admire the greenery.  Even a little herb bed/container will encourage you to step outside more often.
• Cleaning more.  Seriously, I’ve been spending a few extra minutes a day on tidying up just to get my body moving a little more.  Sweeping the kitchen takes less than 2 minutes so even if I am short on time I can fit it in.
• Using the upstairs bathroom instead of the main floor one and sometimes going in the store entrance that is actually further away.  Both of these things add negligible time but valuable movement.
• Offering to get things for people, like going out of my way to open a door or bringing Tate a glass of water in the next room.
• Taking the stairs.  I’ve been a loyal stair-walker for as long as I remember and always will be.
• Dance party!  Sadly, I don’t do this enough!   Shocking, right?  But when I do it feels amazing!  And energizing, even if it’s just half a song.
• 10 minute workout dvd’s.  It’s really true, anyone can fit a 10 minute workout in and when I am done I usually feel warm and limber and motivated to keep moving.
• Wear comfortable clothes and shoes.  I wish I was a super stylish girl but the truth is that I am a little bit of a slob when it comes to dressing myself and comfort always trumps fashion.  The plus side to this is that my pants are usually loose enough that if we have a lull at the clinic I can get down and do 15!
• Bagging my own groceries.  And bag ’em fast! Yes, it’s not a lot of movement but it’s full body-reach, lift, push, pull, shift your feet, I promise it all counts!
• Returning the grocery cart to the store.  Bonus points for jogging back to the car!

Want a drug-free, none invasive, health cure?

Move more.

And I’m not talking about running marathons or jumping on the P90X bandwagon.  Fidget, sweep the floor more often, shift your weight as you stand and talk to someone.

My grandparents have always been ahead of the curve for health trends so it was no surprise to me when they sent me this article from the New York Times Magazine. The article just reiterates a philosophy that they’ve both intrinsically known and practiced for years; never stop moving.

The article, What’s The Most Unhealthful Thing You Do Every Day, delves into research proving that the key to decreasing risk of disease, weight, and illness is to simply stay in motion.

Well, yeah, of course, what’s new about this information, right?

What’s new is that the research proved that structured exercise is not as important as all the small movements we do-or don’t do-throughout the day.   Sitting relatively still, like while at your computer or in front of the television, causes your metabolism to immediately nose dive into a calorie burn of about 1 per minute.  Even scarier, inactivity messes with your ability to break down harmful fats which in turn drops your levels of good cholesterol.

Half-way through the article I was still feeling pretty cocky; “but I exercise everyday so a few hours at the computer and a few hours of television watching won’t really hurt me”.  But no.

“Being sedentary for nine hours a day at the office is bad for your health whether you go home and watch television afterward or hit the gym.  It is bad whether you are morbidly obese or marathon-runner thin.”  

Even more alarming, “each additional hour of television a person sat and watched per day, the risk of dying rose by 11 percent.”  YIKES!

Sure, exercising regularly puts me ahead of the curve in lots of ways but this article reminded me that the small bursts of activity count as much as the big ones.

I am grateful that I only sit at a desk three days a week but even that feels like too much.  The ball has helped tremendously, I fidget more, stand up more, and even occasionally throw in a few crunches. 😉  At home I try to break up my sedentary time by taking frequent stand-up breaks and fit in more activity by using the upstairs bathroom or taking a few extra minutes to clean the kitchen.

The article describes a calorie burn chart that showed a huge spike when the participant reached down to tie his shoe, once again demonstrating that every movement counts.

I’m off to clean the office, answer the phone standing up, and bounce on my ball.