Is sitting all day cutting your life short?

by Paul Kindzia in Happiness, Health, Longevity

October 30, 2018

I learned a few years ago the importance of getting up and moving around during the day.

I had been an accounting and finance junkie for a few decades at this point.  What that meant for me was spending hours and hours (often straight with no breaks) in a chair staring at computer screens or reading.

I had to learn the hard way that sitting endlessly is horrible for your health in more ways than one;

• Slow metabolism
• Bad posture
• Lack of blood flow
• Low back pain
• Neck and shoulder pain
• Tight hips
• Poor leg circulation
• Muscle degeneration

Medical science and research have now concluded that prolonged sitting increases your risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, dementia, certain cancers, deep vein thrombosis and more.

It was time to break this BAD HABIT that was decades in the making.  I had to stop sitting so much and get up and move. So, I set out a few years ago (2014) to walk 10,000 steps a day (before that was the “cool thing to do.”)  To this day I still get in at least 10,000 steps every single day, unless I am so sick that I physically cannot get out of the bed.

I also held myself accountable.  I purchased a Garmin VivoActive Fitness watch.  I uploaded my actual data for sleep, steps and other activities daily.  No cheating.  I averaged about 11,075 steps per day.

I had to do something if I wanted to prolong my life.  I had to take action and change my ways.  That was back in 2014 that I committed myself.

One of the best things about these tracking statistics is that it is like a best friend that keeps you committed to your goal.  I’ve walked over 16.5 million steps which adds up to over 7,568 miles since I started this goal.  11,075 steps a day, every day starts to add up.  That’s over 310,000 steps a month and over 4 million a year.

Can you imagine what this will add up to over decades?  I’m anxious to find out.

That’s a lot of extra calories that I’ve burned.  I’ve added a lot of years to my body.   I am grateful I changed my ways.  Maybe you will too.

But it is not always easy.  Sometimes it’s raining outside, or cold, or quite honestly I just don’t feel like doing it. But I do it anyway.  I’ve had the benefit of using an indoor treadmill which is particularly helpful during spells of bad weather or killing two birds with one stone.  I could do my business reading in the morning or at lunch while walking and getting the blood moving. Double dip and multitask on items like this.  It is so efficient and helpful as we are all short on time and long on goals. When my wife is at her Mom’s and it is snowing she has been known to walk 1000 steps in the house every hour just walking from room to room, combined with a little running in place.

A few easy ways to get in extra steps and movement throughout the day include:

• Park your car further away from the store entrance
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator
• Walk around the house while brushing your teeth
• Walk around the house while you are on the phone
• Walk an extra lap around the grocery store or mall
• Set an alarm on your phone to take a short walk every hour even if it is just around the house
• Take a short walk after dinner
• Take your dog for a walk (it is good for both of you)

All of these little things turn into big things and stack up.  Getting your sleep, drinking enough water, eating vegetables and organic fruits, exercising, eliminating stress and anxiety.  It all adds up over the years.

This is a list of my basic Health Principles:

1. Eat healthy (fruits, vegetables and high quality protein– lay off processed and manufactured foods)
2. Exercise – minimum 30 minutes a day. Be active.
3. Adequate Sleep
4. Reduce stress (work to eliminate things that lead to stress and anxiety – toxic people, relationships, money woes)
5. Be cautious of pharmaceutical drugs as they all have side effects. Do what you can to “not need” man-made health drugs.
6. Avoid recreational drugs and chemicals
7. No Smoking – yeah right – don’t even think about it.

Start with something small and specific and then build from there.  Maybe it’s walking every day like I did.  Maybe it’s something different.

If you would like to read more on what sitting too long does to your body, here is a great resource.  http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2015/05/08/sitting-too-long.aspx

Good habits lead to good behaviors. Good behaviors lead to good decisions. Good decisions lead to a good life. Live by principles and choose wisely.