Step up your fitness regime and enjoy better health
By Dr. Dave Hepburn
Every morning I am forced to walk my dog, who wakes me up at the crack of dawn by placing a wet nose on any part of my anatomy that happens to be extending over the edge of the bed. Should I happen to be in dreamland, protecting my rhinoceros farm against a flock of savage Beanie Babies while wearing only golf cleats, her well-placed snout will cause me to bolt straight up in bed, frightening off both Beanies and rhinos. This seems to please her immensely judging by the dance of joy she performs before dragging me out for her walkies.
We plod along to the park where I greet other drowsy dog owners with a groggy hello and a quick sniff. The dogs greet each other as well. But as I reach my house again, I at least appreciate that I have already undertaken a third of the 10,000 steps I need to take every day.
Being a doctor is a sedentary job. I have a 50-year-old friend who has been a letter carrier for threescore years and has been trim and slim as a result of his active job of losing mail and squirting mace at rottweilers.
But he retired last year and lo and behold, much to my sedentary pleasure, a wee pot has formed just above his belt line. I am overjoyed.
Due to the car, computer and cable, we have become a super-sized sedentary society. I asked several patients to guesstimate the number of steps they took in a day based on standards I gave them. Then they used a pedometer and were shocked to know how sedentary their lives really were. Ten thousand steps (roughly five miles) is the equivalent of 50 pounds a year of calorie burn. Many websites can be found under "10,000 steps" to introduce you to how to take these steps. Of course if you need a website to learn how to walk, then apparently you might need the 12 steps site first.
A recent study from the hold-the-mayo clinic found that obese folks (BMI>33) spent an average of two hours a day longer sitting than their leaner counterparts. Though both groups were found to lie down for the same amount of time, obese people sat for an average of 9.5 hours a day, expending 350 fewer calories! That adds up to 36 pounds a year.
Our routine energy expenditure is known as Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis or NEAT. It describes how active we are when we're not exercising. Those with low NEAT often complain of having "low metabolism" when in fact they just feel a need to spend more time sitting. Those with higher NEAT may actually have a difference in their brain chemicals that requires them to sit less.
So to avoid being labeled sedentary, take 10,000 steps every day in ADDITION to your exercise program and sit less than 7.5 hours. Add up the difference and you will lose 86 pounds per year and therefore disappear altogether in three years. If you need help getting started, you can borrow my rhinoceros.
Every morning I am forced to walk my dog, who wakes me up at the crack of dawn by placing a wet nose on any part of my anatomy that happens to be extending over the edge of the bed. Should I happen to be in dreamland, protecting my rhinoceros farm against a flock of savage Beanie Babies while wearing only golf cleats, her well-placed snout will cause me to bolt straight up in bed, frightening off both Beanies and rhinos. This seems to please her immensely judging by the dance of joy she performs before dragging me out for her walkies.
We plod along to the park where I greet other drowsy dog owners with a groggy hello and a quick sniff. The dogs greet each other as well. But as I reach my house again, I at least appreciate that I have already undertaken a third of the 10,000 steps I need to take every day.
Being a doctor is a sedentary job. I have a 50-year-old friend who has been a letter carrier for threescore years and has been trim and slim as a result of his active job of losing mail and squirting mace at rottweilers.
But he retired last year and lo and behold, much to my sedentary pleasure, a wee pot has formed just above his belt line. I am overjoyed.
Due to the car, computer and cable, we have become a super-sized sedentary society. I asked several patients to guesstimate the number of steps they took in a day based on standards I gave them. Then they used a pedometer and were shocked to know how sedentary their lives really were. Ten thousand steps (roughly five miles) is the equivalent of 50 pounds a year of calorie burn. Many websites can be found under "10,000 steps" to introduce you to how to take these steps. Of course if you need a website to learn how to walk, then apparently you might need the 12 steps site first.
A recent study from the hold-the-mayo clinic found that obese folks (BMI>33) spent an average of two hours a day longer sitting than their leaner counterparts. Though both groups were found to lie down for the same amount of time, obese people sat for an average of 9.5 hours a day, expending 350 fewer calories! That adds up to 36 pounds a year.
Our routine energy expenditure is known as Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis or NEAT. It describes how active we are when we're not exercising. Those with low NEAT often complain of having "low metabolism" when in fact they just feel a need to spend more time sitting. Those with higher NEAT may actually have a difference in their brain chemicals that requires them to sit less.
So to avoid being labeled sedentary, take 10,000 steps every day in ADDITION to your exercise program and sit less than 7.5 hours. Add up the difference and you will lose 86 pounds per year and therefore disappear altogether in three years. If you need help getting started, you can borrow my rhinoceros.
posted by Lankadata at 12:44 AM
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