Sendentary Lifestyle is Worse than You Think
Many of the lifestyle and dietary problems the western world is faced with are because of a miserably sedentary lifestyle.
Unfortunately this is the direction north america is heading every day
The north american condition of doing almost no physical activity and eating an excess of calorie dense food is the reason so many people are overweight, chronically inflamed and dying prematurely from lifestyle disorders like CVD and diabetes.
Unless you have a highly active job and you live with very active people the proverbial deck is really stacked against you, and all of us.
All the fancy diet advice in the world is not going to compensate for this ‘obesogenic’ society. This is why we struggle with dieting, and force ourselves to go to the gym, and continually fall off the wagon and have to get back up again.
Before you even start thinking of messing around with macronutrient ratios, or reading about good and bad foods, maybe the first step is to start moving around more.
The common recommendations are also pathetically low. 30 mins of low intensity exercise (such as walking) 3-4 times per week was as little as people were being recommended for health improvements! This is more a statement of how sedentary people are and not about how much exercise we should be doing.
The sad part is many people can’t even get this little amount of exercise done on a regular basis.
A more realistic amount of activity is more along the line of 1-2 hours per day of mixed high and low intensity movement. That is only 7-14 hours of your entire week dedicated to movement…doesn’t sound like much, and for many people this commitment will be the difference between a shortened life with chronic complications of lifestyle disorders vs a longer vibrant life.
So before you even start thinking of tweaking your workout program for the exact ratio of sets and reps, or your diet for the exact ratio of macro nutrients and meal timing etc, the first step should be getting up to a real beneficial level of weekly activity.
If there was one habit worth developing the habit of daily movement would be it, and once you do this you’ll likely find that taking care of your diet will also become a much easier challenge to overcome.
John
7 Responses to “Sendentary Lifestyle is Worse than You Think”
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March 28th, 2011 at 7:35 pm
Well said, but how are you going to convince those people to start?
I tried many times and all I get back is screaming at me!!!
I noticed that people are not motivated anymore and don’t care how they look and blame anything else the eating.
March 28th, 2011 at 8:34 pm
I have no intention of convincing them to start. I can only guide people who are willing to listen and want to change.
The sad reality is there are many more people that will never change than those who will…my focus is on the few who have the will and effort to change and just need to be pointed in the right direction.
It’s a waste of time to speak to those who were never intending to listen.
March 28th, 2011 at 9:15 pm
yep, you right, those that don’t listen are not worth spending time with for any explanations or advices? Sometimes I believe that I can convince them , so they can get in shape and become healthy, but mostly i fail and become their enemy
April 3rd, 2011 at 11:37 am
Sadly, most people don’t want to change and improve the way they look.
April 3rd, 2011 at 1:36 pm
Hey John, I wanted to ask you a question. If someone else can answer it for me that’s fine too. Me and my girlfriend want to break out of our unhealthy lifestyle. I used to exercise before I met her and it worked for me I just got off track. She on the other hand hasn’t much. So now for the question.
Is there any big difference between mens and womens bodies when it comes to calories? I know how to track mine roughly so I can burn more than I consume but I’m wondering if its harder for her. For example is her calories per day much lower than mine? I’m basically talking about BMI. I know it doesn’t matter much but I’ve never helped a woman before. Thanks a lot guys.
April 4th, 2011 at 10:09 am
Justin,
If she is significantly shorter than you then yes her BMR will be lower than yours. Her metabolic rate will be related to her lean body mass which is directly related to her height.
Shorter people have less lean body mass and require less calories.
October 31st, 2011 at 12:29 pm
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