5/4 Friday Day 4 SLBC: Make Your Plan
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themedalist
Posts: 3,215 Member
Theme: Create Your Sit Less Plan
Today's Challenge: Over the last few days we've looked at how bad sitting disease is for our health and we've explored how habits work. We've used the components of habits to create our "One Things" -- a strategy for sitting less that we will prioritize over the rest of Boot Camp. Today's challenge is to take one additional step and set a goal and make a plan for sitting less and moving more.
What's the advantage of doing this? Because when we set a goal and create a plan for something and we formalize our plan by writing it down, we are stating our intention to follow through and act on it. Writing down our goals engages our brain in ways that just thinking about our goals does not. Writing down our sit-less goals makes it more likely that we'll succeed in moving more. Just as having a goal of taking thousands of steps a day nudges us to take more steps, setting a specific daily goal for sitting less makes it more likely that we'll get up out of that chair.
So let's create our own sit-less plans. Using the input form on this page:
http://www.quittingthesitting.org/act-now.html
specify your top priority for sitting less (your “One Thing”) and your activity goal. Will you be going for the bronze, silver, or gold level of activity? Or maybe the platinum? Please fill out and submit the form.
This is our final “ramp up” challenge. Starting tomorrow, the daily challenges will give you a chance to “test drive” strategies and ideas for sitting less. As we go through the next few weeks, please continue to practice your “One Thing”. The daily challenges are intended to complement your chosen sit-less action.
Got a few extra minutes? How about a short walk today?
Supplemental Readings:
Why Writing Down Your Goals Really Does Work
https://www.lifehack.org/385087/heres-why-writing-down-your-goals-really-does-work
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Done.
Today I will use my elliptical and work on my yard. Walk to the mailbox and spend some time at the pool. Have a great weekend.5 -
I’m committing to the Bronze level. I know I can find ways to reduce my sitting further by 30 minutes a day.
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prgirl39mfp wrote: »Done.
Today I will use my elliptical and work on my yard. Walk to the mailbox and spend some time at the pool. Have a great weekend.
Sounds like a great and active day, @prgirl39mfp!3 -
I've committed to the Bronze level. I will get up and move at the commercial breaks, and do repetitions of the basement stairs.4
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This is a terrific article on the power of writing down our goals and plans. Writing them down makes it much more likely we achieve them:
Why Writing Down Your Goals Really Does Work
https://www.lifehack.org/385087/heres-why-writing-down-your-goals-really-does-work4 -
pizzafruit wrote: »I've committed to the Bronze level. I will get up and move at the commercial breaks, and do repetitions of the basement stairs.
A terrific plan of action, @puzzafruit! Go you!1 -
I signed up for the Gold! I thought about going for the Platinum, but I don't want to push myself, too much. But with amount of moving I have been doing lately, the Gold is definitely a reasonable goal.4
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MmamabearR wrote: »I signed up for the Gold! I thought about going for the Platinum, but I don't want to push myself, too much. But with amount of moving I have been doing lately, the Gold is definitely a reasonable goal.
Excellent goal, @MmamabearR! When we try to change a lot of things at once and try to implement a lot of sit-less actions all at once, we diminish our chances for success. It’s too many changes at the same time. New habits need time and focus. That’s why I encourage a “One Thing” at a time strategy.
Similarly, shooting for a Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum goal for sitting less that isn’t realistic and doesn’t reflect your current level of activity won’t lead to success. If you try to go from sitting all the time to hardly ever sitting, your body will hurt and rebel and you’ll likely get discouraged and give up. Ease into moving more.
My hope is that Boot Camp is just the beginning. That after you make your one thing a habit, you’ll add another thing, and another thing, and another thing…
Let’s not rush the process. There’s no need. Eyes on the prize!3 -
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Awesome words, @themedalist, thank you for that.
Unless I missed it somewhere, how do we know how many minutes we have spent not sitting? I'm trying to keep track of all the time I deliberately get up to move from my desk and so far I'm up to 36 mins. My fitness tracker says I've been active for 1 hr and 18 mins, but it starts counting the moment I get up in the morning. I don't like to count what I consider necessary moving because I have move anyway to get ready, get my son ready, fix breakfast, etc. When I get to work is when I really have focus on sitting less. What is the best practice for counting our minutes?2 -
I blew it already, forgot all about it until today! BUT, I've still been very active! lol Just got home from a 9.2 mile hike through the back woods of FL... filled out the form and officially joined the program. Have my post-its ready and will post my reminders as soon as I post this message. But then I have to get outside and get some more yard work done! Days are never an activity problem for me, it's nights and weekends when I sit WAY too much.
So those post-its should be a big help with that. I also placed a clock on the wall above my computer screen, to help me when I'm gaming... you can't check the clock on the computer when you're in-game.
OH... and I committed to bronze, 30 extra non-sitting minutes would be FANTASTIC to me!5 -
I am going for the Silver! I will add additional walking to my daily routine. In fact I think I may get up early and go for a long walk. Now that the weather is nice I may just take my coffee and go for a walk in our neighborhood to start my day.3
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MmamabearR wrote: »Awesome words, @themedalist, thank you for that.
Unless I missed it somewhere, how do we know how many minutes we have spent not sitting? I'm trying to keep track of all the time I deliberately get up to move from my desk and so far I'm up to 36 mins. My fitness tracker says I've been active for 1 hr and 18 mins, but it starts counting the moment I get up in the morning. I don't like to count what I consider necessary moving because I have move anyway to get ready, get my son ready, fix breakfast, etc. When I get to work is when I really have focus on sitting less. What is the best practice for counting our minutes?
Good question, @MmamabearR. I wish I had a better answer.
There is no great way that I know of to track the minutes that you sit less. Probably the easiest way is just to guesstimate the time. For instance, walking around during commercial breaks. If each commercial break lasts three minutes on average and you have 3 walk breaks during a 30 minute show, that’s 9 or 10 minutes of walking each half hour of TV viewing. I like having sit-less activities that take 10 or 15 minutes to do because I can easily count them and see how close I am to my goal.
An activity tracker like a Fitbit can help too, but I believe active minutes are only counted after 10 continuous minutes of moderate activity. And that’s another reason I like 10 or 15 minute blocks of activity. Because my Fitbit Alta gives me credit for them.
And I hear you on separating necessary moving from discretionary moving, but to your body it’s all the same. Every minute we spend not sitting, every time we get up and go do anything, our health benefits. And we are not living our lives passively by staying plunked in a chair, when we have options. I’m pretty sure that I won’t get to the end of my life and wish that I had watched more TV.
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themedalist wrote: »MmamabearR wrote: »I’m pretty sure that I won’t get to the end of my life and wish that I had watched more TV.
Thank you. I'm going to focus on the time I spend deliberately moving. That is the time I would normally spend sitting but choose to get up and move. It'll keep me from sitting too much at work and at home.2 -
poisonesse wrote: »I blew it already, forgot all about it until today! BUT, I've still been very active! lol Just got home from a 9.2 mile hike through the back woods of FL... filled out the form and officially joined the program. Have my post-its ready and will post my reminders as soon as I post this message. But then I have to get outside and get some more yard work done! Days are never an activity problem for me, it's nights and weekends when I sit WAY too much. So those post-its should be a big help with that. I also placed a clock on the wall above my computer screen, to help me when I'm gaming... you can't check the clock on the computer when you're in-game.
OH... and I committed to bronze, 30 extra non-sitting minutes would be FANTASTIC to me!
Wow a 9.2 mile hike...that’s amazing @poisonesse! The post-its should help as reminders, and done enough times it will become a habit and you may not need the visual cue anymore. Sitting for too long can become its own trigger prompting you to get up and do something else. Or maybe that doesn’t work with gaming? Many years ago I was completely immersed in Riven and Myst. And lost track of time, as in “Mommy, I’m hungry” track of time. Yikes.
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I am going for the Silver! I will add additional walking to my daily routine. In fact I think I may get up early and go for a long walk. Now that the weather is nice I may just take my coffee and go for a walk in our neighborhood to start my day.
Great plan, @PinkyPan1. Made me think of this:
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I walked and read again today instead of sitting. I’ve found I read a lot longer when reading my Outlander series book than when reading the news. Time just flies when I’m lost in a story. Yesterday I was about 3500 steps above my norm and today I’m already over by 2000 steps. I finished the book with 1700 ebook pages and have started book 5 with over 2100 pages. That will keep me busy stepping for a few weeks.4
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I walked and read again today instead of sitting. I’ve found I read a lot longer when reading my Outlander series book than when reading the news. Time just flies when I’m lost in a story. Yesterday I was about 3500 steps above my norm and today I’m already over by 2000 steps. I finished the book with 1700 ebook pages and have started book 5 with over 2100 pages. That will keep me busy stepping for a few weeks.
This is terrific progress, @nebslp! Finding ways to keep doing the things we enjoy but with less sitting makes the new habit more likely to be sustained. Same trigger, same reward, just a different routine.1 -
Bronze level for me. Since this is not my first or even second boot camp, I've already made some major changes in increasing my activity level. But I can still commit for another 30 minutes.
Today I had a 5 hour meeting, so my ability to do much stepping was limited, but I still was able to get in 12,000+ steps and 87 active minutes.1 -
Bronze level for me. Since this is not my first or even second boot camp, I've already made some major changes in increasing my activity level. But I can still commit for another 30 minutes.
Today I had a 5 hour meeting, so my ability to do much stepping was limited, but I still was able to get in 12,000+ steps and 87 active minutes.
You’re right, @77tes, it gets harder the more sit less actions we’ve taken previously, but there is usually something we can do.
A five hour meeting and still 12,000 steps and 87 active minutes? Wow!2
