The 10,000 steps!
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I'm sorry but reading each of your post, at least to me just sounds like your making excuses. We all have busy lives it just depends how you want to make time for it.
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Christine_72 wrote: »zoeysasha37 wrote: »wisdomfromyou wrote: »"Workloads and workdays must change for people to lead healthier lives - until then it's just useless shaming and blaming. "
I think there's another way to look at it: adjust the calories to match the lifestyle. I agree with you that for many of us, sometimes the steps (or miles, or minutes, or reps) aren't going to make it on the agenda. And so we must adjust accordingly.
So, yes, my fitbit has motivated me to be more active. But it's also a helpful reminder that sometimes I am not very active -- mostly for reasons like those you have mentioned. Many days (most), I make it to my 12,000 step goal.
But some days I'm in meetings most of the day (ick), or have a long drive, or I'm hosting people at my house, or whatever. My fitbit reminds me that I haven't burnt much energy, and so I shouldn't consume too much. I adjust my calories accordingly.
For me, the point of my fitbit isn't the steps. It's knowing (approximately) how many calories I have spent, and how many I need.
I wish I could eat like a farmer! But I'm no farmer. So, here I am -- tracking my calories like a modern-day, urban, middle-aged woman.
Eliza,
I think calorie reduction is definitely a good adjustment for those who simply can't be that active. My fear though, based on readings, is that this is not enough from a health perspective.
It may work from a weight maintenance standpoint, based on the CICO equation, but does it also work from a health standpoint?
It's not that I would not maintain my weight if I adjusted calorie intake below farmer level to match my lower level of activity, but sedentarism might affect health anyway.
For example, I clearly noticed my blood sugar goes down significantly when I have been very active all day plus lifting weights and putting some extra effort in it. After such a day, it was down to 76 - which was amazing. The lowest I have tested.
Otherwise, if I am relatively sedentary, the Blood glucose can go anywhere from upper 80's (best case scenario) to close to 100, which is not exactly reassuring, given that's the pre-diabetes borderline. With one parent diabetic and the other prediabetic - I freak out.
The reality is most people are forced to scramble to find time to be active - but given the circumstances, we are still left with nothing but our efforts to try to make it somehow.
As many people here said, it CAN be done - even with busy schedules - but it is definitely a frantic struggle and sometimes I am afraid that this frantic living where you try to fit in everything, including fitness on top of work - can only lead to an overall poor and stressful quality of life.
After all, they do say that the third pillar of good health, in addition to eating well and staying active, is also minimizing stress. Finding the proverbial 15 minutes where you retire to a dark room, lie down, meditate, breathe throug the abdomen, whatever - that's important too.
And yet, between work, kids, pilling vegetabkes for fresh eating, exercise intensively AND doing tips and tricks to be in motion all day - it is absolutely unclear where the 15 min of "clam and meditation" would fit in.
What I see in this big picture is a case of "something's gotta give".
But yes - I guess all we have is doing the best we can.
What I, personally, would like to see would be how employers, schools, and other institutions that affect people's lives daily can respond to public health calls to allow people to make realistic choices about their health.
Tips and tricks at the individual level without any structural accommodations are bound to fail eventually because nobody can maintain a perfectly productive schedule every minute, every day - and even then many would not have enough time to squeeze in all health-related recommendations.
(Then again I do understand a possible answer would be that not everybody is supposed to live that long, after all).
The population in first world countries has been hearing about the importance of eating well, exercise and stress minimization for many decades now. So it's not like people are uninformed.
Yet, the rates of obesity and or illnesses related to obesity, sedentarism and poor eating are nowhere on the decline.
Oh, well.
So you don't have much extra time( even though we all get 24 hrs per day) but yet can be online writing these lengthy posts? Seems legit. ...
True.. I kill 2 birds with one stone and read my phone while I'm walking, where there's a will there's a way.[/quote]
1. Yes, I write very fast.
2. No, this is not typical for a regular day for me.
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wisdomfromyou wrote: »"Workloads and workdays must change for people to lead healthier lives - until then it's just useless shaming and blaming. "
I think there's another way to look at it: adjust the calories to match the lifestyle. I agree with you that for many of us, sometimes the steps (or miles, or minutes, or reps) aren't going to make it on the agenda. And so we must adjust accordingly.
So, yes, my fitbit has motivated me to be more active. But it's also a helpful reminder that sometimes I am not very active -- mostly for reasons like those you have mentioned. Many days (most), I make it to my 12,000 step goal.
But some days I'm in meetings most of the day (ick), or have a long drive, or I'm hosting people at my house, or whatever. My fitbit reminds me that I haven't burnt much energy, and so I shouldn't consume too much. I adjust my calories accordingly.
For me, the point of my fitbit isn't the steps. It's knowing (approximately) how many calories I have spent, and how many I need.
I wish I could eat like a farmer! But I'm no farmer. So, here I am -- tracking my calories like a modern-day, urban, middle-aged woman.
Eliza,
I think calorie reduction is definitely a good adjustment for those who simply can't be that active. My fear though, based on readings, is that this is not enough from a health perspective.
It may work from a weight maintenance standpoint, based on the CICO equation, but does it also work from a health standpoint?
It's not that I would not maintain my weight if I adjusted calorie intake below farmer level to match my lower level of activity, but sedentarism might affect health anyway.
For example, I clearly noticed my blood sugar goes down significantly when I have been very active all day plus lifting weights and putting some extra effort in it. After such a day, it was down to 76 - which was amazing. The lowest I have tested.
Otherwise, if I am relatively sedentary, the Blood glucose can go anywhere from upper 80's (best case scenario) to close to 100, which is not exactly reassuring, given that's the pre-diabetes borderline. With one parent diabetic and the other prediabetic - I freak out.
The reality is most people are forced to scramble to find time to be active - but given the circumstances, we are still left with nothing but our efforts to try to make it somehow.
As many people here said, it CAN be done - even with busy schedules - but it is definitely a frantic struggle and sometimes I am afraid that this frantic living where you try to fit in everything, including fitness on top of work - can only lead to an overall poor and stressful quality of life.
After all, they do say that the third pillar of good health, in addition to eating well and staying active, is also minimizing stress. Finding the proverbial 15 minutes where you retire to a dark room, lie down, meditate, breathe throug the abdomen, whatever - that's important too.
And yet, between work, kids, pilling vegetabkes for fresh eating, exercise intensively AND doing tips and tricks to be in motion all day - it is absolutely unclear where the 15 min of "clam and meditation" would fit in.
What I see in this big picture is a case of "something's gotta give".
But yes - I guess all we have is doing the best we can.
What I, personally, would like to see would be how employers, schools, and other institutions that affect people's lives daily can respond to public health calls to allow people to make realistic choices about their health.
Tips and tricks at the individual level without any structural accommodations are bound to fail eventually because nobody can maintain a perfectly productive schedule every minute, every day - and even then many would not have enough time to squeeze in all health-related recommendations.
(Then again I do understand a possible answer would be that not everybody is supposed to live that long, after all).
The population in first world countries has been hearing about the importance of eating well, exercise and stress minimization for many decades now. So it's not like people are uninformed.
Yet, the rates of obesity and or illnesses related to obesity, sedentarism and poor eating are nowhere on the decline.
Oh, well.
[/quote]
What I was trying to say was to do the best you can with the situation.
Obviously, physical activity is a key element of health. But if you truly can't do it, you can't do it. In that case, I think a healthy goal would be to keep a healthy weight by reducing calories to match the lack of activity.
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I have a Fitbit and I keep everything set to sedentary because I usually spend the day in my small apartment playing games or cleaning. But now I do a lot more grocery shopping, and I walk to 3 different stores all the time. Just today I walked over 14k steps, over 6 miles, and according to my Fitbit and MFP, I burned 500 calories.
Did I actually? Someone else told me that walking doesn't actually burn calories.0 -
I have a Fitbit and I keep everything set to sedentary because I usually spend the day in my small apartment playing games or cleaning. But now I do a lot more grocery shopping, and I walk to 3 different stores all the time. Just today I walked over 14k steps, over 6 miles, and according to my Fitbit and MFP, I burned 500 calories.
Did I actually? Someone else told me that walking doesn't actually burn calories.
You can burn tons of calories from walking. Here's a screenshot of my fitbit page.
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I have a Fitbit and I keep everything set to sedentary because I usually spend the day in my small apartment playing games or cleaning. But now I do a lot more grocery shopping, and I walk to 3 different stores all the time. Just today I walked over 14k steps, over 6 miles, and according to my Fitbit and MFP, I burned 500 calories.
Did I actually? Someone else told me that walking doesn't actually burn calories.
They would be wrong. Everything you do in a 24 hr period burns calories. Even sitting on the couch and sleeping (though it's not a lot) your body burns calories to keep your heart pumping. So yes your walk burns calories. Maybe not as many as a run, but it's more than what you burn sitting on the couch.
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I have a Fitbit and I keep everything set to sedentary because I usually spend the day in my small apartment playing games or cleaning. But now I do a lot more grocery shopping, and I walk to 3 different stores all the time. Just today I walked over 14k steps, over 6 miles, and according to my Fitbit and MFP, I burned 500 calories.
Did I actually? Someone else told me that walking doesn't actually burn calories.
Actually you burned more than 500 cals walking, that's just the exercise adjustment that MFP gave you after syncing with FitBit. Your body burns calories all day long - sleeping, sitting on the couch gaming, walking to the store, and any other activity and exercise you do. Look at your FitBit for total calories burned - that's how many you burned in a whole day with all your activity.
FitBit then sends that to MFP and it calculates an adjustment based on what MFP thinks your total sedentary calorie burn would be, excluding exercise. You burned 500 more than it thought, so you get a "credit" if you will. You should be eating some of those calories back, if you aren't already.
I'm not sure who told you walking doesn't burn calories but that person needs a refresher course.1 -
I work a full-time desk job. A normal day where I don't go out of my way to walk around more will net me around 5-7K steps.
I drink a LOT of water - between 1.5-2L before leaving at 5 - and thus means a lot of walks to the ladies room. This serves two purposes: I'm well-hydrated and it forces me to get up from my desk. I go to the gym MWF mornings, and generally choose running or elliptical. I can very easily get in 7-10K steps before starting work. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I try to use the treadmill and walk during my lunch break, although sometimes I don't. I might go to the supermarket across the street and grab some water enhancers or a small snack. When I'm home, I find it easier to get my step count up. My sister purchased a little mini-elliptical that I like to use while watching TV. I might go for a walk, though not as often now that it's hot as hell outside.0 -
I have a Fitbit and I keep everything set to sedentary because I usually spend the day in my small apartment playing games or cleaning. But now I do a lot more grocery shopping, and I walk to 3 different stores all the time. Just today I walked over 14k steps, over 6 miles, and according to my Fitbit and MFP, I burned 500 calories.
Did I actually? Someone else told me that walking doesn't actually burn calories.
Over time (2 years) I have found that that kind of calorie burn for that kind of step count is completely accurate and I have happily eaten to that level1 -
Posting this from another thread: OP is not fat, but interesting article nonetheless...
https://www.t-nation.com/blogs/the-real-reason-everyones-fat1 -
KetoneKaren wrote: »@wisdomfromyou Can you say what kind of work you do & how many days a week you work? I re-read your posts and I realized that the main problem is that you don't like exercise, and in fact prefer a sedentary lifestyle. Your only motivation is fear, which is a powerful short-term motivator, but not a very good long-term motivator. I wish you could find something fun, like belly dancing or bicycle riding with your children, or boxing, or yoga or ballroom dancing. It would be easier to commit to the time if the exercise was fun, or you were doing it with your children or husband.
I think this says it all.
I manage with a desk job to get in on average 12.5k steps a day. 6k are an early morning walk (early morning as of this summer) because I have other stuff to do...
I am not frantic, I am busy, I am my priority not my job.1 -
WinoGelato wrote: »
He says it's because my body has adjusted to this amount of exercise over time, since I'm no longer overweight, and that it is impossible to continue losing weight now because my body is too efficient.0 -
WinoGelato wrote: »
He says it's because my body has adjusted to this amount of exercise over time, since I'm no longer overweight, and that it is impossible to continue losing weight now because my body is too efficient.
Losing weight means you have a lower BMR than you did when you were overweight - you're supporting less body mass at rest. You also burn less during daily activity and exercise because you're smaller and moving less weight around. But you still burn calories, and the more you move the more you'll burn. Of course you can continue to lose weight - you just need a calorie deficit, and you can create that through exercise.
It sounds like your friend is misinterpreting a study (I think it was done on Biggest Loser contestants a while back) that people who are obese and diet down to a normal weight burn fewer calories than a person who always was that normal weight. The argument is that their bodies become more "efficient" since they've had to move more mass for so long, but that's a small part of the bigger picture. If you make efforts to retain muscle mass while losing weight, your BMR won't deviate much from average. Losing with an extreme deficit seems to result in more metabolic adaptation than losing slowly with a moderate deficit. You certainly don't stop burning calories altogether.1 -
He says it's because my body has adjusted to this amount of exercise over time, since I'm no longer overweight, and that it is impossible to continue losing weight now because my body is too efficient.
Does that even make sense to you?
I am sorry to say that your friend is not a good source of information. I'd recommend finding alternate sources who can offer you information that is accurate.1
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