10/01 Saturday Day 1 SLBC
Auna37
Posts: 708 Member
Welcome to the Sit Less Boot Camp Challenge-A-Day! We are glad that you decided to join us in October for 31 days of sitting less and moving more. Over the next few weeks we'll give you lots of ideas and resources to sit less and move more. Some of the daily challenges will be more appropriate for some folks than others, but we think they'll be something for everyone. If you participated in Sit Less Boot Camp before, welcome back! Many of the daily challenges will be familiar to you, but we've made some changes and added some new challenges too (thanks for your feedback!).
Also new this month, we've added some supplemental readings to a few of the daily challenges, especially on the weekends when we don't generally have a formal challenge. These readings are purely optional and are intended for those who want to “dive deeper” in their understanding of how excessive sitting impacts their health.
I will be joined this month by Denise (themedalist; a long-time MFP member) who has created the website we will be using for some of the daily challenges, Quitting the Sitting (http://quittingthesitting.org). Feel free to check it out, but many of the daily challenges will be using the website in depth, so you many not want to jump ahead too far. The cool thing about Quitting the Sitting is that it was inspired by a group of MFP friends who are profiled on the Movers and Shakers page (http://www.quittingthesitting.org/movers--shakers.html). People who used to sit a lot who have made good progress in sitting less and moving more and are really glad they've become more active. If they did it, we can too!
Our main goal for this month is to help you find one way to sit less -- something you stick with long after the challenge is over. Something that's easy for you to do that you'll keep doing. You may find multiple ways to sit less and move more and that's great, but identifying one thing to begin with is a great place to start (more on that soon).
Welcome to Sit Less Boot Camp!!
What's the Problem with Sitting Too Much?
Today's Challenge: What's the problem with sitting so much? Our first daily challenge explores this topic, so please spend a few minutes checking out the resources here: http://www.quittingthesitting.org/sitting-disease.html
And why not stand up while you read it?
(I realize now that I jumped ahead a bit yesterday..... So for those of you who didn't do it yesterday then check it out today! For those of you who did yesterday's challenge, why not try doing most of your computer stuff standing up today?)
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Happy to start and learn more ways to move more and sit less.1
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Happy October everyone, GO GET YOUR GOALS!2
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Wow, I can't believe how this one "challenge" has motivated me. I had already increased my walking by parking in a distant parking garage, on the second level so I get some stairs in as well, rather than in the parking lot next to my office. This has added probably 25-30 minutes of walking per day. In addition, rather than stopping at the shopette and getting coffee before work, I have taken to eating breakfast at my desk, then getting up and walking back to the shopette for the coffee. Let me add that I walk right by the shopette when walking from the parking garage to my office. This adds another 10-15 minutes of daily walking. Now, after watching these videos...which, by the way, I did walking laps through the house while watching on the MFP app on my phone rather than watching on my computer monitor...I am already thinking about ways of increasing my non-sitting time. Setting a reminder every hour to get up and move around. Several others at work have stand-up desks and I had actually thought to myself that I would not want to do that. Now I think I do. I want to thank you, Auna, as well as you, Denise (themedalist), for this group. I am looking forward to this month!4
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@bdgfn your post made me smile! You are clearly very enthusiastic and that's awesome! As you are finding, there are all kinds of easy ways to work in a little more activity into our day. As many of us can attest (including Boot Camp alumni who are joining us again for SLBC) sitting less and moving more will make you feel better. We are made to move! Certainly, there can be an adjustment period, as we transition from being sedentary to being more active, but if you stick with it, the results can be profound. My life is so much better and happier since I stopped sitting so much!
You mentioned standing desks. I'm a big fan of sit-stand desks that allow a person to alternate between sitting and standing with the press of a button. Standing, while better than sitting for prolonged periods of time, can be problematic healthwise especially on legs and feet. The best approach seems to be to alternate between sitting, standing, and moving a bit. Sit-Stand-Move. Sit-Stand-Move. Repeat throughout the day. Make a point to not sit for more than 30 minutes at a time, if at all possible.
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Excited to get started! Switching my desk chair for an exercise ball today.3
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I just transfered to a new site that requires us to sit in a -very- small office space, but the desk is high enough for me to stand at and type, if I put my tablet on a riser.
Thanks for this info. I saved the pdf. Think I will post it at my desk at home.3 -
OK, I'm confused. If this thing starts TODAY, Oct. 1, then what was "yesterday's challenge"?? And further, what exactly is today's challenge? To read the QuittingTheSitting website while standing?
Please explain...thanks.
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Looking forward to this month of more activities and less sitting !3
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vikinglander wrote: »OK, I'm confused. If this thing starts TODAY, Oct. 1, then what was "yesterday's challenge"?? And further, what exactly is today's challenge? To read the QuittingTheSitting website while standing?
Please explain...thanks.
Hi @vikinglander, Auna inadvertently posted today's challenge yesterday, so some people may indeed have already done today's challenge. No doubt she was enthusiastic to get Boot Camp started! She suggests (in her note above) that those who have already done today's challenge make a point to stand up while they are using their computer today. And that's a good suggestion!
To recap, Today's challenge is:
What's the problem with sitting so much? Our first daily challenge explores this topic, so please spend a few minutes checking out the resources here: http://www.quittingthesitting.org/sitting-disease.html
And why not stand up while you read it?
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Sitting too much, rather than moving more as a lifestyle, truly does contribute to disease and a less robust life, as well as a likely shorter life.3
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I'm going to have a think about how I might be able to adapt my desk so I can stand while using my lap top. I'm used to using a mouse rather than the touchpad, so will have to experiment with different set ups perhaps. Or start using the touchpad
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In this day when everything is done from a computer, this month's challenge is SO important!2
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I just checked my stand totals on my iWatch . . . I have 7 of my hourly goals attained and since I've been up for 10 hours I'm 3 behind! Going to make a bigger effort this evening!!! Hoping the challenge will keep me motivated to stand more/sit less!!!4
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Thankful for this challenge..Losing weight and getting healthy will be a Birthday present to myself this year4
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Thanks for this challenge. This will be an exciting month of health improvement. Great website!3
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Excited to start this Bootcamp. Since the spring I have lost even more weight and moving has become even easier.
What I didn't realize was that even if you exercise daily you can still sit too much. So, it sounds like the problem is the duration of the sitting. So if we break up the sitting with moving around then that decreases our risks? Is that right?
Thanks for the extra info. I love to be informed.2 -
I love seeing how enthusiastic everyone is! And yes... In my excitement I jumped the gun a bit and I do apologize for the inconvenience.Wow, I can't believe how this one "challenge" has motivated me. I had already increased my walking by parking in a distant parking garage, on the second level so I get some stairs in as well, rather than in the parking lot next to my office. This has added probably 25-30 minutes of walking per day. In addition, rather than stopping at the shopette and getting coffee before work, I have taken to eating breakfast at my desk, then getting up and walking back to the shopette for the coffee. Let me add that I walk right by the shopette when walking from the parking garage to my office. This adds another 10-15 minutes of daily walking. Now, after watching these videos...which, by the way, I did walking laps through the house while watching on the MFP app on my phone rather than watching on my computer monitor...I am already thinking about ways of increasing my non-sitting time. Setting a reminder every hour to get up and move around. Several others at work have stand-up desks and I had actually thought to myself that I would not want to do that. Now I think I do. I want to thank you, Auna, as well as you, Denise (themedalist), for this group. I am looking forward to this month!
This is just awesome to read! I'm so glad that you have embraced this so much! Also, standing desks are amazing. I have one for when I work on any digital art and I can say that my back is thanking me for it. Before I got one, I would sit slumped over a computer for 5-6 hours on end and my back was killing me. With the standing one, it not only helps me from sitting but improved my posture.3 -
What I didn't realize was that even if you exercise daily you can still sit too much. So, it sounds like the problem is the duration of the sitting. So if we break up the sitting with moving around then that decreases our risks? Is that right?
@jlperiard, both the total amount of sitting we do AND how much we sit without a break in sitting are important. From my perspective, focusing on not sitting longer than 30 minutes without a break in sitting is the logical first step. Not only is it usually easier to control, but it naturally leads to less sitting overall.
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I've been pretty sick, so haven't been moving much. Today, I feel almost human again. I'll catch up on the challenge and will definitely be able to move more than the last two weeks. Looking forward to moving through October with all of you!1
