One theory as to why prolonged sitting is harmful to one’s health is that while sitting, the large muscles become relaxed. As these muscles relax they do not take up very much glucose from the blood. As a result, the risk for Type II diabetes becomes increased along with heart disease and some cancers.
Immediately after sitting down, muscle electrical activity and metabolism slow down, as a result less calories are burned. Only 1 calorie per minute is burned while sitting. That is 1/3 of what the body burns when walking.
After a prolonged period of this lifestyle, LDL cholesterol (bad) increases and weight gain occurs.
Sitting can also cause hip flexor and hamstring muscles (back of thigh) to tighten. This may lead to joints and knees becoming stiff and back pain.
As we sit at the computer our shoulders are usually forward and we are hunched over for extended periods of time. Our bodies are not designed to sit all day.
After just two weeks of sitting, muscles begin to atrophy and oxygen consumption decreases, making it more difficult to climb stairs and walk the longer distances. Incorrect computer posture habits combined with long-term sitting may cause medical problems such as: cumulative trauma disorder (CTD) or repetitive stress injury (RSI).
It has also been shown that in women bone mass can drop by 1% after a year of sitting for 6 hours a day. Reduce these effects of long term sitting; take breaks; switch things up:
Stand every 45 minutes to 1 hour (set alarm or timer). Standing up for 1 – 2 minutes every hour will reduce the negative effects of sitting all day.
March in place for twenty seconds.
Reach down and try to touch your toes for twenty seconds.
Maintain intervals of moderate activity during the day.
Exercises / stretches that can be performed at your desk:
Sitting in your chair, lift one leg off the seat.
extend it out straight, hold for 2 seconds;
lower your foot – do not touch floor – hold for several seconds.
Switch
Do each leg 10-15 times.
MORE –
Sitting Weight Shift
Sit with feet flat on floor, and on hands for support.
Lean forward through hips bringing nose over knees.
Return.
Now, lean backward through hips.
Hold each position 7-10 seconds.
Repeat several times through the day.
Shoulder Blade Squeeze (Adduction)
2. Draw shoulders back, bringing elbows back and inward
3. squeeze shoulder blades).
4. Hold for 6 seconds.
5. Repeat 4-6 times.
Low Back Sitting with Rotation
1. Sit on edge of seat, one hand on opposite knee, other hand on chair.
2. Keep feet parallel.
3. Pull with hand on knee and, if needed, push with hand on chair to rotate trunk to that side.
4. Hold 7-10 seconds.
5. Repeat on other side.
6. Do 2-4 rotations on each side.
Hip Extensors / Rotators
1. Sit back straight, right ankle crossed over left thigh.
2. Grasp bent knee with both hands.
3. Gently rotate left shoulder toward bent knee and begin to pull right knee toward left shoulder.
4. Resist the knee pull by using hip muscles, 7-10 seconds.
5. Maintaining position, relax, then pull knee closer to shoulder.
Saturated fats are primarily animal-based fats (with the exception of some plants). Unlike healthy unsaturated fats that are liquid at room temperature, saturated fats are solid at room temperature. Saturated fats are the inflammatory fats, while unsaturated fats are anti-inflammatory. Regularly consuming saturated fats may raise cholesterol and increase risk of heart disease. It can also contribute to high blood sugar and fatty liver disease. If you consume it, it is recommended you do not exceed 13 grams/day. Lean towards your anti-inflammatory and brain health fats, the unsaturated fats.
Lemons are an especially valuable citrus fruit with regards to bringing down cholesterol levels. This is because of their high satisfaction with vitamin C, a strong antioxidant that has been displayed to diminish the risk of heart disease.
Let me know in the comments if any of this resonates with you! The other night was a weird night of sleep for me. I felt drowsy at 6pm, slept until 9pm, then got up and ate two boxes of cereal before going back to sleep again. When I told my psych about this, he asked if I was referring to the travel sized boxes of cereal. I was not. I also had a half gallon of milk, because what is cereal without milk, and just to make sure it really got washed down good, I had a tall glass of chocolate milk on the side.
In response to this, my psych suggested I mindfully don't eat two boxes of cereal at that hour. Thanks, genius! Why didn't I think of that??! I do think he's getting frustrated with me because his host of meds aren't working at all. He should probably refer me out since he seems to be in over his head.
Anyway, last night I tossed and turned in bed until midnight and couldn't sleep. Even after taking trazodone, it had no effect. So naturally I got up and went to the living room to pace the floor and pop the TV on. In an attempt to be healthier, I ate 2 yogurts and finished off the chocolate milk. Whole Foods apparently has really good chocolate milk.
Shortly after finishing the yogurts, my wife comes out to grab me by the ear and drag me back to bed. Still couldn't sleep, but my wife told me to meditate. So I tried, and then I tossed and turned some more until finally sleeping some I think at around 4am.
My weight has always yo-yo'd because I'll binge but then I'll also go stretches where I eat little to nothing. My weight as a result goes up and down significantly. I struggle to stick with any kind of exercise. My therapist suggested walking in my condo, so I did that and sat down after. Surprisingly, I didn't lose any weight the next day.
I have low energy to begin with, but now the eating is impacting my physical health more as I'm getting older. My blood pressure is elevated, which was never a thing for me. My cholesterol is very high, and my LDL is so high that they're worried I may have a stroke. So I'll try to get this in order, first by binging on healthier foods, and then probably by not eating at all.
Kirby is one of my heroes when it comes to binging. Yoshi too of course, but for me Kirby came first. I could relate to Kirby. He eats a ton, is squishy, adorable, and will sometimes fall asleep in the middle of a task. Like Kirby, I often feel like I'm gonna float away after eating myself into a bloated stupor.
My favorite Kirby is Kirby's Adventure on NES. That game is still fun to play, and I love using the old NES controller with it! Smashing Kirby around in Super Smash Bros. is always a good time too!
Which Kirby is your favorite? What are your binge eating guilty pleasures? Comment below and please tip your blogger! *shakes cup*
It's a pretty quiet, cloudy day….There's no signs of lightning bolts, thankfully. Hopefully, today's yard sale will go well. She could really use the cash right about now.
Okay. This is her chance. Just smile and tell them what you're selling. No big deal. Only a few words at a time. Easy.
She's actually doing a pretty good job. She shares her story and ends up learning about more fishing spots from a neighbor named Peter. She even makes him and another neighbor named Shanna laugh by telling fishing jokes. Thanks Ekram. They never get old.
They get on the discussion of what they do for fun and Peter says he's in the Dude's Club. An actual bowling league that meets up at Llama lane in Oasis springs. Pretty cool. He even invites Hope to go out with them tonight. She's not much of a bowler, but of course she wants to join them. A night out with the neighbors sounds like so much fun. Maybe she'll even have a new place to sleep tonight.
She lets it rip...
And it's good! A strike on her very first roll ever! Seriously?! I don't know, San Myshuno. Oasis Springs might be the place to be.
After the game, Peter and Shanna call it a night and go home. Seeing as her home is just a few acres of grass and a long way from here, Hope makes herself comfortable on the couch. Not as soft as the park ottomans, but at least the place is warm. And loud. Way too loud to try and get any sleep. Nothing wrong with NuDisco, but it's well past midnight and people are still dancing around the jukebox. Maybe they don't have anywhere else to go either…
She finds one of the spots Peter told her about and does some fishing to prepare for tomorrow. The quicker she gets to eat in the morning the better. The view here is amazing. The stream of sparkling water and buzzing dragonflies… The neon lights and bright billboards are a little weird and out of place, but nice. Very relaxing.
She finds a bench outside of the bowling alley not even minding that it's made out of stone. At least it's nice and quiet out here.
From an article on NatGeo summarizing the book: The Great Age Reboot
Nothing shocking or new here, just a reminder, some goals to aim for. They don't say in the article if having these achieved with medications is acceptable or if this needs to be without any meds (like for HBP or Blood Sugar).
The only metrics I'm hitting currently are the blood sugar (95 at last test in January 2023 with no meds), & No tobacco use. My blood pressure is near those numbers now, but that is with meds, so not sure if that counts or not.