Friday, April 13, 2012

Get On Your Feet!

…get up, and make it happen! Thanks for the intro, Gloria!

Sitting is something a lot of us do most of the day. In fact, I would guess you are sitting while reading this. So go ahead and stand up to make yourself feel better after reading this.

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You’ve probably heard that sitting has been seen to lead to health problems. In an article I recently read it said this:

“numerous studies show rates of heart disease, diabetes and obesity are doubled and even tripled in people who sit a lot. Part of the problem with sitting is that it stops the circulation of lipase, an enzyme that breaks down fats. So instead of being burned by your muscles, when you’re sitting fat recirculates in your bloodstream where it may end up stored as body fat, clogging arteries or contributing to disease.

In fact, simply standing up as opposed to sitting engages muscles and helps your body process fat and cholesterol in a positive way, regardless of the amount of exercise you do.”

Pretty crazy, right? But it is also something we can do something about. Like standing up NOW.

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A study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine even found that the longer a person sits at a desk at work, the greater their chances are of being or becoming overweight. Sitting for long hours also puts you at risk of back pain, particularly if you sit with poor posture, leg cramps, tense muscles and, of course, out of sheer boredom.

So here are some tips for sitting less and getting healthy:

- the average person can burn 60 extra calories each hour just by standing instead of sitting
- take the opportunity to stand rather than sit as often as you can. Stand while watching your kids play at the park, stand while you talk on the phone or watching TV, etc.
- Your body can only tolerate being in one position for about 20 minutes before it starts to feel uncomfortable, according to the Mayo Clinic. So about every 15 minutes, stand, stretch, walk around or change your position for at least 30 seconds.

Get on your feet!

And while you’re at it, here are some recipes you might want to try out this weekend. Have a good one!

Black Bean Quinoa Burgers

Cookie Dough Baked Oatmeal

Creamy Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing

Whole Wheat Crackers

1 comment:

  1. I'm standing! I'm standing! Oh wow! Thanks for this post!

    ReplyDelete

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