Is Your Job Making You Fat?
Posted on: 09 Feb 2011 |
Comments: 0
Author: Michael F. McDougall
If you answered, “Hmmm, maybe!”, then there is a good chance that it is!
Human bodies are designed to walk, run, catch food, build shelter and hundreds of other things that most of us no longer use them for. Our ancestors had to perform a thousand physical feats per day just to survive, but in our modern world, millions of people live and work in an atmosphere that simply does not require physical exertion on a daily basis.
What impact does this have on our physical fitness? Please! Look around you and count the inches of blubber on those nearby. In ancient times body fat was a sign that you were so above the common man that you ate everyday without any effort. The majority of people did manual labor, as it was mostly an agrarian society. Today, that same amount of body fat is a sign that you need to lose weight. It is a result of eating everyday without any effort. Is there a difference between the over weight person of Ancient times and Modern times? Not really! But one huge difference is that we know the negative effects of too much weight and they did not.
Modern jobs require that we drive or bus to work, perhaps an hour or more for millions of people. Once at work, our job requires us to remain stationary, usually in a sitting position, for sometimes in excess of 8 hours per day. Of course, then we commute home either by car, bus, train and sometimes all three. All the while we are standing or sitting. This forced immobility is not only affecting our health it is literally killing people!
Obesity and Diabetes have been closely linked for years. Diet and exercise are the cures for both of these, yet it is still a problem. Why? Because we have to work! If you are forced to stay inactive for the majority of your waking day, then you sleep for between 6 and 8 hours, when are you getting exercise? Well, your not! Can you do something about this? Absolutely!
Get off you butt and walk!!! Is it that simple? YES!
Park your car further away instead of searching for the closest empty spot. Walk up the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator. If you are a junk food addict, then walk to the store for your fix. Maybe walk to a store that’s farther away, and then eat your junk food. Eventually, the junk food addiction may even begin to lose a hold on you. As you slim down and tone up you will find that you want to do more and lose more, especially if your family and friends start to take notice. When you look good, you feel good, and when you feel good as a result of positive steps that you have initiated, you will feel even better.
The nice thing about walking is that it can be done for extended periods of time without running out of breath. Running and swimming on the other hand are more difficult to sustain for long periods of time. If you are of average fitness, which is not very fit at all, then you can walk long enough to derive a benefit. Start with 20 minutes in one direction and then turn around, just 3 times a week. Continue to do this for one month and you will notice a tremendous difference in you legs, breathing and maybe your waistline. I say “maybe” because that is not a very long time to try it out. But after 3 months I know that you will have a smaller waistline! I did!!
I walked 4 times a week for 1 hour. The more I walked the more distance I covered in less time, as I was actually getting faster. Time yourself! Don’t go by any other measure! As you get fitter and faster, you will notice that you have covered the same amount of ground in less time and therefore to keep up with the “1 Hour” walk you have to keep going. It is natural to say to yourself, “I have reached the point where I turn around” and just do it out of habit. Don’t do that!! It is not the distance covered but the time that you are getting the benefit from.
I am now wearing a 32 inch waist when at one point I was a 36! I know someone out there is saying, “I wish I could get back down to a 36!” You can, and you can even go further than that if you just keep walking! Walk everyday, wherever the opportunity presents itself and you will lose weight, feel better, look better and be better!!
Article Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_2017017_23.html
Add a Comment