Remember cigarettes? My kids tell me no one smokes anymore (they vape, etc.). Yet, inactivity has more recently been equated with smoking in terms of the health effects.
If sitting is the new smoking, then I’m a chain smoker. I sit all day in front of a computer. I love my work – it’s fulfilling, challenging, stimulating. But it’s not active.
I wear a Fitbit, which tells me from time to time to get up and do some steps. I mostly ignore those notices because I’m in the middle of something. I do try to hit 10,000 steps a day by exercising each morning and walking the dog twice a day, but mostly I sit.
I have learned the hard way the toll sitting takes on a middle-aged body. My plan is to get in the habit of moving every hour during my work day. I already pace when I’m on (most) phone calls. Another idea is a treadmill or standing desk, but I haven’t made it to that point yet.
At any rate, I often think about quitting smoking. And by quitting smoking I mean sitting less and moving more.