How active or sedentary are you?

[Darrell KSR]

I have been tracking my steps for about two months with a pedometer that is pretty accurate. I was shocked to see how sedentary I am on a regular basis unless I exercise.

Not unusual at all for me to have 3,000 steps or less in a day. Very common.No wonder I am not losing weight more rapidly despite following the dietary plan. Very eye opening.

Oh.... And I am the guy that takes the stairs, parks the farthest away from the store, etc. It helps, but at least for me, I have to integrate true exercise, or at least dedicated walks into my day to escape blobism.

[BigBlueBrock]

Very sedentary. I sit in front of a computer all day at work, then go home and sit in front of a computer some more.

[suncat05]

Fairly sedentary, but I do take walks in the park with my dog and ride my exercise bike. Not able to run much anymore because of my knees and my friend arthritis, and certainly not jumping out of any airplanes anymore either. Still go through mandatory physical training for work, and since I am pretty much the "senior citizen" of all the deputies in the agency I have been affectionately named "Pops" by all of the younger guys.

[badrose]

I'm on my feet the whole time I'm at work but that's it. I need to mix it up more when I'm at home.

[BigBlueBrock]

I'm on my feet the whole time I'm at work but that's it. I need to mix it up more when I'm at home.

i imagine the subjects of your work keep your heart rate up, regardless

[badrose]

i imagine the subjects of your work keep your heart rate up, regardless

Haven't had a shoot for a while and never a source of income.

[jazyd]

Pops?? LOL

Fairly sedentary, but I do take walks in the park with my dog and ride my exercise bike. Not able to run much anymore because of my knees and my friend arthritis, and certainly not jumping out of any airplanes anymore either. Still go through mandatory physical training for work, and since I am pretty much the "senior citizen" of all the deputies in the agency I have been affectionately named "Pops" by all of the younger guys.

[jazyd]

I am constantly on the move with a retail store, up and moving. Plus going to see schools, workng at the wharehouse, working in the yard, playing golf on Sunday. But need to do more and soon, like starting yesterday which I did.

[suncat05]

Pops?? LOL

I take it for exactly what it is.........a term of endearment & a sign of respect. You know, that whole "Lion King" circle of life thing. And yeah, yes I did just reference the "Lion King"!!

[CitizenBBN]

I take it for exactly what it is.........a term of endearment & a sign of respect. You know, that whole "Lion King" circle of life thing. And yeah, yes I did just reference the "Lion King"!!

Absolutely a sign of respect, and no doubt well earned.

I bet I'm well under 3,000 on a normal day. I do inventory sometimes, that is a lot more b/c there's a lot of carrying stuff back and forth, surely more than 3K, but on a normal day I bet I could keep it under 1K without too much effort. Yes, hard to lose weight when you don't actually burn calories.

[Darrell KSR]

You guys probably had it figured out more than I did. I figured if I was busy with out of office meetings, running errands, taking stairs, parking far away, etc., I might approach 10k on a good day. (Edit-I didn't mean I thought I'd get to 10, just more like 6 or 7).

I figured on an average day, I'd probably be around 5k, no problem.

Truth--if I don't "do something," like take a couple of 15-minute walks during the day, or exercise during or after the workday, my average is probably closer to 2k. Really sedentary. Did not realize how much.

It is 7:12 p.m. my local time right now. Today I have been to my office, worked there, had one meeting which required me to go from my small office to the conference room, all of about 100 steps, and then I returned home. I have been home, ventured out a couple of times, once to the mailbox to retrieve mail, once to check all of the tires on four cars in my driveway (don't ask) with the tire tread gauge I bought yesterday. And I took a short 5-minute walk during a Pomodoro break (I know nobody else does that, so I won't bother again).

I'm at 1,777 steps right now.

That's much more sedentary than I thought. I'm ok with this, as it just tells me that I just have to integrate "stuff" every day in what I do. Two days a week I teach at a school, and do a bit more walking, some stair climbing, etc., but the truth is, this is what I do every day unless I require me to do more.

For those of you with a great metabolism, or that exercise regularly outside your normal day, or whatever--no big deal. To me, it's a big deal.

[kritikalcat]

I'm sure that my experience is similar. My goal is 6 days/week at the gym. Realistically I average 2... 3 on a good week. I try to get out and "run" on days I don't make it in, but that doesn't always happen either.

[Darrell KSR]

I went to the office today, and left at noon. Not taking the rest of the day off, but working at home. Not uncommon for me.

Just finished a 15-minute Pomodoro break, walk around the block, .66 mile, uphill part of the way, downhill part of the way, takes about 13 minutes. Just about perfect for my 3rd Pomodoro break. Still, I'm well under 3,000 steps for the entire day even with it (2770 now). But if I throw in at least one more of it, I should be able to get to at least 5k without "exercise." I am carrying around my exercise bag in the car, so if I go out and can do it, I'll head to the gym. But I think, for me, it is critical that I add two 15-minute walks a day during breaks most days of the work week.

[blue2ksr]

http://www.lowtcenter.com/

[dan_bgblue]

Looks like I need to move the chair further from the refrigerator. May be I could leave the chair where it is and rent space in the neighbors fridge.

[Darrell KSR]

What I am finding is that the calorie intake I have listed on my plan to lose weight is not accurate since my normal metabolism is not as high as my plan. I have to do more in a regular day to increase my metabolic rate or intake fewer calories. Of course, true exercise will help and is mandatory either way.

[jazyd]

I had to cut some bushes on the corner of our lot last night so I counted my steps from the garage to the bush, 188 steps round trip. LOL That came right after my 'walk' for the night

[Darrell KSR]

Well, I did nothing today other than put in a new kitchen faucet. Of course, that required me to...

a) Make a trip to Walmart to see if they had a gasket for the faucet (the long gasket, not a washer). Dumb move on my part. No way they are going to carry something like that. But I also needed paper towels (there was a leak under the sink, and I had to clean up moldy, mildewy stuff, too, with some "mold-away" stuff I already had.

b) Trip to Lowe's to see if they had the gasket. No luck, but they suggested I make my own by going to an auto store that sold rubber gasket sheeting by the roll.

c) Trip to Home Depot, which is in the same parking lot as AutoZone on Hwy 280--could not believe they did not have gaskets. They didn't.

d) Trip to Auto Zone. Just parked in the middle, and walked to both. They had the rubber gasket sheeting.

e) Return trip to Lowe's to buy new supply hoses and an aerator that was somehow left out.

All of that, and somehow I got in 5k steps today for doing nothing other than a "simple" task around the house. I won't tell you how many hours it took. For something that takes a normal person 30 minutes to do, I usually take 8 hours. I don't even try to start something like that after about 10 a.m., because I know it will go past dinnertime if I do.

[bigsky]

I ran Yankee Jim Canyon in my raft for the first time ever. never had even taken a commercial trip down it. River flow was only 5000 cfs not 30k like the article if you look it up. Still, it's a respectable rapid for these parts. Kills somebody almost every year.

Spent 4th and 5th turning my utility trailer into a raft trailer, permanently, with plywood overlaid with linoleum remnant.

Last Sunday I planted 8 trees.

Finishing off the trailer today, mowing the lawn, but that's it. I'm three Advils and two coffees into the morning.

[Darrell KSR]

This is my 9th week of tracking my steps. I have the spreadsheet in front of me (yeah, I know--more opportunity to be sedentary, and sit in front of a computer.)

In 4 of the 8 weeks prior to this week, my average number of steps per day was 6300 or more. I can live with that. But in the other 4, I averaged 3700-5200, which is too low as an average.

Consistent with my weight-losing plan this year, rather than going all gung-ho and running 6 miles a day, and burning out after a month (I have done that before, recently), though, I have a new plan. My plan is to not have any days where I have less than 5,000 steps per day. If, at the end of the day, I look at my counter and see where I have 3,000 steps--out the door I will go to walk around the block (I have several options--one is 2/3rds a mile with a 130-foot hill; another is 1.5 miles, etc.)

Before I made that plan, I looked at how many days a week I was exceeding that, and the number was very low. My consistency of exceeding it was poor, even when my "average" for the week was ok. In the last 6 weeks, I failed to exceed 5,000 steps daily 25 times. That's 25 out of 42 days I was sedentary. Far too many.

This week I am 5-for-5 on exceeding that number, although my average is not all that impressive, at 7250 per day. Have lost a couple of pounds this week, too, which is nice after having my weight loss slowed. I don't think that's a coincidence; it is keeping my metabolism up a little more.

What Should Your Step Count Goal Be?
Dr. Catrine Tudor-Locke recommends the following based on research:
Classification of pedometer-determined physical activity in healthy adults:
1) Under 5000 steps/day may be used as a "sedentary lifestyle index"
2) 5,000-7,499 steps/day is typical of daily activity excluding sports/exercise and might be considered "low active."
3) 7,500-9,999 likely includes some exercise or walking (and/or a job that requires more walking) and might be considered "somewhat active."
4) 10,000 steps/day indicates the point that should be used to classify individuals as "active".
5) Individuals who take more than 12,500 steps/day are likely to be classified as "highly active".

[CitizenBBN]

What's "Under 2,000"? Dead? As I think about it I bet there are days I can come in under a thousand. Really need to get more exercise.

[Darrell KSR]

What's "Under 2,000"? Dead? As I think about it I bet there are days I can come in under a thousand. Really need to get more exercise.

No kidding, days between 1k-2k are easy for me to have.

[CitizenBBN]

Maybe I could rent a storage unit a mile or so away and use it to hold my fridge.

[dan_bgblue]

Maybe I could rent a storage unit a mile or so away and use it to hold my fridge.

Hey that was my idea, only I used a neighbor's fridge, and my nearest neighbor is 1/2 mile away.

[CitizenBBN]

Hey that was my idea, only I used a neighbor's fridge, and my nearest neighbor is 1/2 mile away.

Sorry, meant to credit you. Doing too many things at once.

I just don't have a neighbor/friend at the proper distance who keeps my hours. I don't know of too many electrified storage units though either. lol. I could sell my car, that 30+ miles to Cynthiana and back would surely help. Maybe just sell the fridge.

[kingcat]

I do what I can..

[jazyd]

Hire a plumber and then go for a walk. Ask the plumber his price, an then ask how much if you pay green cash. What you save will make your walk more enjoyable and your faucet will look better.

I never pay over $100 for my plumber to come and fix whatever needs fixing. Had to replace one of my a/c units last year including parts inside the house that I can't remember the name. Was quoted from$2400 to $2700, then called my guy. New unit, new coils..that is the word..labor, free on. $1700 total, hundred dollar bills


UOTE=Darrell KSR;96428]Well, I did nothing today other than put in a new kitchen faucet. Of course, that required me to...

a) Make a trip to Walmart to see if they had a gasket for the faucet (the long gasket, not a washer). Dumb move on my part. No way they are going to carry something like that. But I also needed paper towels (there was a leak under the sink, and I had to clean up moldy, mildewy stuff, too, with some "mold-away" stuff I already had.

b) Trip to Lowe's to see if they had the gasket. No luck, but they suggested I make my own by going to an auto store that sold rubber gasket sheeting by the roll.

c) Trip to Home Depot, which is in the same parking lot as AutoZone on Hwy 280--could not believe they did not have gaskets. They didn't.

d) Trip to Auto Zone. Just parked in the middle, and walked to both. They had the rubber gasket sheeting.

e) Return trip to Lowe's to buy new supply hoses and an aerator that was somehow left out.

All of that, and somehow I got in 5k steps today for doing nothing other than a "simple" task around the house. I won't tell you how many hours it took. For something that takes a normal person 30 minutes to do, I usually take 8 hours. I don't even try to start something like that after about 10 a.m., because I know it will go past dinnertime if I do.[/QUOTE]

[Darrell KSR]

Hey, I got it done. Quite proud of it. Not proud of the time it took, or the number of trips to the store.

[Darrell KSR]

Dang...missed yesterday. Really wasn't "that" sedentary...took my son to the driving range, and at least hit some golf balls, chipped some, etc. Any way, it was 11:40 last night, and I only had about 2800 steps on my counter. So I scooted outside and began my walk. Unfortunately, as I reached 4800 (that's about a 3.3 mph walk pace), it hit the stroke of midnight, and the pedometer reset to 0. Oh well, that's my one day this week I won't get 5k minimum steps. I'm good with that, as opposed to the FOUR days a week I was not getting that many. It is helping.

[MickintheHam]

Well, I bought a pedometer. i had 5,478 steps yesterday.