Being active every day (and not just for the 5k)

Earlier this year, I read an interesting book called Move a Little, Lose a Lot, which basically says that many Americans are overweight because we as a society move less in our daily lives than we used to. Written by a Harvard doctor, it explains that in the name of convenience and with the help of technology, we've essentially spent the past 50+ years finding ways to make things easier on ourselves. As a result, many of the simple tasks that used to keep our bodies moving and fit no longer require much movement at all.

Changing the TV channel, washing dishes and clothes, making your home warmer or cooler - these are all activities that used to require people to get up and physically do something. Now, nearly everything in our lives is possible with the flip of a switch. Even worse, many of us now log more hours sitting every day than we do standing or moving around.

In other words, it's not avoiding the gym that's making us fat. It's that we've designed a world where our bodies are no longer challenged to actively engage in our daily lives. It's the culmination of all the little movements that we're missing.

So, knowing this, I've really tried to become conscious about simply using my body more. Rather than install a more convenient light switch in my office, for example, I now make myself get down on my knee and manually plug in the fixture every day. I'm also trying to sweep more than vacuum, stand when I talk on the phone, and devote more time to cooking meals than buying something already prepared.

And of course, I'm gearing up for working in my garden. As Dwayne mentioned in his earlier post, a group of us spent the morning at the Old Ferguson West Community Garden, and holy cow, was it a workout!

Between 9am and 1pm, we built 20 raised garden beds from scratch, then scooped, hauled and spread many, many dozens of wheelbarrows worth of soil. Right now, my arms feel like they're going to fall off!

And yet, it was so great to get out and move! As I continue to train for the 5K, it's activity like this that I aim to increase in my life - the general twisting, lifting, bending and stretching that a human body was designed to do.

Formal exercise is important, sure, especially for someone like me who's working to lose weight. But I believe that if I can just become more active overall, and really pay attention to all the mini conveniences that rob me of movement, I will be well on the path toward lifelong health and vibrancy.