Fat People Sit/Thin People Pace

A few years ago I remember reading a study about the habits of fat versus thin people. Essentially it boiled down to fat people sitting an average of 2 1/2 hours more then thin people, and thin people having a tendency to pace (i.e., move around) in activities such as speaking on the phone.

Fat people are the ones in the office who roll their desk chairs to the file cabinets. Thin people are the ones who get up and walk across the office to speak to someone instead of sending an e-mail.

My pedometer challenge got me thinking about this study. I read it when I was first trying to lose weight and I took it to heart. I really began thinking about all the time I spent sitting.

Now, since I'm a writer, I have to pretty much sit for a big part of my day (although there are standing desks). But, I realized I was sitting way too much when I really could be standing or even walking around.

Case in point. Everyday I wait with my daughter for the bus. When she started kindergarten, I brought a chair to the end of our driveway so that I could sit and wait with her. When I decided to get serious about losing weight, I realized the chair had to be vanquished. I now not only stand, but often pace around with my daughter while waiting for the bus.

Another adjustment--I now stand at parties. I used to be the person diving to find a place on the sofa. I now stand and speak with people and purposely try to "mingle" (i.e., move).

If the phone rang, I picked it up and sat down--I now pick it up and pace around.

Exercise and moving to lose weight and keep it off is about a lot more than just sweating. You have to just move more in general. Small adjustments to your daily moving routine will add up to more weight lost or not gained in the long term, then any once a week sweat burst.