Becoming Less Sedentary

Becoming Less Sedentary

I’m on top of all the latest news because of my insomnia. When I’m awake in the middle of the night, I catch up with the world on my iPad. They now say that being sedentary is worse than smoking. Jeeze, it’s always something. So I’ve decided to make this the year I get moving.

It’s exactly one year before I have a big milestone birthday. I want to enter this upcoming decade as fit and as healthy as I can. I don’t love to exercise, even though I know it is the best cure for the insomnia I’ve had since menopause. My sweetie and I are foodies and he’s a really remarkable cook. A typical evening is enjoying an adult beverage in our garden, savoring a great meal before binge watching something on Netflix. My graphic design job has me in front of a computer all day and my hobby is writing. I have a very sedentary life.

I started thinking I might need a Fitbit and I use the term generically like Kleenex. If I want to be less sedentary I know I need a cattle prod to remind me to get up and walk around. So I started asking around about Fitbits. I asked the young woman in my office that managed a gym before taking this job if she liked hers. Of course she did, it’s a high end one that measures everything in her life. Her only concern before she took this job was that it was too sedentary. I couldn’t really relate, any more than she can relate to me sitting at my desk at lunchtime. So I turned to my midlife blogging group, which is full of women just like me. I put out the question of the pros and cons of Fitbits and I immediately got over 30 responses! The response was overwhelmingly “Yes, I love it!”

There were other brands mentioned including Jawbone, VivosmartHR, Apple watch and smartphone apps like Pacer. Here’s a review on the Gamin VivosmartHR (Thanks Courtenay). Another blogger friend runs a gym with her doctor husband and I’m going to be her guinea pig for exercise ideas for those with sedentary jobs  (Thanks Amanda!). There were a few naysayers and I relate to Lisa’s Do I look Fat in the Fitbit story and Chris’ take that you don’t need a device, you just need to move.

After really thinking about it all week I’ve decided to get one. A few of my friends mentioned the Fitbit Zip. It’s a small device that clips to your bra or belt. It’s about $60 and it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles that I’m not interested in. It sounds perfect for me. I can always upgrade if I love it and it’s not a lot of money if I hate it. It also syncs to my Weight Watcher’s app and will automatically log in those activity points.

After my birthday lunch with a girlfriend today at a favorite bistro, I’m going to go buy one on my way back to work. I’m celebrating the birthday month, so lunch and a gift for myself makes perfect sense to me. I’ll keep you updated on what I think of my Fitbit Zip and my progress in living a less sedentary life. I already know that the Fried Oyster Salad will be delicious.

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