Sedentary Life Essay

Many people struggle with their weight. Those who are on the heavy side oftent find it difficult to perform their daily tasks. Even walking for several minutes becomes a tiring activity for them on many occasions. Others can only imagine the physical effects of more intensive activities on people who are, frankly speaking, fat. John is one of those individuals who are on the heavy side. His sedentary life and his habit of eating more than his daily nutritional needs have led him to gain weight year after year. Now, John wants to turn things around. His problem is how he can lose weight without completely sacrificing his passion for food. In other words, John wants to decrease his body fat while still being able to enjoy his meals. For the

While replacing food rich in fat and carbohydrates with protein, John must also increase his physical activities. In other words, he must shift from a sedentary lifestyle to an active one. However, this does not require him to make the drastic change. In fact, one study emphasizes that an abrupt shift to an active lifestyle may come as a shock for those trying to lose weight, which can discourage them from sustaining an active lifestyle in the long run because they might find the change tiring or one that requires too much effort (Simpson, Shaw and McNamara 46). Thus, the change must be gradual. The body as well as the mind must be allowed to adjust. For example, John may start by including longer walking time in his daily routine. From a mere twenty minutes of walking per day, he may increase it to twenty-five or thirty minutes, depending on his preference and endurance. He may also try to take short walks during breaks from office work. The whole point of increasing John’s physical activities is for him to burn more calories than in previous days. This is because regular calorie intake coupled with a sedentary lifestyle can increase body fat and, therefore, weight (Simpson, Shaw and McNamara

One study reveals that the weight-loss benefits of cardiovascular exercises are already an established medical fact (Hope, Kumanyika, Shults and Holmes 1028). John, therefore, has an ally in strenuous activities. For example, he may do weekend runs for at least thirty minutes non-stop. If not, he may do three runs of ten minutes each per Saturday. The initial run can serve as his gauge for the succeeding runs, whether he needs to increase or decrease the duration. Consistency is crucial. John must make regular weekend runs in order to achieve continuous weight loss. However, this does not mean that he has to run the same distance throughout. Eventually, John may level-up his jogging routine by extending the number of minutes, by increasing the total distance per run, or by shifting to elevating paths instead of simply running on flat