Inactivity & Idleness

Do you know what one of the biggest causes of weight gain is? Inactivity!

But why is it that when people want to lose weight, they seem to only focus on the diet aspect?

We SIT here and watch the world become more and more overweight and obese, and we all want to blame the food industry. Fast food, processed foods, growth hormones, excess sugar – yeah, those are the culprits. But if we give those up, why are we still seeming to have trouble losing weight?

Because we are becoming more and more lazy!

Everything has become so convenient. We don’t even have to physically move our bodies to go to the grocery store anymore. Instead of walking across a hot parking lot and going up and down isles and isles of products, we simply just tap our phones a few times, and our groceries show up to our door.

Think back to over a century ago where people stayed active sunup to sunset, working on their land to provide food for their families. We don’t even exert energy cooking the calories we are about to eat because meals can show up to our homes. My, how far we have come!

But we want to blame our gluttony and not our own laziness.

Diet only plays half of the role if you’re trying to lose weight or be healthy. Exercise must be there to compliment it.

The Circle of Life

Take a look at the circle of life and how inactivity changes our bodies. As babies, we were nothing but immobile balls of chubbiness. As soon as we could walk though, we immediately began to slim down. Then comes childhood, where energy seems to feed itself, and barely any fat is present. These golden years were squashed when puberty hit, engaging hormones in us that would continue to slow us down with every new year that passed.

Now maybe you stayed active through school with sports and activities. But what happened when you settled into that desk job? What happened when the stresses of work made you want to spend your off days home in bed relaxing?

Move forward to your older years, where your body just doesn’t want to function the way it used to, limiting you from being active. If you’re a woman, you face the same dreaded hormonal changes all over again, making you more tired, and again, less active.

Now think about it. At what point were you your ideal size? And at what point did things start to go downhill?

Given, some people gain weight, regardless of age, when they hit a rough time in life. However, it still falls under the same principle that inactivity causes weight gain. As soon as depression and listlessness set in, any thought of being active goes out the window.

Ever notice that the people you see living the longest, healthiest lives are the ones who stay the most active?

I am not saying it is easy, but it is possible, and it is crucial.

But How Can I Exercise?

You don’t have to start at the gym. You don’t have to start some thirty day program. You just have to start.

The biggest excuse I hear for not exercising is that you simply don’t have enough time.

If you have time to sit and scroll mindlessly through social media, you have time to exercise.

If you can sit through a thirty minute or hour long show, you have time to exercise. At least do something during the commercials!

Many people tend to view exercise as a long, time-consuming series of multiple reps and sets, but it doesn’t have to always be that way. High intensity workouts are great for weight loss. Instead of spending an hour slowly focusing on each muscle, try five or ten minutes of giving a couple exercises everything you have. You can even do this multiple times throughout the day. After all, it’s only taking a few minutes.

People with desk jobs say they tend to have a hard time staying active. They’re too rushed in the mornings and too exhausted by the end of the day. But let me tell you, there are ways to still stay active.

There are exercises you can do with your legs under your desk while you work. Some of these can even engage your core muscles. You can exercise one arm while you hold the phone with the other. If people are able to take bathroom breaks and smoke breaks, then use a break to get up and move around. Stretch your body. Get some energy flowing. And feel refreshed by the time you sit back down.

Another popular excuse is simply being too tired. It is time to realize that there will be a time to sleep. But while you are in your waking hours, utilize them! You may even find that incorporating more activity into your day will help you sleep better and eventually break the rough cycle of daytime fatigue.

It’s plain and simple. Inactivity leads to weight gain.

If you want to be healthy, find a way to break the chain of idleness in your own day. Only you know where your opportunities lie. Take hold of them! Get up and get moving!