BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Low Carb Are You Totally Sedentary?

People forget that going to work, working, going to the store, doing chores, etc is activity. It depends on how this person defined active because 90% sedentary is way too high. Even my roommate who is disabled I consider only semi-sedentary as she still gets up and does things, goes to appointments, to the store with me at least once a week, takes the dogs outside, etc. She is not highly active, but definately not sedentary.

Boopsie I applaud you for quitting smoking. I quit 34 years ago and am so happy I did. I understand your feeling that hiding out keeps you from being exposed to cigarettes and therefore not tempted. If you have a friend to help you, try going out for short trips like to a salad place at the mall for lunch just to get yourself exposed to being out...the fact that they can't smoke there is a plus. There are so many places that don't allow smoking that eventually you'll get comfortable being out and around. Habits are hard to break...I'm praying for you.

That's very true Granny - it must have been much harder to quit smoking back when everyone was smoking in restaurants and airplanes and such! Now at least you don't have that constant reminder

Jase - The US government actually defines sedentary. If you don't move at all (stuck in a bed) that's not sedentary, that's bed rest. If you move around for general chores that is just counted as "ambulatory" but you are still in the sedentary class if that is all you do. So sedentary by definition are people who are ambulatory but who aren't getting at least a half hour of solid heart-raising activity every day.

So someone who is able to walk to the store is not on bed rest - but they are still sedentary if that is all they are doing for their activity. You have to be more active than that to get out of the sedentary category

Now that being said, if you walked a full half hour to work each way, then you should count that half hour each way as exercise, assuming you're walking at a nice clip. If all you're doing is walking to the car and getting into it, then that wouldn't count That would just be "normal life movement" like rolling over in bed .

the government needs to rethink their definition or allow SSA to use that because we wouldn't have battled for over 5 years to get my roommate disability then.

I'm confused - this definition of sedentary is about getting enough exercise each week to keep your heart healthy. I know many disabled people who play wheelchair basketball and do other quite heart-racing activities! Surely you can be healthily active and disabled at the same time?

For example my female disabled friend has a very active intimate life with her boyfriend, she is definitely not in the sedentary category just by that activity alone