Time Is Not On My Side

I want to lose weight. At this point in my life I have a few factors working against me in my expressed desire. First, my age and all of the wonderful things that happens when you hit your thirties like the slowing of the metabolism. Second, the bad habits I have adopted, like not eating health foods and over eating. Now just those two are hard enough for me, but I have t another even more challenging problem. Time is not on my side. It is not just that I get older every day, which, by the way, so do you. It is that I am a husband, a father, I have duties to attend to for church, I work full time and go to college fulltime. I do not have the option of stopping these equally benevolent activities. So the question became how continue the activities I am currently engaged in and add some health exercise?

The odds are against me if I do not make some change. Medical professionals have offered new medications to help with the side effects of our unhealthy lifestyles with little to no documented success.

"As reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine, statins have not decreased death rates from initial heart attacks among prescribed patients in the US however according to the American Heart Association a healthy lifestyle coupled with 10,000 steps per day would reduce the rate of initial heart attacks in this country by 90%." (http://talk.news-medical.net/profiles/blogs/statins-not-nearly-as, 2010/08/09)

"Each month there are new medical studies illustrating that magical cures that over-ride the need to move throughout the day and eat a healthy diet are ineffective at best and often dangerous to health," reports Steve Bordley CEO of TrekDesk.com, a treadmill desk manufacturer, "this most recent report calls into question the effectiveness of statins, a multi-billion dollar channel within the drug industry." (TrekDesk.com, 2010/08/03)

Statins are a medication used to treat heart problems by reducing cholesterol in the blood stream. (www.medicinenet.com, 2010/08/05)

The facts all point to the best plan is to exercise, eat health foods and keep portion sizes under control. There are many fad diet plans available to consumers, available for a price. The healthiest and safest way to go is to avoid expensive, quick weigh loss programs and just walk it out or work it out.

"No one makes any money telling people that their lives are dependent upon walking 10,000 steps a day so naturally it is not promoted but our inactivity and sedentary lifestyles have pushed this nation into an obesity epidemic with grave effects on many fronts, it is time to sound the alarm and initiate programs to combat this challenge." (http://www.treadmill-desk.com/2010/08/01)

According to a study sponsored by the National Institutes of Health American's top two reasons for not exercising are lack of time and lack of motivation. Treadmill desks remove these barriers and have been shown to be an effective tool allowing employees to achieve the minimum suggested thresholds of 10,000 daily steps in as little as three hours at the office. Walking at slow speeds without sweating, employees are able to accomplish any task they could perform at a regular desk while enhancing their health and productivity. Weight loss comes along as an added benefit.

Treadmill desks are currently in use by major corporations across America and have been shown to increase productivity, boost mood, assist in weight loss, prevent disease and contribute to the company's bottom line."(www.TrekDesk.com,2010)

So if I cannot cease one of my duties to give me time to work out, maybe I can work out as I am discharging my duties. My co-worker has a treadmill in his office. His name is Lee (I call him Master Lee), and he has his treadmill set up including a very nice treadmill desk. I decided to do research on the pros and cons of using a treadmill desk and I discovered some interesting facts about humans. One source notes, "Our bodies were designed for constant movement, yet within the last 50 years Americans have become more sedentary than at any point in history. Historically high obesity rates, rising medical claims, and an increase in numerous diseases point to the growing severity of this problem. How can we move more when our jobs keep us shackled to an office chair? Treadmill desks offer a solution. " (Talk Medical, April 2009) By sitting at a desk 8 to 10 hours a day, we are behaving in contrary to our natural programming. "While we sit our bodies shut off the production of an enzyme known as Lipase, critical for burning fat. Calories meant to be burned by the muscles as fuel are stored instead in our adipose tissue (fat cells). Our metabolism and lymphatic systems slow as well making us more vulnerable to weight gain and disease." (Talk Medical, April 2009)

First, the pros: Along with the sedentary life style, most office works leads to the slowing of our metabolisms. Not to mention Mother Nature starts to slow down your metabolism when you hit your mid 30's. With the sedentary habits and Mother Nature working against the American office worker it is no wonder that America is obese. Walking on a treadmill for 8 hours a day at a low to moderate pace will help increase the metabolism. At a pace of 1 mph the average treadmill desk user walks 8 hours a day and lost 50 pounds in the first year.(www.trekdesk.com, 2010)

Next, the cons: Cost and work environment are big factors. Depending on how many meetings or customer contacts you have, you may want to consider having a change of clothing at work. I keep a business casual set in my office as well as toiletries. It was recommended to me by Master Lee, that I purchase 2 pairs of walking shoes. That way I could alternate shoes to let them air out. That keeps my workspace from acquiring a looker room smell. I found some Boy Scout pants that have zippers down past the knees, for the purpose of converting in to shorts. The material is lightweight making them perfect to walk in all day. Jean or slacks would wear out o fast and cost me tons of money in wardrobe. Next item recommend to have was a nice fan. This is to keep you from sweating too much, thus helping with the looker room effect. My employer is very supportive of this activity. He said that we should start an office pool based on my progress.


This desk retails for about $400.00. I need to add one other challenge to my list of challenges. I do not have much money to make this happen. But, I do have a treadmill at home; so with the help of a friend, I got it to my office. Thanks for the team lifting help, Carrington. Now the dilemma was how to get my desk up high enough for me to walk and work? Well, a shelf to hold my monitor was a partial fix. Next, I needed a way to set up my laptop, telephone, keyboard, mouse and other desk area items. Also, this area needed to not only hold these items, but also keep them functional. If I am to stick to using my treadmill desktop, I will need to be comfortable. So I went to Home Depot for some ideas and help. After 20 minutes, I had 2 shelves, 2 clamps and a great idea. The next day, I assembled my desk and was on my way.

My quest to loose weight has just begun. The costs so far: 4 pairs of Boy Scout pants/shorts $20.00, Home Depot materials $60.00 and good cross trainers $30.00 for a grand total of $110.00. There where a few thing like the fan and treadmill, that I already owned. Ultimately, I have my plan to work and work out at the same time. As for personal weight loss goal, I am going to lose 80 pounds over the next 18 months. Mother Nature and sedentary lifestyle are both in for a fight. Armed with my homemade custom treadmill desk, I am ready to speed up my metabolism, decrease my chance for disease and an early death.
















Works Cited
"Treadmill Desk Comes to the Rescue of Growing Waistlines and Aching Backs – Tech Products & Geek News." Geek.com. Web. 16 Aug. 2010. .
Treadmill Desk from TrekDesk. Web. 5 Aug. 2010. .
"Treadmill Desk: Top 52 Reasons You Need One - Talk Medical." Talk Medical - a Social Network from News-Medical.Net. Web. 05 Aug. 2010. .
Treadmill Desk. Web. 4 Aug. 2010. .