On April 13th, the New York Times published an article about the dangers of sugar. The next day, they published an article about the dangers of sitting down.
Both articles got me thinking. Seriously thinking. Life altering kind of thinking. (Yes, this is happening a lot recently. I’m doing some serious thinking about THAT as well.) I didn’t previously think sugar was health food or anything, and was mostly careful that Kiddo didn’t eat a ton of it. (Ladybug eats little or none of it, lucky baby. It’s easier before they know what a cookie is.) I was less careful with my own sugar consumption. Which is to say, I was very, very good about it when things were going well, but would eat my weight in oatmeal cookie dough after a particularly bad day. But, well…you know how I’m afraid of dying and all, and this article pushed all the right buttons. So I’ve cut way back. I’m going for seriously reduced sugar consumption rather than no sugar at all. I’m not worrying about the sugar in the bit of jam I spread on my peanut butter toast or the drizzle of honey on my oatmeal, but I’m otherwise avoiding the stuff. I’ve had ice cream twice since reading that article and that seems about right. Moderation, leaning toward the low-consumption end of the spectrum. That’s something new for me right there. I’ve always been more of a wild-pendulum-swing type of girl.
The sitting article? That one really got me going. And such a simple, appealing solution in a stand-up desk! (Yes, I’m standing up right now.) Rushing out to buy new furniture wasn’t really an option, nor did I want to completely get rid of my traditional sit-down desk. It was my father’s, for one thing, and also in this new spirit of moderation it seemed prudent to keep the option of occasionally plunking my ass down in a chair to work.
Years ago I bought a vintage TV cabinet, pulled the original TV guts out, and stuck my TV inside. In 2003 we kicked the cable habit, and when we moved to Portland we didn’t bother to get a TV antennae, and when the DVD player died we didn’t replace it (because our laptops play DVDs just fine, thanks) and so the poor TV was sitting all dusty and neglected. I wanted to get rid of it but I LOVE this TV cabinet. And then I got to thinking…the TV cabinet is the perfect height for a stand-up desk for me (I’m 5’4″.) Tonight we chucked the TV and moved the cabinet into my office. Now there’s even a place for the printer! Check it out:
Bonus: A nice clear workspace, because all the necessary clutter of reference books, pencil holders, paperwork etc can live at the sit-down desk:
The only possible problem is the fact that I can’t put my feet underneath this desk to get right up against the work surface while standing up straight. So far that feels fine. We’ll see how it goes.
There was a lot of talk on Twitter about both Times articles since they came out. Seems I’m not the only one they made an impression on. How about you?
Those articles, and the one on sleep, have had my husband and I concerned but still inert. We eat sugar but now we feel badly about it. Reading your post just motivated us to move our work areas to standing locations, so I’m writing this to you standing up. Thanks for the kick in the butt.
i have been thinking about giving up the majority of sugar in my life for awhile now. i’m already on weight watchers and doing well there but i’m a big time cheater and would sneak in chocolate here and there… i just can’t stop myself! especially around easter candy. on easter sunday, i ate a nice dinner but then followed it up with cake and candy. the next day, i was a wreck. my mood was dark, temper short, and i had the shakes. i swear that refined sugar is like heroin. that’s what has convinced me to give it up. just like you, i’m not going to worry about the occasional sugar like the kind in my yogurt (because i hate the plain stuff) or in sauces i cook with, etc. but no more candy. no more SUGAR-IN-A-LUMP 🙂 and i haven’t even read the times article!
as for sitting all day, the kids don’t let me. i’m on my feet ALL THE TIME.
I already don’t eat a lot of sugar, as I don’t really care for candy or baked goods that much. The NY Times article on sugar was scary but not really surprising, and it was great to see people taking it so seriously. Other than using a tiny bit occasionally in cooking (and honey in my tea), I avoid eating anything with sugar because once I’ve had it I’ll crave more, but when I don’t eat any I don’t feel the need for it at all. Ditto refined wheat, actually. Who would have guessed that the secret to ending food cravings is just to never eat those foods?
As for the standing desk, my first thought was that it would drive me crazy not being able to get my feet underneath. It seems like it might cause some strain in your low and mid back, if you’re like me and have to lean in close to the work. Bravo on making the change, though. I do a lot of my studio work standing up and I find that when I go through stretches of working more sitting down I do have more nagging pain, in my back and neck especially. So, I didn’t read the Times article on sitting but it makes sense to me that it’s a factor in our overall health. The people I know who are the most sedentary are also the ones with the most health problems (although I guess it’s hard to say which caused the other).
Could you raise the cabinet up a couple of inches with a book or block under each side? That would give you a bitty little space in the middle for your feet. Or would the cabinet then be too high?
As far as I’ve been able to find, honey and agave nectar sidestep the toxic effects (on the liver) due to their composition. It’s the fructose overload that causes the liver to produce fatty deposits (I think). I switched to agave about 6 months ago for coffee. Not giving up the occasional JellyBelly attack, though. Moderation in all things (including moderation), eh? Snazzy cabinet/desk, btw!
I had the exact same reaction! Although, hard to convert to stand up desk at work – i do try to stand more and my job doesn’t involve sitting all day so that is good.
As for the Sugar – as another poster already stated, honey is not pr0cessed in the body the same way as sugar. I am trying to cut waaaay back on eating things with processed sugar and have switched to raw honey for my coffee (along with a stevia product i found at whole foods called sweet leaf).
I already avoid most processed foods so it’s not too bad. There is a little bit of sugar in my frosted mini wheats, but they have better fiber than most cereals with less sugar, so it’s a trade off.
Like you said, moderation. I think that is the key. I’m never going to completely give up all sugar, but trying to relegate it to once in a while as opposed to all day every day, is probably a smart move. Guess I am going to have to save all those Swedish Fish for a special occasion instead of eating a bag a week. LOL
I read the sitting down article and felt all worried, I rather like sitting down when I work. I’m up and moving around the office throughout the day, and I switched bathrooms so I have to take two flights of stairs (each way!) to get to the loo. I figure it will all even out in the end.
Thanks for the sugar article! I didn’t see it before, found it odd that they’re not taking into account more recent studies that show that lab rats gain more weight from HFCS when given equal amounts of that and sugar, but do have to agree that anything refined (mostly what makes up a modern Western diet) seems to be the cause of most of the modern health problems. Honey, being a natural and unrefined product that metabolizes differently from sugar, should still be fine so your oatmeal is safe!
The reaction of making a desk you stand at seems like a confusing and incorrect conclusion from the NYT article. The point is to move more, which is why the article mentioned treadmill desks and getting up often; inactivity of any type (see paragraph 7) is bad. If standing at your desk forces you to walk around, move more, or is just better for you, great, but this is an odd reaction. Downloading one of those apps that forces your computer to a screensaver for X minutes every Y minutes to remind you to get up and do something or switching to a treadmill when you surf the Web or what-have-you is a lot more reasonable and helpful. Switching your inactive position is not.
I didn’t read the sitting down article, but I worked for many years in a dispensary, which involves a lot of moving around etc. I’ve been at my desk job now for 10 years and have been seriously thinking about extending the legs on it (I bought Ikea tables for my office way back when) so I can stand at work. Burns more calories, I’d be more productive, etc. Just need to make the change. I may do a trial run for a week or so, see how it works out.
I read both articles, too, and was sort of freaked out, although NPR had a rebuttal to the sugar-as-poison piece in the days following. I, too, am working on a novel and sit for long stretches, which I hate. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that my life as a stay-at-home mom to a preschooler is so much more mobile than the desk-job life I used to lead. We’re sort of always on the go in one way or another, and even just moving about the house all day (except when I sit to write) is enough, it seems, to counter the badness of being occasionally sedentary. I don’t know, I guess my initial reaction was similar to yours, and then the more I thought about, the more I realized that I’m not doing so badly. All those Easter jellybeans aside, of course.
I put my laptop on top of a 4′ bookcase and only use my computer standing up. Have not figured out how to knit standing up. Mary in Cincinnati
Also saw and acted on those articles.. Truvia isn’t too bad, relative to other pretend sweeteners; doesn’t have that weird undertaste.
I read the sugar article and am not sweating it too much. Partly because Canada doesn’t use HFCS and also because I just don’t want to think about it!
I am really aware of the sitting thing, mostly because my body is protesting my desk job. There’s no budget for a desk change unless I can prove that I’m already injured, so I’m working at getting up more during the day and moving. It’s not easy to do and I know that even being active outside of work (which I am) isn’t good enough.
I love your standing desk solution. I hope you find you can spend at least part of your work time there–but I also bet with the kids, you don’t get a lot of time to sit anyway!
Seriously?!! I have to feel guilty about SITTING now, too?! I think that Lucy from the Peanuts comic strip has started writing mean articles for the New York Times. Next, I predict articles warning us that sex, breathing, and hiccups are deadly. I don’t care — I just found out chocolate is a vegetable. Take that, Brussels sprouts! 🙂