Did you know that people with higher levels of 
sedentary behavior have higher mortality rates than more active individuals, even when they participate in the recommended minimal levels of moderate physical activity? Researchers speculated that a sedentary lifestyle could have negative effects, even when people aren’t entirely sedentary. Findings were presented at the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) annual meeting in May. According to Charles E. Matthews, PhD, physical activity epidemiologist and lead author, “Our results indicate that while exercise did reduce risk of early death, even quite high levels of exercise did not overcome the influence of high levels of television viewing on mortality risk… The results add to the growing evidence that the adverse effects of sedentary behavior are independent of the benefits gained from moderate to vigorous activity.” Read the full article.
Prolonged Sitting Leads to Heart Disease
You may 
already know that if you exercise regularly you can reduce your chance of getting diseases like high blood pressure, cardiovascular problems, low metabolism, high levels of cholesterol, diabetes and some types of cancer. Research shows that prolonged sitting leads to greater risk of heart disease, and suggests that 30 minutes of exercise a day may not be enough to keep diseases at a healthy distance. A study on sedentary behaviors effect in men at the University of South Carolina showed that men who spent more than 23 hours a week sitting, have 64 percent more risk to die from heart disease than the men who spent less than 11 hours a week sitting. All men exercised routinely.
It’s time to start integrating more movement into your daily life, simply by taking short breaks and taking a walk, or walking slowly while you work using a treadmill desk.
Weight loss – calories in vs. calories out
Achieving a healthy body weight is a simple math equation of managing your calories in and calories out. To successfully lose weight, you must create a calorie deficit through a combination of eating fewer calories and increasing your daily physical activity.
Slow, steady weight loss is more likely to last than dramatic weight changes. Healthy plans aim for a loss of no more than ½ pound to 1 pound per week. If you lose weight too quickly, you are more likely to lose muscle and water. You also will be more likely to regain the pounds quickly afterwards. Attempting to start your program with an extremely high calorie deficit can be dangerous to your health. It may even cause your body to store more fat to compensate for too few calories.
To ensure you’re losing body fat eat fewer calories than you burn throughout each day, perform cardiovascular exercise and if possible engage in resistance training. If you don’t perform resistance training and are limiting your calorie intake to less calories than you need in a day, it is possible that about 25 percent of each pound you lose will come from lean muscle.
To lose one pound of body fat you need a 3,500-calorie deficit over time (e.g., 500 fewer calories a day for seven days).
To safely reduce your caloric intake, lower your calories per day by at least 500, but no more than 1,000. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends that calorie levels never drop below 1,200 calories per day for women or 1,800 calories per day for men, otherwise you risk causing an ongoing reduction in your resting metabolism, making it even more challenging to lose weight.
Loosing weight can often seem like a daunting and almost impossible goal, but if you simplify it down to a daily task of just reducing your calorie intake and increasing your calories burned it can be achieved over time.