Reflex “Diet”
A newspaper article began four years of research and writing into what was to become the reflex “diet” and the book Un-Sit Your Life, the reflex “diet” solution.
The article reported those who sat more died earlier than those who didn’t. Hmmm, I thought, these people aren’t getting enough pressure to their feet since they’re sitting so much rather than standing or walking.
Linking pressure and feet to health consequences was familiar territory to us. We first realized the value of pressure to the feet when we we worked with paralyzed individuals in 1980.
It was these same ideas we were to apply when we became aware of the problems of sitting too much. When I needed an idea for a writing project, I remembered the sitting study. Soon I couldn’t get away from prolonged sitting, the idea that is. Article after article, study after study—I was fascinated with what happens when we sit too much. It was the reflex effect at work. Utilizing not only pressure sensors of the feet but also postural muscles of the body had potential to create impact on the inner us, cognitive abilities, walking capabilities and our basic operating system.
We applied the ideas to our lives. We sat less, moved more and utilized reflexology mats, walking barefoot on a varied surface. The results for Kevin were dramatic. One day his pants fell off. We then realized he was losing weight—and that his un-sitting campaign was responsible since neither his diet nor exercise had changed. He would go on to lose 40 pounds in weight and 6 inches to his waist in 8 months. By the way, his weight and waist loss continue as his metabolism has changed.
What is the reflex diet?
Chair dweller lifestyle meet your inner cave dweller metabolism. Our bodies are designed to move more than is common in our sitting cultures. Solution: every footstep is a potential nutrient feeding metabolism and muscle thrown into chaos by sitting too much.
In a food diet, nutrition comes from what you eat. Food is the delivery method for the vitamins, proteins, minerals, and carbohydrates that are then processed by the body and provide nutrition to it. You have to consider carefully how much and what sort of food you eat to create a healthy intake of nutrition.
In the reflex “diet”, “nutrition” comes from what you do. Sitting, standing, and walking are the delivery methods for the reflex actions
of core postural muscles and the foot’s pressure sensors that are then processed by the body to provide “nutrition”. You have to consider how often, how much, and what sort of activity you need to undertake in order to remain healthy.
Just as nutrition in food impacts the whole body, so too does
the “nutrition” of sitting, standing, and walking. The reflex actions involved in moving you about get the workout for which they were designed. As a result, metabolic and other processes are practiced adequately to maintain the operation of the body as it is meant to be. The goal is to re-set the metabolic rhythm and muscular pattern designed by the body’s ancient ancestry. The result is weight control and a lessened risk for chronic, degenerative diseases.
Learn more: Un-Sit Your Life, the reflex diet solution.
