At work, I used to eat my lunch during my fifteen minute break, and then I'd go out for a walk during my half-hour off. Not any more. Now I use that half hour to write, or to market my book, or to spend time on social media promoting it. I don't get out of the house nearly as often on weekends, either. The thing is, when all this fantastically exciting stuff is happening in your head, it's hard to pull yourself away from it. Writing is probably even less conducive to exercise than reading is.

And I don't know what it is, but something about writing makes me feel like I need oral stimulation while I'm doing it. Pretty much constantly. Fortunately, I've figured out that calorie-free tea works just as well as anything else, but if I'd decided that honey and sesame covered cashews were what needed to be passing my lips as I typed, then I'd be in trouble indeed. I guess the other good thing about tea is that it means I have to keep getting up to use the restroom. So at least I get that exercise.

The other strategy I've learned is to write standing; I have a standing desk at home to which I can pull up a stool when I get tired of being on my feet. And at work I sit on an exercise ball, which means I'm more likely to wiggle around while I'm working and then to pop up and move when I'm ready for a break than I might otherwise be.

So what I'm saying is, I've found ways to make sure that writing a book isn't something that makes me gain weight, but I could understand if it made others put on a few pounds. And it hasn't sent me to the chiropractor's any more than usual, but it would make sense if it did. In the end, it has taken me work to keep my weight even, and if I'd thought I was going to combine dieting and writing somehow, I would have been sorely disappointed. If you're about to start a writing project, plan accordingly.

Oh, and then I also have serious fantasies about getting a Walkstation. If I had known at the beginning of the project how things were going to be, I might have seriously considered investing. (Of course, back then, all the options were way out of my price range.)

I'd love to hear from other writers. What do you do to resist the urge to stay sitting and keep typing? How do you keep the pounds from piling on? Do any writers out there have and use a treadmill desk?