Creating and Maintaining an Active Lifestyle
Forming an Active Lifestyle
Becoming regularly active takes commitment and time. Don’t expect a daily run to feel natural after only a week. In fact, start small and work your way up to harder, more demanding work outs, especially if you’re not used to the physical activity. Walking is a great way to begin. Even if it’s only for 15 minutes a day at first, that’s a great start. Gradually increase the intensity and length of your workout at a pace that feels comfortable.
What’s most important is daily repetition. Form a schedule and stick to it. It’s nice to have a gym membership or personal trainer, but not everyone has that luxury. Fortunately, you don’t need a gym to maintain an active lifestyle. You can:
- Ride your bike
- Walk around your neighborhood
- Stretch or do yoga at home
- Go for a hike or walk through a local nature trail
In addition to all of the normal types of exercise, there’s always incidental activity—i.e. physical activity lasting less than 10 minutes that’s part of an every-day task. Some such examples include:
- Taking the stairs instead of the elevator
- Park farther from the entrance to a store so that you can walk
- Clean up around the house, even vacuuming requires you to stand
- Walk in place while watching TV
- Stand up, stretch and walk around every so often while at work
Benefits of an Active Lifestyle
In addition to helping you achieve your weight loss goals and avoiding the risk of weight regain following weight loss surgery, a regularly active lifestyle has many health benefits, including:
- Reduce risk of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome
- Slow the loss of bone density
- Positively affects joint conditions such as arthritis
- Strengthens muscles