Do Something Active Each Day
A round trip around the nearby lake is three miles and if you were to walk it, takes about an hour or so (depends on how leisurely you want to take it) to get there and back. It’s not a strenuous walk by any stretch and on a nice day you probably wouldn’t even break a sweat making the trip. Each week, my wife and I try to make a trip around the lake on foot at least once, hopefully twice, though our recent biking addition has really incentivized us to explore the nearby area on bike rather than on foot.
Anyway, the walk isn’t what I would consider exercise because it doesn’t leave you tired, sweaty, and panting; it’s just a nice walk that helps you enjoy the outdoors and the beautiful weather… but it is exercise. It burns calories just as if we ran it and doing something active each day helps improve your health even if it doesn’t feel like it.
Think about it, it’s like the reverse of drinking a soda each day. A soda has about a hundred calories in a 12 oz. can and one of the best ways to lose weight, if you drink soda, is to stop. Stop snacking, stop drinking soda, etc. These are all small things that you can stop, here’s a small thing that you can start that can pay off in the long run.
It certainly doesn’t beat running, biking, or hitting the weights at the gym, but it’s something that you can do with a friend or a loved one that can help you two connect better. It’s harder to chat on a bike or while you’re running, especially if you’re not a runner, but by walking you get to chat and sneak in some light exercise.
Do something active each day and you’ll see the benefits.
2 People have left comments on this post
Sep 2, 2008 - 09:09:47Getting active is the key, not only physically, but mentally. Even light exercise tells our subconscious mind that things are changing. It’s too easy to emphasize this diet or that diet, when any good diet will bring results. Getting active makes it all happen.
You make the point well. It does not have to be a “workout.” It needs to be activity, movement, action. Makes all the difference.
There was a study a few years back that looked at how the daily activities of an old order Amish community resulted in almost 0% obesity.
No workouts or spinning classes or restrictive dieting.
Just the type of work our ancestors used to perform on a daily basis.
While it is unlikely that many of us are willing to pull a Green Acres and abandon modern life for the life of our great grandparents, maybe we can learn a lesson from them and try to be more active in our daily activities.
Stairs v.s elevators
Walk to the corner store
Rake the leaves instead of using a leaf blower…