Due to people leading increasingly sedentary lifestyles, people are experiencing an increase in weight loss. This weight loss not only changes our appearance, but it also puts us at an increased risk of other health problems, including stroke, heart disease and diabetes. Over the past 50 years, the pursuit of convenience has placed even more risk on our bodies in terms of weight related concerns. While ready meals and lifestyle convenience save us time, they’re coming at more of a cost than simply using up more hours in the day. Incidental exercise, such as the physical activity we get each day from our regular duties and activities, can help you to lose weight and could be the difference between losing or maintaining weight. You could help yourself lose more weight simply by taking part in more activities and boosting your daily calorie expenditure, to keep your metabolism working overtime. The more calories you can burn, the less you have to worry about what you’re eating (within reason, of course!).
Although it’s desirable to try and save yourself a little time each day by taking the bus to work or using the lift instead of the stairs, these are activities which cost you where weight loss is concerned. The answer to staving off your weight gain is simple – move more! For example, you can go for a ten minute walk on your lunch break instead of sitting at your desk or in the canteen. If you live too far away from work to walk the whole way, try parking further away or getting off the bus a few stops earlier so that you can walk the remainder of the way. If you have a dog, take it for a couple of extra walks of an evening to burn off the extra calories you’ve consumed throughout the day. Try using a piece of exercise equipment of an evening while you’re watching the TV, or even try leaving the remote on the top of the television so that you have to get up each time you want to change the channel. These small movements may seem trivial but they help you burn calories – the more you move, the more you burn.
In addition to the incidental exercise, you should also do some cardio activities each week to help improve your heart health. It’s thought that around 100 minutes each week is best to keep you healthy. Although most articles you read will tell you specific timescales for each workout, a healthier and easier rule to remember is that any exercise you do is better than none – the more you can do the better, but don’t worry if every week doesn’t match the required amount. You can fit cardiovascular exercise into your lifestyle more easily than you think, too. For example, try going for a jog a couple of times each week around the block or in your local park. Skipping ropes are inexpensive and don’t take up any room in your home, yet they provide a fantastic cardio workout – do ten minutes every other night to get your heart rate up and burn some extra calories. Or you could join an exercise class if your budget allows – they’re great for keeping yourself motivated, you’ll meet people in your local area, and you’ll get a great workout all in one go. Finding the time to exercise isn’t always easy but fitting in smaller activities that offer big results can help you to maintain a healthy weight and improve your wellbeing.
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