Make Your Lifestyle More Active for Weight Loss

Becoming more active is an important part of keeping off the weight you lose during medical weight loss. However, it’s important to remember that “exercising” and “becoming more active” are two different things. Though exercising consistently will help you become more active, there are a number of things you can do outside of your normal workouts to increase your activity level even more.

Making your lifestyle as active as possible will allow you to burn more calories and build more lean muscle, helping you improve your fitness and maintain weight loss. By introducing more activity to your lifestyle at every opportunity, you can help yourself experience better long-term results from your weight loss program.

Remember: everyone has different needs when it comes to physical activity. It’s best to start slowly and become more active gradually. If you have any questions about how safe any form of activity is for you, speak with your doctor.

You can make your lifestyle more active by:

Changing Your Routine

You may be able to modify a number of your daily habits to add more physical activity. Try getting more active while you:

• Watch TV. While you’re catching up on your favorite shows, burn a few calories by lifting free weights, using resistance bands, doing light bodyweight exercises or riding a stationary bike. Keeping tools like these near the TV can remind you to use them while you watch.
• Travel. Whether you’re running errands or heading to work, biking or walking to your destination will be much more active than driving. If you live too far away to walk or bike, try taking the bus and getting off a few stops early to walk the rest of the way.
• Take a lunch break. Instead of spending every lunch break at your desk or in the break room, try using your spare time at lunch to go for a quick walk.

Doing More with Every Chore

Most mundane daily tasks can include more activity by applying a little more elbow grease. Try increasing your activity with:

• Pet care. Instead of simply letting your dog out to romp in the backyard, take him for a walk or head outside to play with him.
• Yard work. We have more modern tools available for yard care than ever before, but choosing to bypass these tools can help you make time in the yard much more active. Try using a push-reel lawnmower or pulling weeds by hand.
• Household clean-up. You can make nearly any task more active by doing it at a faster pace. Whether you’re scrubbing dishes or mopping the floors, do them in a way that challenges you physically.

These are a few simple ways to add more activity to your lifestyle, but they’re far from the only ones. During and after your medical weight loss program, consider the many ways you may be able to increase the amount of physical activity in your daily life.