Tag: Trying to lose weight

How do You Stay Healthy With Leisure Time Activities?

Keep Active with Leisure Time Activity!

 

Want to know a simple way to stay active in your spare time — and burn extra calories without it feeling like a “chore?” It’s easy! Increase your leisure time activity!

Leisure time physical activity is generally considered any exercise, sport or recreational activity that is not job related; is not a household task; and is not fulfilling a transportation need.

Currently, the average adult in the United States spends 90% of their leisure time sitting.  While that statistic sounds a bit scary, it’s very simple to stay active and not fall under the “average.”

Increasing leisure time activity not only helps you stay active — it can help you with your weight loss efforts, and can positively impact heart health and longevity.

Six Ways to Increase Your Leisure Time Activity:

 

1)  Find something you like!  No amount of coaxing, coaching, or fancy accountability programs will motivate you to stick to something in your leisure time that you are not interested in.

Choose activities you enjoy and that rejuvenate you.  Some examples include: playing with your kids, walking your dog, hiking with friends, walking by the water, cycling or strolling through a botanical garden. These can all be considered leisure time activities.

2)  Turn off the screen!  Pay attention to how many hours you spend watching TV and/or surfing on the internet.  Try turning off the screen for one day on the weekend.  Use that time for physically active recreation.

Sometimes it’s difficult to unplug for a whole day.  If that’s the case, decide how much time you need for your task, set a timer, and log off when you’re done.  Then, go do something more physically active.

3)  Exercise with purpose!  Local walks/runs for charities are great leisure activities that also raise money for your favorite causes.

4)  Ditch the car.  Take advantage of any opportunity to leave your car parked and walk.

5)  Track your progress!  Step counters are a great way to measure an increase in activity.  Seeing the effects of walking to the movies, throwing the ball with your kids, or taking the dog to the park will inspire you to keep it up.  Whether you are athletic or not, a monitor can also motivate you to be competitive with yourself — which can lead to an increase in activity.

6)  Try something new.  Have a desire to try a new activity?  Commit to trying it one time.  Who knows? You may hit the jackpot and find something you want to keep up regularly.

Some examples would be horseback riding, a golf lesson, visiting the museum, hiking in a park you haven’t been to and having a picnic, or strolling at a mall you’ve never been to.

No matter what you choose, keep it fun.  It is leisure time after all!

Here’s to staying active!

Jennifer

 

 

Stop Trying To Lose Weight!

Have you been trying to lose weight and it won’t budge? Or, even worse, maybe you’ve had some success only find to yourself gaining it all back and then some? Do not be discouraged! I can help you!

Your body believes you!

First off, stop TRYING to lose weight! When you use the word “try,” you set your subconscious up for failure. The body does not recognize “try” as an action word. Replace “try” with “I’ll give it my best shot.” When you tell yourself, “I’ll give it my best shot,” you are telling your body that you BELIEVE you can and will lose weight. Your subconscious will now steer you toward activities and behaviors to accomplish your goal rather than sabotage you.

Between you and me, I used to  obsess about weight loss rather than being healthy and active. The results sent me into a negative tailspin. It’s important you lose weight being “who you are” instead of living up to someone else’s expectations of exercise and food choices. This can lead to way too much pressure — and ultimately, failure.

In order to lose weight and keep it off permanently, a few simple guidelines will serve you well as you create your plan. Any worthy goal you set must have a plan of actionable steps in order for you to succeed. The most important thing is that the plan be realistic for your life — not a copy of someone else’s plan and life.

Follow these simple steps and start losing weight right away!

1)  Stop looking for the quick fix! One of the quickest ways to hop on the roller coaster of weight loss is to participate in fad diets. Diets have a 95% failure rate for a reason. A healthy, balanced eating plan is the recipe for long term success. Read this article for tips on How To Lose Weight Without Feeling Deprived Or Hungry.

2)  Exercise Regularly! It really is that simple! My clients that lose the most weight and keep it off for good exercise most days of the week and follow their healthy eating plan. Some examples are walking, hiking, biking, swimming, indoor cardio equipment, and videos.

3)  Incorporate Lifestyle Activity! Our convenient lifestyles can make us fat if we are not careful. Technology is wonderful. However, the convenience of technology has removed much of the physical activity from our everyday lives. This convenience requires that we plan physical activity into our day on purpose!

Your goal should be to spend as many calories as you can per day! I don’t mean training in the gym or outdoors for hours. What I mean is all the little extras that require movement. Activities like taking the stairs, parking at the back of the lot, walking across the mall, walking the dog, and walking your kids to school are all examples of lifestyle activities. Examples in a more rural environment could be walking to the mailbox, gardening, mowing, mucking stalls. You get the picture!

4)  Get proper sleep! Substantial medical evidence is telling us that a lack of sleep affects hormones in the body which is linked to an increase in appetite. Your body is less satisfied and you are tempted to eat more. Lack of sleep can cause you to reach for sugary foods in an effort to get a boost energy. The result is a temporary fix and an increase in caloric intake.

Without proper sleep, you are less motivated to be active. However, thirty  minutes of moderate activity may actually help you sleep.

If stress is keeping you up all night, take steps to reduce and manage the stress. If you have too much on your plate, see where you can cut things out. If you are suffering from anxiety and depression, you may want to seek a life coach and/or trained psychologist to help you get to the root of the issue.

The list above isn’t flashy and it doesn’t include cave man diets! It’s the formula that has worked for years and continues to work to this day. Unfortunately, the fad diet media has seriously confused the issue!

Take these simple steps and apply them consistently — and I know you will get results!

Blessings!

Jennifer