You have 0 items in your cart
Hi! Welcome to Fit, Food, and Fun Fridays! Today we’ll talk about easy activity boosters to include in your daily routine to stay in shape. As more and more cautions of living a sedentary life are publicized, you may feel challenged to discover ways to incorporate more physical activity into your everyday life. In the busy times we live in, adding anything else into your schedule is probably hard to imagine!
As many of you know, the world has been told to watch what you eat and how much you exercise. The message has been loud and clear: “eat right and exercise regularly if you want to lose weight and keep it off.” Unfortunately, most people ignore the message and end up eating more and exercising less.
There is no denying that being physically active is one of the best ways to stay healthy and increase mental well-being. However, for many of us, time is often at a premium. As a result, being active can often be an afterthought when considering the day’s activities. However, this is a mistake, because you can’t get your heart rate to increase without moving! Diet and exercise are the foundations of healthy living, but to increase your physical activity level, you can also incorporate other activities into your daily routine that you wouldn’t normally do.
Recent studies have shown that physical activity is one of the most effective tools you can use to lose weight and improve your overall health. Any form of exercise will help you burn energy, increase your body’s metabolism, and encourage weight loss. Unfortunately, not everyone has the time or ability to exercise, and many people may be unfamiliar with the proper techniques necessary to attain a healthful lifestyle. To help you take charge of your health, we’ve put together our top suggestions for easy activity boosters for your daily routine to stay in shape.
These suggestions will help you infuse more physical activity into your life using your normal daily routines:
Infuse Physical Activity Into Your Daily Life
1. Use housekeeping as a physical activity.
Just keeping up on your minor housekeeping tasks can provide daily activities which keep your body moving in all kinds of ways. Sweeping, dusting, mopping, and vacuuming are all wonderful ways to stay active.
- Of course, it’s necessary to avoid over-doing chores in any given day. A less taxing way is to do just one or two home-keeping tasks daily.
- Another method to structure your housekeeping duties is to clean just one room per day. This rotation method can be spread across 5 or 6 days during your busy week, which ensures you’ll get some physical activity each day from cleaning rather than be overloaded on a single day.
- At any rate, keeping your home in tip-top shape is one of the best ways to keep your body vibrant.
2. Accept exercise as a daily event.
Regard exercising the same as you do taking a shower or brushing your teeth. In other words, see exercise as a normal part of life. Once you change your mind-set about how you view exercise, you can accept it as a naturally recurring aspect of your daily existence.
- Before you shower in the morning, take 20 minutes for a quick walk, run, or exercise DVD. When you do physical activity first thing in the morning, you’ve got the energy to get through it. Plus, you’ll go in to the rest of your day feeling like you accomplished something.
- Alternatively, throw your bag of work-out clothes into your car so that on your way home from work, you can stop in at the health club for 30 minutes of exercise. It will help you de-stress from work and renew your energy for a great evening.
- Or, play music and dance before dinner. You can do this while it cooks. Nothing gets you moving and burning calories like listening to your favorite tunes and dancing. Get the entire family into the act! Your mood will lift and your stomach, hips and legs will get toned while you’re having fun.
3. Exercise while watching TV.
Think about a television show you watch each evening that lasts 30 minutes. The steady schedule of the program will help you keep your exercise consistent, too. Do some toe touches, squats and modified sit-ups to burn calories and maintain a toned appearance while you watch your favorite show.
4. Stay active in your community.
When you volunteer to help out in your community, choose an activity that keeps you moving. Help clean a local civic organization hall or serve food at a local church or community club.
Avoid a sedentary lifestyle by making exercise a priority. Use these tips to help you get started and then think of other ways you could bring exercise into your regular routines.
Daily exercise can be a normal part of your healthy life – without having to fit another time slot into your busy schedule!
These simple activity boosters can get you moving toward a healthier you. In the 21st century, it’s too easy to become a spectator of life by sitting for hours at a time. It’s not the easiest thing to do, but changing your daily routine to incorporate a few of these easy activity boosters can make a huge difference. It’s a positive step toward a healthier you!
I would love to give you a free resource sheet to support your healthy weight loss journey. Click the button below to receive your gift.
I really wanted to talk about this topic today because the overweight and obesity epidemic is at an all-time high! We are a fat society and it’s killing us prematurely. Not only do I truly believe that you have the power to lose weight to improve your health, but the science also agrees! You can adopt healthy lifestyle practices that improve your health and enrich your life, which can in turn improve the lives of those close to you. You have the power to break the cycle of obesity so that you can leave a legacy of health to your loved ones.
I use functional medicine and lifestyle medicine as the first line of treatment, before medications, to treat lifestyle-related chronic diseases. Lifestyle-related chronic diseases include diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and some cancers, just to name a few. Lifestyle practices, such as eating a whole-food plant-based diet and regular physical activity, can help you lose weight, and maybe reverse some of your chronic diseases. In certain cases, these approaches may even outperform pharmaceutical therapy.
But I always tell my patients that conventional medications may be appropriate at this time to prevent catastrophic illness, but over time, you can work to make the necessary lifestyle changes to possibly reduce and/or eliminate medications. Please remember to always consult your physician for your particular needs and circumstances prior to making any decisions whatsoever.
Is Dietary Supplementation Right For You?
If you’re like most people, you might think that dietary supplements are a quick and easy way to lose weight. But the truth is, there’s no magic pill when it comes to weight loss. Supplements can help you lose weight by providing your body with the nutrients it needs to function properly, but they won’t work unless you make lifestyle changes as well.
For some people, vitamin and mineral supplements offer important health benefits. Supplements are designed to fight deficiencies found in our diet and complement the food we eat regularly. Supplements are basically “helping hands” to our daily food.
If you suspect that you aren’t getting the nutrients you need, consider shifting your focus from supplements to eating better.
But it is very important to note that we are not eating the same foods we ate years ago because the soils have been depleted of critical nutrients through current industrial farming practices. And because the soil is not as good as it used to be, the food supply (grown from the depleted soil) is not as good as it used to be. For example, you are not getting the same levels of magnesium as you would have gotten 30 or even 50 years ago.
Second, much of the food has been genetically altered, which can impact the inherent and unique nutritional composition that each food possess. For example, ancient einkorn wheat has less gluten, more protein, more Vitamin A, and more beta carotene, than modern genetically modified wheat.
Third, the toxic load in the environment today is much higher than 100 years ago. We can see this with global warming, toxic landfills, polluted oceans and waterways, etc. Toxicity levels interfere with nutrient assimilation and absorption not just into the foods, but into our bodies as well.
So… if you are unable to eat better, the supplements in my Body Composition/Weight Loss Protocol may provide the extra boost you need.
These are my favorite Weight Loss Supplements to use! This Body Composition/Weight Management Bundle will ensure you have the intake of the important vitamins, minerals, and probiotics to decrease inflammation and boost your innate wellness day and night. Taken together, it’s a solid plan for increasing your body’s natural resiliency while you lose weight, naturally.
For best results make sure you use my weight loss supplements with dietary changes including a whole food plant-based diet, regular exercise (at least 2-3x per week), regular sleep (8 hours per night), and intermittent fasting (at least 1-3x per week).
Weight Monitoring
Since weight management is very important in combatting chronic diseases, I recommend that you be mindful of your weight and its fluctuations, and that you monitor your weight AT LEAST on a weekly basis. I recommend a scale that includes a body composition monitor (*this scale cannot be used with a pacemaker or other implanted devices).
Physical Activity
Physical activity (or exercise) can improve your health and reduce the risk of developing several chronic diseases like high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and cancer, just to name a few. Physical activity can improve your mood, boost your immune system, and even help you maintain a healthy weight.
I often recommend yoga and resistance training for physical activity, but as you are aware, there are plenty of forms of “movement” that you can do! But for the basics, especially if you’re just getting started, yoga and resistance training are where I would start.
Yoga
Yoga can be a great way to improve your strength and flexibility, manage your stress, improve your heart health, and lose weight! I recommend using a grounded yoga mat to connect yourself with the earth and reduce inflammation.
Resistance Training
Resistance training is the mainstay for overall health. It not only has beneficial effects on reducing body fat, it also increases muscle size and strength. Check out some basic dumbbells/free weights that I recommend to everyone.
Another alternative for dumbbells/free weights are resistance bands. They are great for physical therapy, yoga, strength training, and excellent for traveling.
Still Can’t Lose Weight?
Losing weight is hard work. You’ve changed your diet, started working out, but you still can’t seem to lose the last few pounds. Have you ever thought that something else could be going on? It’s time to dig deeper and look at the root cause. It could be that your hormones are out of balance or that you have micronutrient deficiencies. Let’s take a look at why these factors may be playing a role in your weight loss journey and how to fix them.
Micronutrients Activate Genes That Regulate Hormones
Our bodies need micronutrients to look and feel their best. Micronutrients—vitamins, minerals, and other trace elements—activate genes that regulate hormones and help our bodies function properly. If those vitamins and minerals are lacking in your body, it can cause hormone imbalances which can affect a wide range of body functions including mood, metabolism, appetite, and stress levels. Hormonal imbalances can also lead to cravings for unhealthy foods or eating when you’re not actually hungry.
Blood Sugar Imbalance & Food Sensitivities
What we eat impacts our blood sugar levels; if our blood sugar isn’t balanced we may feel tired or weak throughout the day or experience food cravings later in the evening. We might also have food sensitivities—ingredients we eat all the time may suddenly become problematic for us without us even knowing it. Food sensitivities contribute to inflammation which robs our body of energy and vitality necessary to stay healthy and active.
The Vibrant Weight Loss Package
If you suspect there is more going on than just diet and exercise changes impacting your weight loss journey then The Vibrant Weight Loss Package might be right for you! This package provides insight into micronutrient deficiencies as well as hormone imbalances that could be contributing factors to why you aren’t losing weight despite making lifestyle changes. The package includes tests such as a comprehensive metabolic profile plus vitamin D level test, complete thyroid panel with TSH reflex testing, nutritional hormone panel with estrogen metabolites testing, an adrenal stress index test plus a cortisol saliva test monitor kit (for home use). With this package you will get the insight needed to start losing weight for good!
In A Nutshell…
Unbalanced hormones, micronutrient deficiencies, blood sugar imbalance and food sensitivities are all factors that could be impacting your weight loss journey if diet and exercise alone aren’t working for you. If this sounds familiar then it may be time to dig deeper into potential underlying causes by getting tested with The Vibrant Weight Loss Package! This comprehensive package will provide answers so you know exactly what needs to change in order to start seeing results from your diet & lifestyle changes once again!
Remember, living a healthy lifestyle including eating a whole foods plant-based diet, regular physical activity, and reducing stress are the best ways to maintain a healthy weight.
Dr. Nicolle Martin
Dr. Nicolle is double board-certified in Family Medicine and Preventive Medicine. As one of the nation’s most acclaimed primary care and public health physicians, she is a nationally recognized author, speaker, researcher, consultant and media personality. She is the Founder and Chief Medical Advisor of DrNicolleMD.com, where she discusses actionable ideas and real-world strategies to help people take control of their health using integrative therapies and lifestyle change.
Dr. Nicolle also shares her knowledge via her popular social media accounts “Maximize Health” to help people pursue a healthier life. Her motto is simple: Minimize Medications, Maximize Health. With her credentials and warm “bedside manner,” it’s no wonder that the doctor is renowned as “America’s Favorite Family Physician.”
Some of the links in this article are "affiliate links", a link with a special tracking code. This means if you click on an affiliate link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission.
The price of the item is the same whether it is an affiliate link or not. Regardless, we only recommend products or services we believe will add value to our readers.
By using the affiliate links, you are helping support our Website, and we genuinely appreciate your support.
Last updated on July 12th, 2022 at 11:18 am
Minimize Medications. Maximize Health.
Are you super busy but need to take control of your health? Are you tired of being tired? Subscribe to my “Minimize Medications, Maximize Health Blog” and I’ll give you 7 Tips to Get Healthy in No Time absolutely FREE.
