TIPS TO STAY ACTIVE ☀️

June 2, 2022

KEEPING YOUR BODY ACTIVE THIS SUMMER

+ ways to easily improve your health starting today.

☀️ 🚴🏾‍♀️ 💪🏼

As the days get longer and as the Earth blooms into season, we are inclined to spend more time outside and reflect on the health of our bodies. That's why this month we are focused on growing out of sedentary habits and incorporating movement into our daily lives.

Here are a few ways to introduce exercise, simple movement, and healthy habits into your life so that you can be your best self this summer.

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Moving your body, even just a little, while doing otherwise sedentary things:

Do you work from home or in the office, or simply just have some time on your hands and find yourself sitting or remaining in the same position for hours? Moving your body while doing otherwise sedentary things can drastically improve your mental and physical health without really even trying! Did you know that sitting at a desk for hours on end can put you at increased risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure?

Get up every hour. Being sedentary for long periods is not good for your health. Set a timer that will remind you to get up and move for a few minutes every hour. When it goes off, get up and grab a healthy snack, walk up and down the stairs, or even do some quick jumping jacks to get your heart pumping and boost your energy.
Choose the "harder" way. Making simple decisions to park in the back of the parking lot instead of the front, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or using a basket instead of a shopping cart are all excellent ways to push your body to be less sedentary and stronger without actually going out of your way to exercise.
Do you brush your teeth? Watch TV? Wait for hours on hold with your cell phone service? Do some squats, walk around your house, or watch and follow along to a quick YouTube guided workout while you do those activities!

Introducing one thing into your life instead of taking away things:

In many instances, when trying to improve the health of your body, we are often focused on cutting "bad" things out or feel that we have only succeeded when we reach that goal weight. We often think of exercise as the "punishment" to get where we want to be and on top of all that, diet culture can be toxic and consuming. But with just a shift of perspective, all of these losses can be turned around into wins.

Living a healthy lifestyle is not about being perfect all the time, in fact that could be unhealthy! If you struggle with cutting out your favorite "bad" foods to be healthier, try adding a "good" food to your diet instead. Being healthy is a lifelong learning process, and doesn't require you to change overnight. After adding good things to your life, improvement is already achieved.

The same concept applies with exercise. If you are struggling to find your motivation to reach your health goals, just test the water first instead of jumping right in! Instead of tracking and limiting your calories and skipping meals to lose weight, try adding in a 30 minute exercise every day while keeping the same diet. In the long run, the overall wellbeing of your body improves in a healthier way regardless. Starting small leads to big things!

Prioritizing what actually brings you joy:

We succeed the most when we do what we love.

Exercise can be found in many things outside of having a membership to a gym. If walking on the treadmill and lifting weights doesn't light up your life...you aren't alone! 😝 Finding your passion and honing in on it is the single best way to improve yourself as a human mentally and physically.
Think outside the box when it comes to moving your body. Gardening, bike riding, zumba, pilates, yoga, kayaking, hiking and dancing are all excellent ways to get your body moving!