In this section you’ll start to:
- think about how active you are now
- find out how moving every day is good for you
- understand the difference between active living and planned activity
- learn different ways to be active
Moving every day helps you to be more fit. It also improves your overall health and well-being.
To start thinking about moving, watch this 9-minute video (23 1/2 hours).
Why move everyday
Moving every day and eating fewer calories are the most common ways to control your weight. Being more active can help your body use up calories and improve your health.
When you're starting to get more active, focus on:
- activities you enjoy
- spending more time being active
- keeping your muscles strong
Too much sitting or not moving very much is called being sedentary. Being sedentary or not using very much energy during your waking time isn’t good for your health.
Common sedentary behaviours are things like driving, reading, and too much screen time like watching TV, playing video games, or spending a lot of time on the computer.
You can’t avoid some sedentary behaviours. You can break up your sitting time. This is a good way to add activity into your day. Try to get up to refill your water bottle, move, or walk around the room once every hour. This will help give you a physical and mental break from your work. When you’re watching TV in the evening, you can try to get up and walk during commercial breaks to move your body.
Something to ask yourself...
Go to your
reflection journal and think about how active you are on a usual day? Include both when you’re at work and when you’re at home.
What parts of your day would you like to make more active?
