Being more active is a frame of mind. We are so accustomed to sitting during the day that it takes effort to move more.
The first step to sitting less and moving more is to become aware of how much sitting you are doing.
- Do you sit while doing the following activities?
- watching television
- talking on the telephone
- working
- commuting to and from work
- When given the option between either walking or taking an elevator up one flight or down two flights of stairs, which do you choose most often?
- Do you try to find the closest parking spot at the shopping centre?
If you answered yes to any of the above, you are not alone. With modernization and all of the conveniences that come with it, our lives have become more sedentary. Unfortunately, this comes at a cost to our health because we are sitting more than ever.
How Do I Sit Less and Move More?
Reflect on the activities you do sitting. Is there a way you could do them without sitting?
- Can you get up and stretch and go for a short (2 minute) walk every hour that you sit either at work or watching television?
- If you have a cordless phone would you consider getting up and moving around while talking for some or all of the conversation?
- Instead of finding the closest parking spot, would you consider parking or getting off public transit a short distance away from where you are going?
- Can you walk or bike part of your commute to work?
The final step to sitting less and moving more is to make an action plan.
- Pick one thing you could do to sit less and move more.
- Start small and build your way to a more active life.
Some people find wearing a pedometer (a small device that measures the number of steps you walk) very helpful to see how much they are engaging in active living. Once you have a baseline of the number of steps you take in a day (using a pedometer) you could challenge yourself to increase that number!
Find out how to build an action plan »
