7 Easy Ways to Be More Active

At the beginning of last summer, I was in the best shape I had been in a long time maybe ever.  Right now not so much.   The last year has been full of a lot of ups and downs and falling off the healthy eating and exercising wagon.  But it's not just the junky food and the little exercise that did me in, it was that I stopped doing a lot of little things I had been doing to be more active and burn more calories.

Now that the kids are back in school, I'm refocusing on getting healthy. So I've compiled a list to remind me and to encourage those who'd like to be more active and fit.  I know sometimes just taking care of the kids and the chores seems like enough but these are little things that you can include every day.

7 Ways for Mom or Anyone to Get Moving!

1. Stand - Choose one activities you normally do sitting and do it standing.  I saw this in a magazine a long time ago and they suggested "talking on the phone" but since I rarely do that, I picked folding clothes.  

2. Walk - Whether it's taking an actual walk or parking farther away.  Look for opportunities to add more walking to your day.  Currently I'm parking between my kids' schools and walking to them.  Easy way to add activity to my afternoon.

3. Dance - We listen to music a lot at our house.  Every time one of our favorite songs comes on, the kids and I stop what we are doing and dance. 

4. Cook - Cooking and baking your own food (especially from scratch) is a great calorie burner and has the bonus of you know exactly what you are consuming. 

5. Play - Play with your kids or if you don't have kids your dog or if you don't have either you can offer to babysit some (I'm sure some tired mother would be glad for the break!)  Whether it's hide and seek or tag or wrestle all help you get your activity level up.

6. Go Outside - Right now just going outside here in Texas makes you break a sweat but there is something about sunshine that just seems to promote health and activity. 

7. Clean. Cleaning your house is great exercise. Of course, you are probably already doing it but at least you can remind yourselves when you are vacuuming for the 3rd time that day week that you are burning calories and getting your body moving.

Of course, these are not meant to replace exercise and I'm not a doctor or fitness expert.  These are just ways, I'm found to get myself moving more throughout my day.

What your favorite way to be active?

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