Physical activity can burn calories to help you maintain your weight. However, you may be surprised to find out that it doesn't burn as many calories as you think.
If you're not exercising while you lose weight, about 1 out of every 4 pounds you lose could be from lost muscle mass. This can make you weaker and lower your metabolism (the rate your body uses calories).
You'll lose less muscle if you do strengthening exercises as part of your weight management program.
Examples of strengthening exercises are:
- lifting weights
- body weight exercises such as push-ups and squats
- climbing stairs
- resistance band exercises
Choosing your physical activity
You’ll be more successful being active if you do something that you enjoy. It’s hard to stick with something you don’t like doing.
To start, can you think of anything you can do to make doing physical activity easier? If not, that’s OK. Read on and find some tips and ideas to help.
Something to ask yourself...
Go to your
reflection journal and check off the statements below that are true for you.
I want to:
It can help keep you motivated if you remind yourself of the benefits of physical activity. Make a plan and schedule activity into each day
People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing. That’s why we recommend it daily.Zig Ziglar
Think back to a time when you were building up your activity and got into a nice routine. Then you faced a roadblock or something that stopped your routine. The roadblock may have been that you got sick, the weather changed, you went on vacation, or had a big deadline at work.
These things happen to everyone and will likely happen again. What are you going to do? How will you get past this road block so that you can keep working on being healthier?
Here are some ideas:
- Plan active outings on your vacation.
- If you’re staying at a hotel, take 30 minutes at the start or end of your day to use the fitness centre.
- Try keeping to your plan—deadlines are important but not as important as your health.
- Ask for help at work or at home to keep a healthy work-life balance.
Try to keep your routine. Changing the activity, the intensity, or how long you do the activity can help you to maintain new habits. Be realistic, but keep working at this.
Like success, failure is many things to many people. With a Positive Mental Attitude, failure is a learning experience, a rung on the ladder, a plateau at which to get your thoughts in order and prepare to try again.
W. Clement Stone
Go to your
reflection journaland think about how roadblocks are a normal part of change and need to be part of the plan.
What's helped you in the past to keep active even when you hit a roadblock?
