Obesity is among the leading disorders many Americans suffer from, including myself. It can be caused by several factors like an unhealthy diet, genetics and other medical conditions. However, obesity is now categorized as a lifestyle disease which means that a person’s lifestyle caused the development of the disorder.  Therefore, a change in that lifestyle may be the solution for his or her condition. So aside from switching to a healthy diet, a change in the daily activity is also required.

You don’t necessarily have to go to the gym or enroll in some fitness class so you can become fit, although they are beneficial. Sometimes all you need to do is to implement a change in how you do everyday things, especially at home. Here are three tips on how you can improve your everyday routine to improve your activity and move towards a healthier lifestyle.

DO IT YOURSELF AND DO IT FOR OTHERS

It is nice to have someone do the work for you and make your life easier, but this in turn can make your weight heavier. So instead of relying on your housekeeper or gardener, why don’t you take on some of these easy tasks like cleaning the house, mowing the lawn, weeding the garden and trimming hedges, or shoveling your sidewalk if you’re capable of doing these things. In a 2-year research conducted on 230 overweight men and women, the study showed that people who spend at least 30 minutes everyday taking the stairs, walking long distances, and raking the lawn got the same benefits as those who went to the gym and spent 20 to 60 minutes a day 5 times a week. Doing these simple activities for yourself will not only help you lose weight, but will also save you money by not hiring people.  Want an extra workout that’ll make you feel great? Volunteer to do the raking or mowing for a neighbor who isn’t able to.

MAKE YOUR TV TIME INTO EXERCISE TIME

Many people find watching TV shows to be relaxing. But many don’t notice that they may have already relaxed too much in front of the television. Studies show that an average American can spend 3 hours a day watching TV and that is not good news for your weight. Watching TV only burns calories slightly higher than sleeping. Researchers in Harvard found that people increases their risk of being obese by 23% by spending 2 hours in front of the tube. So why not cut your TV time by 1 hour and spend it by taking a long walk or gardening?  You’ll likely see a big difference in your health. If you can’t, try stretching or walking in place during the show or at least during the commercials. Or use an exercise ball and hand weights to make the most of your time and making moving off the couch count for more than just getting a snack.

EARN YOUR COMPUTER TIME

If you spend a few hours of your day sitting in front of your computer, why not consider sitting on a big stability or Swiss ball while doing it. Just by merely sitting on this ball for 15 to 20 minutes you can make your muscles work harder, especially your core muscles, as you try to maintain your balance. Doing this may even motivate you to do some stretching or crunches after you’re done with the computer.  Or promise yourself the for every minute you spend on the computer, you’ll do the same amount of minutes in an activity.  This is a great solution for kids and computers, too!  Set a timer to remind yourself to stop early enough to get your exercise in or do the exercise first to “earn’ computer time.

These are simple tricks to make a few healthy changes in your daily activity that can add up to increased health and pounds lost.

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