Task - Build Up Your Activity (even more!)

The task:

Get at least 20 minutes of moderate, focussed activity into your day. Make sure you’re raising your heart rate so that you’re reasonably breathless and beginning to sweat slightly.

Help with Activity:

Getting some activity into your daily life is really important when it comes to weight loss and health, but you don’t have to go from zero to running marathons to make a difference!

Building up your fitness level will not only benefit your all round wellbeing it will also burn more calories – making it easier for you to achieve your weight loss goal and giving you more calories to add to your daily allowance.

You don’t need to have any fancy equipment or an expensive gym membership. Whatever you can do to raise your heart rate and make yourself slightly out of breath counts!

Don’t forget to add your activity to your exercise diary so the calories you burn will be added to your daily calorie quota.

Types of activity you could try...

• Walking ... Anything from walking around the block, taking the dog for a walk or walking to and from the shops instead of driving. You can also find local walking groups or just have a mosey round your local park. Try to keep it brisk.
• Walking Up and Down Your Stairs... A bit more strenuous than walking on flat ground, and burns more calories. You could even try it while carrying a tin of beans in each hand to get extra oomph from the exercise. This one was a favourite of WLR’s founder when she started her weight loss journey!
• Cycling... If you’ve already got a bike cycling can easily take the place of walking. As with walking, most big towns and cities now have local cycling groups that you could join if you wanted to.
• Dancing... Stick some of your favourite music on and dance around your living room! This one is a real feel good activity, and can easily get other family members involved. It doesn’t cost anything and doesn’t feel like a chore!
• Exercise DVD’s... If you feel you want a little more structure there are plenty of good exercise DVD’s available for any fitness level for less than £10. Most of the popular ones have been tried and tested in the past by WLR members – why not ask on the boards for some of their favourites?
• Swimming...  A personal favourite of some of the WLR staff, swimming is a great exercise to do if it’s something you love. It works your whole body and can be done at a pace that suits you. It’s even really quite relaxing!