What is Considered an Active Lifestyle?
If you have been trying to lose weight or you just want to up your activity levels for a healthier lifestyle, then you are probably wondering what constitutes an active lifestyle for you to reach your goals.
Today, we will go into what different activity levels there are, as well as the benefits of having an active lifestyle, plus, what you can do to make sure that you are getting into your daily exercise so you can reap the health benefits of putting yourself first.
What Does an Active Lifestyle Mean?
If you want to have any type of active lifestyle, then you are going to need to do physical activity throughout the day to get you moving.
To keep yourself physically active, you are going to want to do exercises such as walking or lifting weights.
Being active also includes doing sports, but it depends on the individual and what they like to do for their daily activity.
Physical activity is different from other kinds of activities like knitting, reading a book, or watching TV, these are still seen as activities but they are considered sedentary activities.
If you live a sedentary lifestyle then you do not move much at all during the day and you are not getting the benefits that an active lifestyle can give you.
You may have a desk job that requires you to sit in an office for most of the day adding to this kind of lifestyle.
You don’t need to do intense exercise or vigorous activity to be considered active, you just need to make sure that per day you are doing something that is beneficial for your body and can help you meet your health goals.
What Are The Benefits of Being Active?
There are quite a lot of benefits related to an active lifestyle, so if you are in two minds about upping your activity level then you may find that these benefits push you to get going.
It Makes The Day-To-Day Easier
When you start being more active, you find that doing anything during the day can be a lot easier as you find out that you have a lot more energy to complete tasks.
You will stop feeling so lethargic throughout the day.
You Notice The Health Benefits
Once you start being more active, even if it is just lightly active, you will notice that any health issues you may have might get better, plus, you can stave off any health problems that may potentially happen, e.g. cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and so on.
Your daily living becomes better and you don’t feel as dragged down as you used to be because you are providing your body with what it needs to function.
You Can Control Your Weight
If you want to lose weight or just maintain a healthy lifestyle, then keeping yourself active can help you meet those goals, even if you do just 30 minutes to an hour a day.
It has been said that a large percentage of people sit for an average of six hours per day, so if you are trying to lose weight and you are one of these people, you will find it incredibly hard to shift the weight if you don’t move.
Doing intentional exercise will help you out a great deal when being lightly active.
You don’t have to spend two hours per day working out, but just something will make a difference.
It Will Help Your Mood
Keeping active on a daily basis can help lift your mood and help you manage mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, which in turn will provide you with a better night’s sleep.
What Are The Activity Levels?
There are four types of activity levels for you to know about – sedentary, lightly active, moderately active, and very active.
Below we will go into how different these are and what activities equate with these levels.
Sedentary
Less than 30 minutes of intentional exercise each day, but it is not any vigorous activities or moderate.
The daily activities that you do, e.g. such as walking the dog, taking out the trash, or doing any yard work (watering plants, mowing the lawn, etc.) do not constitute as intentional exercise so you are not able to factor those in.
You more than likely have a desk job in an office or your job requires you to sit for long periods of time meaning that you don’t have to walk around from place to place.
Lightly Active
You do daily exercise of at least 30 minutes each day, for example, if you walk for 30 minutes at 4mph then for an adult of average weight this equates to around 160 calories burned.
You can do more intense exercise in less time, e.g. jogging or a brisk walk to hit the same goal and help you with your fitness levels.
You could be spending most of your day on your feet, so you don’t have much time to be sedentary.
Moderately Active
You do intentional exercise every day like jogging or brisk walking but the time is longer, so you will probably hit the 45-minute to 1-hour mark with your activities.
Your job is quite physical, so you may be a mailman or waitress, or you could be working in the healthcare sector where you work long shifts and are always on your feet.
Very Active
Your exercise levels are high and you are always on the move.
Like other activity levels, you probably briskly walk or jog, however, you can reduce the time that you do these activities if you do them at a faster pace to help you burn off your energy and keep your body alert.
Your job may be incredibly physical that requires you to use your muscles, so you could be a builder or a carpenter, anything that will keep your full body in motion during the day.
How Can You Keep on Track?
To make sure that you keep your activity levels high to can reach your goals, there are ways that will help you achieve what you need to so that each week you can feel like you have done everything possible to support your body.
- Start slowly – It can be hard to just jump into it when you want to be more active, but if you just take things slowly, going walking each morning or evening, jogging lightly, or taking a gym class, then you will be able to help raise your fitness level and make yourself feel better.
- Get support from others – It is not always easy to tackle these things by yourself, so rally your family and friends and get them to support you as you start to be more active. Have them come with you on runs or just have them be there when you need that extra boost.
- Do something you like – Pushing yourself to do activities you don’t even like won’t help at all, so plan activities that you know will be right for you so you can enjoy yourself without feeling like it is a chore.
Conclusion
Now that you know what is considered an active lifestyle, you should be able to make any of the relevant changes to what you do daily so that you can do the best for yourself and your health.
It will take determination and strength to get it done, but it will be worth it in the end when you see what benefits it has for you.
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