How do you break out of your sedentary lifestyle?

[lacieloo]

I'm super sedentary; I move very little, your average couch potato, and if I'm just going about my daily routine I'll get only 1,000-2,500 steps per day. What I want to know is, how do those with sedentary lifestyles find the motivation to increase their activity level? Are there any tips or tricks that could be offered to me?

[LedMatrix]

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@lacieloo wrote:

I'm super sedentary; I move very little, your average couch potato, and if I'm just going about my daily routine I'll get only 1,000-2,500 steps per day. What I want to know is, how do those with sedentary lifestyles find the motivation to increase their activity level? Are there any tips or tricks that could be offered to me?

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A major contributor is lack of energy, which is often the result of too little sleep or not sleeping well. Make sure to get enough sleep (7-8 hours). Next, consider your diet. There's plenty of info on the worldwide webs to find what poor diets can do to lower energy levels and what good diets can do to boost energy.

Speaking from my perspective. When I have bouts when I do relatively little, it hasn't been for a lack of motivation, or wanting to. It's been a result of being sapped of energy due to too little sleep. When I average 4-6 hours, I'm toast by the time I get home from work, and don't have the energy to do anything else. So I try to sleep 7 hours when I can. Which is not often. So I'll take a 30-45 minute nap after dinner then I'm charged up enough to do some walking, biking or exercise.

[SunsetRunner]

I love reading about people who start near where I am. I loved your post here and your ideas about earning rewards. When you mentioned the time of day you like to get out, it made me realize that the time of day is really important too. If we have a schedule that allows us the option to choose, it's best to choose during a time we are most inclined to do something. Of course, the best time to start is now. Thanks for your motivating post. I have very little motivation and a usual daily sedentary life. I can use all the motivation I can get!

[shutterbug101]

I found that making small achievable goals worked for me! As I gained confidence, then I added goals that made me work a little harder.  My first goal was to walk for a total of 20 minutes a day.  I found taking two breaks at work for 10 minutes each helped.  Now I attend exercise class three times a week during lunch.  I have a favorite exercise bar, Access,  that gives me the boost I need, while burning fat and not muscle.  I dislike being sore after a workout and the bar really helps!

[DotᚖMac]

Smart strategy! I like it!

[DotᚖMac]

1. Wear as much of your workout clothes, and contact lenses, all day long, every day, and leave clean water bottles laying around in your car, your backpack or purse, and your kitchen counter. If you have the right socks, sneakers, T shirt already on and contacts already in, and you have a bottle in your hand, you're more than halfway to success.

^^^^^

 Wow — that's a winning idea!  I'm going to try it.  One of the things that gets mentally in my way is having to change clothes, find my water bottle,  etc. etc. 

 On my phone here, so sorry  I can't properly  do the quoting  and attribution. 

[JenniferinFL]

The easiest way to break out of your sedentary lifestyle is to add activity that you don't have to go anywhere to add. I've had a nice gym treadmill, moved and had to sell it. Had a gym membership, then had job loss and had to drop it. This time around, I decided that I was just going to add activity I can do pretty much no matter what happens. 

How I hit 10,000 steps a day is pretty easy. I pick my 10 'active' hours of the day. Then I simply make sure that I get 500 steps every half hour. How do you do this? You walk for 5 minutes. Seriously. It takes about 5 minutes to get 500 steps. Just every half hour, walk in circles in your kitchen or back and forth between the two furthest points in your home. 

But, in all fairness, pre-fitbit I was probably doing around 5,000 steps per day, so jumping right to 10,000 steps wasn't much of a stretch. If your first goal is 5000 steps, then just walk 250 steps every half hour during a ten hour stretch. Should take about 2.5 minutes. Just walk circles in your living room. Heck, pick up some kids toys off the floor while you do it. Wipe off a counter, push the vacuum around, throw out old food out of the fridge. You can make that 2.5 minutes fly by and get something else done that isn't that much fun either and kill 2 birds with one stone. 

I have a kid who I homeschool and a full time job, I have pets and hobbies. I do not want to sacrifice any time commuting to a gym. I just don't have that many spare moments. Hopefully that helps someone.  🙂

[Sparewife]

Well, I was pretty inactive too. I decided to start with getting a FITBIT and then shutting the tv off during the day. PERIOD. Instead of watching tv, I would chose to do something that at least got me moving and started drinking more water. THEN, week 2, I decided to start increasing the number of times I walked to morning and night after dinner but before bed sometime plus cleaning up my diet. NOW, I have just started jogging a slow pace, whatever I can handle, while still building on the other changes I have already made. I find now, after 3 weeks (which sounds like a long time), I want to get out and move. Small incremental adjustments hopefully lead to more permanent changes. My weight is moving which is great because I'm hypothyroid but I feel so much better which in turn makes me want to move even more. Join a challenge. Friend me or someone and get moving. We all struggle with feeling that way. But all experts started out as beginners. KEEP STEPPING!

[Slamdi]

I too am very sedentary. I have a sit down job. I bought a fitbit and the aria scales last week. Then I got a dog from the shelter.

My walking partner

I set my goal low to start. 5000 steps moved it up to 7700 on Monday, because she loves the attention.

[DanielleinDC]

I have a desk job also. But I force myself to get up and walk every hour. My Alta HR also reminds me to move.

[DotᚖMac]

Thanks. I just got a Charge 2, and the hourly Reminders are amazing. I never realized I sat for such long periods of time! Worth every penny.

[DotᚖMac]

Doggie is the best! 😄 Wonderful that you got him/her from the shelter. I volunteer at a shelter, really get my steps in when I'm working, plus it's the best feeling in the world helping the animals.

[DotᚖMac]

Great moves — keep it up!

[DotᚖMac]

I find this a very thoughtful strategy – thanks!

[MarciM]

Save a dog and they save you right back. Thank you for volunteering at a shelter. There are so many wonderful pets in need. Keep up the great work!

[MarciM]

Thre is a handful and gives you a reason to always be moving.

[TXAnneV]

Walk before, or after each meal

[DJC_63]

Just having a Fitbit helped me A LOT, and participating in challenges every week has been very helpful. It's harder to be sedentary when you know other people can SEE IT.  I also find the reminders to move every hour very effective. 

I also love music and have a playlist just for workouts. Some days I have no energy but when I put my headphones on and listen to a couple of upbeat songs it gives me the motivation. I agree with what others say, having exercises that you can do anywhere makes it much easier than having to drive somewhere.  On the other hand, I also enjoy my trips to the gym because it's "me" time. 

I've been doing this for 2 years now with a Fitbit, and it's now become such a habit that if I spend one day not moving much I feel guilty. Before I was like you, I averaged 1,000-2,000 every day.

[C_Ella]

After being sick for several months, I couldn't get motivated.  I joined a friend who was walking every day.  We have worked to increase our pace and now walk at about 17 minute miles.  Even when she can't go, I walk by myself.  I am getting much stronger after six months of consistent walking.  Without trying, I reach 15000 steps per day.  Good luck to you.  You will enjoy the exercise and see the benefits before too long.

[59strive]

I am in the same boat but since getting my fit bit I've started to make it a point to increase my movement by at least 50 steps everyday. I am struggling emotionally because we moved cross country and I miss my adult children and grandson's but what is motivating me is when we go to visit the in August I want to be able to run around with my 2 yr old and do something fun with my 14 yr. old. I find the best way to get motivated is to set a goal for something you really want or want to do and start the journey one step at a time I hope you will be encouraged and I look forward to hear about your successes along the way.

[garybartlett]

When it comes to finding motivators to get or stay physically fit, here's one that is a little obscure but I have a couple of year's experience demonstrating the wisdom of it.  What happens if you get sick?  I mean really, really sick?  If you are in good physical condition at the onset, then the extent to which the sickness will damage you will be minimized, the more the healing process will be expedited, and the ability to do what the doctors repeatedly stress -- get exercise during recovery -- will be ever so much easier to resume.

I have two primary doctors treating my condition and without exception, they have remarked at my physical condition for a 73-year-old male and both have congratulated me for the speed with which I was able to resume what seems to be a significant contributor to recovery from my (or any) sickness:  going back to walking (in my case).  And the more that doctors see a patient trying to help themselves, my experience has been that the more attention they will pay to you.

Throw this motivator into your collection of other motivators and maybe that's all it will take to get you back on the road.  And the older you are, the more important this consideration seems to be!