7 questions to analyze your activity

Getting active is easier than you might think. Here are several questions on your lifestyle and attitude toward exercise that will get you in the right frame of mind to get healthy.

• ❏ I do yard work such as gardening for at least an hour a week.
• ❏ I do moderately vigorous housework such as scrubbing the floor for at least an hour a week.
• ❏ I take the stairs instead of the elevator.
• ❏ In my job, I walk or move around.

If you checked any of these, great! You're already working physical activity into every week. Don't rest on your laurels, though; several of these would need to be true to turn the tables on your weight. Try to build more movement into your life — which is especially critical if you didn't check any answers here.

• ❏ I walk or ride a bike at least 40 minutes a week.
• ❏ I walk once in a while.
• ❏ The only exercise I get is looking for the remote.

If you checked the first answer, congratulations! You're well on your way to getting in shape, which will lengthen your life expectancy. If you checked the second answer, it must mean you like walking, so you'll do fine. Just keep it up! If you checked the last answer, pay special attention to the advice in these scoring comments.

• ❏ Running
• ❏ Walking
• ❏ Swimming
• ❏ Biking

These will all help you lose weight — but only if you stick with them. Since studies find that people are more likely to stick with walking than with other exercise routines, try to make walking the basis of your exercise plan.

• ❏ Walking for 10 minutes after breakfast and after dinner.
• ❏ Strolling two extra minutes to and from your car on five trips to the store.
• ❏ Walking 20 minutes in the mall.

All of these burn the same number of calories, which shows how easy it is to work more activity into your life, no matter what your schedule.

• ❏ Exercise will just make me eat more.
• ❏ I don't like to sweat.
• ❏ I have no energy for exercise.
• ❏ I'm not an exercise person.

If you didn't check any boxes, great! If you did, don't let excuses like these stop you from exercising. Studies find that moderate exercise doesn't stimulate your appetite. Exercise such as walking is not so intense that you'll sweat a lot. Moving your body will boost your energy, not drain it. And you don't have to be an "exercise person" — you just have to be more active.

• ❏ Watch TV.
• ❏ Grab a candy bar.
• ❏ Take a brisk 10-minute walk.

Plopping down on the couch won't do much to help — but the walk will. A brisk 10-minute walk can give you more energy than eating a candy bar. Exercise boosts a hormone that increases energy. You can find plenty of ways to fit quick bursts of activity into your day if you really try.

• ❏ Shooting hoops or throwing a ball.
• ❏ Walking my dog.
• ❏ Working around the house.
• ❏ Shopping.

The cardinal rule for making your life more active is to do what you like. Find a physical activity that you enjoy, then do it more often.

Getting active can be as easy as walking 5 minutes a day or doing a hobby or chore. The important thing is to get off the coach and get moving.