Beyond Exercise: The Case for Everyday Movement for Weight Management
Traditionally, the words “active,” and “fitness” have been defined by structured and intense exercise routines in a gym setting.
For many people, this narrow definition of fitness feels out of reach and excludes those of us who may not be able to participate in rigid exercise culture due to health conditions, busy routines, and other limitations.
Whether you are on a weight loss journey or simply trying to be healthier, it is time to redefine what it means to be active and recognize that you can improve your health without signing that gym contract.
In fact, taking small, intentional actions throughout your day may have an even bigger impact on your health than a more traditional approach to exercise.
Most importantly, these changes are not one size fits all, and will support your unique body, mind, and goals.
So let’s talk about how you can shift your mindset from exercise to movement and make your journey to better health more sustainable, inclusive, and empowering.
After all, our goal here at TeleHealthNP is to help guide you towards creating a routine that fits your lifestyle and gets you closer to becoming the healthiest, most confident version of you!
The Problem With “Exercise” Culture
Don’t get us wrong, exercise is amazing! Cardio helps improve your heart health and stamina, while strength training helps you build strong muscles and bones, and improves your metabolism.
No matter what your health goals are, moving more will only help your progress towards reaching them.
However, the rigid expectations that we associate with exercise can be limiting and discourage people from participating.
One reason for this is the perpetuation of the all-or-nothing mindset. Perfectionism sets you up to be disappointed if you don’t do something perfectly to plan.
For example, you might think, “well if I can’t make it to the gym for 30 minutes or more, I might as well skip it all together.”
And there are many barriers to participation, no matter how dedicated you are. You might be short on time, have mobility issues or chronic pain, or you might simply be intimidated or nervous in a gym setting.
Instead of giving up or punishing yourself for these normal limitations, changing your mindset to accept all forms of movement as valid and important opens the doors for positive changes to enter your life.
Movement vs. Exercise
So what’s the difference between movement and exercise?
Truthfully, all movement is exercise, the difference is the way we frame it in our minds— just think NEAT!
NEAT stands for Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis and is defined as any energy expended during activities not related to sleeping, eating, or structured exercise.
In other words, how many calories do you burn simply by going about your daily routine? In active individuals, this can be as many as 50% of daily energy expenditure, but this number drops significantly in more sedentary people.
Increasing your daily NEAT goals can help you lose weight even without a structured exercise routine.
Not only that, but increasing your daily movement can support your metabolic health, help reduce your stress and enhance your mood, improve your cardiovascular health, control your blood sugar, reduce your cholesterol, and potentially even lead to greater muscle recovery.
How is all of this possible? Think of someone who is consistent in the gym but works an office job and comes home to binge their favorite t.v. shows every night.
While they are getting exercise, that may be the only time in the day that they are actually moving. Running for an hour might burn about 600 calories, but simply standing can burn up to 100.
Don’t discount the impact that small movements can have on your body and your health!
Some Examples of Everyday Movement That Matters
Increasing your everyday movement will take some intention at first.
If you work an office job, you might start with some simple things like using a standing desk, parking further away from the door, taking phone calls standing or walking, taking the stairs, or walking during your breaks.
At home, you might make it a little more fun! Take dance breaks while you are making dinner or doing chores, do wall sits while brushing your teeth, stretch while watching t.v., or even wear ankle weights or a weighted vest while going about your daily routine.
Finally, you can sneak in more movement by investing time in some active hobbies that get your body moving! Instead of meeting a friend for drinks, grab coffee and go for a walk around your neighborhood. Get outside and tend to your garden or walk the dog after dinner.
The most important thing to remember is that it is consistency, not intensity, that will make the biggest difference in your health and body. These changes, while small, have the biggest impact when you do them consistently everyday.
Likely, the biggest shift will start from within. As you become more active, your body will respond with higher energy and a better mood to keep moving.
How to Track or Measure Success
If you have a smartwatch, you might use the activity settings to help alert you when you have been sitting for too long and need to get up and move around.
However, try to move away from using tools like activity and calorie trackers as a form of punishment or as rigid goals to meet, because this just puts us right back into that traditional exercise mindset that we are trying to move away from.
Instead, track your progress holistically by asking yourself not how many calories you burned but how do you feel at the end of the day?
Keeping a journal is a great way to monitor these changes. You might log things like consistency, energy levels, reduced pain, improved sleep, mood, and more.
All of these tools should help to inform you of your progress, not make you feel bad for having met or not met a certain goal. After all, we aren’t attaching hard numbers to this method, only setting the goal that you move more!
How to Get Started
Try to think of five ways to add more movement into your day without a gym.
Here are some examples:
At Home
Dance or stretch in the first 10 minutes of your favorite show.
Dance your way through housework.
Get outside and do gardening or yard work.
Bounce on a stability ball instead of sitting still.
Actively play with your kids.
At Work
Park in the furthest parking spot from your office.
Use the bathroom on a different floor and take the stairs.
Take a walk on your breaks, during phone calls, or meetings.
Get a standing desk.
Stand up and stretch after every hour of work.
Walk to your colleague’s desk to ask a question instead of emailing or instant messaging.
Out and About
Carry your groceries in a basket instead of using a cart.
Do calf raises while standing in line.
Meet up with a friend to walk around instead of sitting in a restaurant.
Take public transit or walk short distances instead of taking your car.
Set goals for yourself that are realistic and fit your lifestyle and interests to keep you engaged and invested in being consistent with these activities.
Remember that it’s okay to start small by incorporating short, five minute bursts of movement if that’s where you are at! You can always build on these new habits over time as your health and energy improves.
Let’s Get Moving!
Movement is for everyone! No matter what your limitations are, whether it’s time or mobility, you can incorporate more movement into your daily routine and see the benefits in your health.
Start by redefining your relationship to being active. It’s okay if you aren’t ready to commit to a gym contract and structured exercise schedule. What’s important is committing to more intentional movement throughout the day.
Next, think about some simple ways you can move more in your daily routine and incorporate those habits into your lifestyle.
Finally, acknowledge your commitment to improving your health and be proud of yourself for taking these steps!
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