The FIRST Steps From A Sedentary Lifestyle To Exercise-By Jamie Stedman

The First Steps From A Sedentary Lifestyle To Exercise

The western world is becoming increasingly sedentary. On the whole we are a LOT less active and lazy now than we were just fifty years ago. Why you ask?

• We drive everywhere compared to walking.
• We get a take away or chuck something in the microwave rather than cooking.
• We can get our shopping delivered to the house rather than actually going to the shops.
• We can find out what’s going on in the world from our armchair on smartphones.
• There are a lot more office jobs which require you to sit down 40 hours a week
Plus various other reasons.

But if you live a sedentary (inactive) lifestyle then you won’t be able to enjoy life to the full and are much more at risk of suffering from health problems.

I mean who wants to feel out of breathe going up the stairs? Or who wants to have to go shopping in an electric wheelchair because you haven’t got there energy to walk around yourself?
If you get used to doing nothing and spending all your life sat down then before long, that’s all you’ll be able to do.

The simplest of tasks will get increasingly more difficult and you’ll that will then give you an extra excuse to do nothing … unless you do something about it and get active!

The first few steps from a sedentary lifestyle to exercise are the hardest. For many people activities such as walking to the chip shop can be seen as daunting and difficult. So to change that attitude from lounging round the house watching TV mixed with a bad diet of fast foot and to an improved diet made up of good meals and healthy snacks along with actually going out and exercising may seem unlikely.

So to pull this off you need to change your behaviour and your attitude. This is as much psychological as it is physical. The hardest part is getting started, it’s as simple as that!

No matter what you do it get you started whether it’s walking up the stairs in work rather than the lift, drinking more water, cooking a healthy meal, walking to the shop instead of driving or even parking that little bit further away ad walking the rest – it all counts and it’s all positive and will have an impact.

Positivity breeds more positivity, you’ll start to make that change every day then all of a sudden more positive changes enter your life, now this is when you can start to make a difference.
Confidence is key, believe in yourself and you can continue making great changes. I hope you’ve enjoyed the read as one of my regular columns at The West Wales Chronicle!

Health & Fitness Columnist: Jamie Stedman