Meals Matter
Meals Matter
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The Meals Matter Blog offers advice and tips on using a positive and realistic approach for meal planning, healthy eating, feeding families and fitness. Posts are written by registered dietitians, staff and guest bloggers of the Dairy Council of California.
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As the Nutrition and Fitness Challenge is well underway, we hope that participants have found ways to improve their health by eating better and exercising more. Recently we have been giving tips and advice on how to create nutritious, quick and easy meals. Utilizing these steps and tips is only the beginning to a lasting lifestyle change for the better.
Many people will turn to a gym or fitness club, thinking that they will be inspired to go if they are paying a membership fee and/or monthly dues. What people soon find out is that after a few weeks, motivation dwindles and they wind up not going very often or they stop going altogether.
If you are looking for ways to get a workout into your day, but don’t have the budget to join a gym, or the interest in working out at a gym, here are a few things you can do to create a fitness routine:
- Each day, take a brisk walk before dinner. Time yourself and try to do the same distance each week, but in less time. If you are on a shopping trip to the mall, do 2 or 3 full laps around the mall before you leave. At work, if you usually take the elevator, take the stairs. If they are short flights, walk up and down a few times throughout the day. Exercise during the day can also release positive endorphins which can help your mood and reduce stress.
- If you are already involved in a fitness routine, add some weight training to your current routine. Purchase dumbbells to take with you on your daily walk. This will make the walk slightly more difficult and make your heart work a little bit harder. If you don’t wish to purchase dumbbells, you can always clean out some milk jugs and add water or sand to achieve the desired weight. Purchase resistance bands and use them while doing sedentary tasks such as watching TV with your family.
- Rent fitness DVD’s or videos. The video stores carry a wide variety of videos and rotating through many different types of videos may keep it fresh and compelling for you. Also with online movie rental subscriptions you can have DVD’s delivered right to your home. Some services will even allow you to stream movies through your computer. With this service, if you find one you like, you can stream it over and over again.
Fitness doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg. You don’t need an expensive gym membership to stay active throughout the week. A little creativity and resourcefulness is all you need to get started on your journey to a healthier, more active lifestyle. Take the above tips and see what else you can come up with. If you have other tips for fitness on a budget, please share them on the MealsMatter Facebook Page!