Written by Emily Zoeller
Fall can be a challenging time to live a healthy lifestyle. The weather is getting colder and there are more reasons to stay inside. With the season changing, how can you maintain a healthy lifestyle? This question may have an easier answer than most people think. Here is the quick answer:
Track your steps
Use seasonal produce
Be active outdoors when you can (but bundle up!)
Find ways to stay active indoors too
Part 1: Tracking your steps. Tracking your steps can be as easy as keeping your phone in your pocket during the day, to wearing a digital activity tracker or pedometer. According to research, individuals are more likely to live an active lifestyle if they are getting 7,000 steps or above each day. While getting this many steps can be challenging, having an activity tracker is an excellent way to track how many steps you are getting per day. If purchasing a pedometer or activity tracker is too costly, even some phones have activity trackers. For example, iPhones come with a ‘Health” app that can track steps when carried on your person. Being motivated to track steps can help continue a healthy lifestyle in fall. There are many free pedometer apps in the app store, too.
Part 2: Use seasonal produce. It can often be discouraging transitioning to fall when a large amount of fresh produce is no longer in season. Keeping that in mind, using a food guide or calendar can be very beneficial. One example of this is www.seasonalfoodguide.org. This is an excellent resource to find out what produce is still in season and available in your state. When entering the site, you will select your state, the month you are in, and it will take you to a page displaying what produce is still in season at the time. This can be helpful to help ensure you are getting fresh produce, but also keeping your meals healthy and nutritious all year round.
Part 3: Be outdoors when you can (but bundle up) Even though the weather is not as warm as summer doesn’t mean you can’t still spend time outdoors! Activities like apple picking, corn mazes, and pumpkin picking are all fun outdoor activities you can do with friends and family. There is also walking, running, and hiking that can be done outdoors. One of the most important things is that you prepare for the colder weather by wearing appropriate clothing. When looking to stay warm while being active, it is best to choose clothing has wicking properties (most active wear), and wear hat and gloves.
Part 4: Find ways to stay active indoors. With all the technology available, it becomes easier to find ways to stay active indoors. One of the easiest ways to stay active indoors is to do fitness videos. What’s nice about these fitness videos is that they not only can be chosen by duration, but also by what part of your body you are hoping to target. Popsugar Fitness is a good resource for fitness videos (Popsugar Fitness Videos: https://www.popsugar.com/Fitness-Video ) that has many modifications for almost any exercise given. Not only are there fitness videos that are a free resource, but there is also active video game systems (like WiiFit) that help individuals stay active while indoors. Not only is this a way to stay active, but also have fun as well.
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