Adopt a healthy activity habit

The decision to move more is a smart one, of course, and comes with numerous health benefits. Regular physical activity can help prevent weight gain, increase weight loss, and maintain weight loss, while also improving your mood and fitness level. It can also lower the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Increasing your activity levels and changing your eating can lead to 20% more weight lost than if you just gave how you eat a makeover, according to scientific data. And if that’s not enough motivation, regular physical activity has been pinpointed as the single best predictor of who keeps weight off and who doesn’t.

So, with all these benefits, why do so many people struggle to add more movement to their daily lives? The number-one reason cited is a lack of time.

When we think about moving more or starting an activity plan, we often focus on what activities we’ll do. We tend to give less thought to how to incorporate the activity into our daily lives in a way that will help make it a habit.

Knowing when, where and how movement can fit into your life are the building blocks to creating an activity routine that sticks. Determining how to do it—and being realistic about what works for you and what doesn’t—will reduce the barriers and excuses that can get in the way of your best-laid plans. Here’s an action plan to get moving and stay moving.

1. Determine the time of day and amount of time you’re able to dedicate to activity. Consider your schedule, responsibilities, and tendencies around how you spend time with family, work, friends . . . even pets. Be realistic as you determine how much time to dedicate to activity, knowing it might change in the future.

2. Identify potential barriers by asking yourself, “What gets in the way of me being active during that time right now?” Brainstorm solutions to clear the way for your new routine. For example, do you need to block your calendar from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. twice a week? Or, if taking a 6 p.m. class will work best for you but you often stay late at work, you’ll need to determine what steps to take so you can leave earlier. Other ways to address barriers? See if childcare can stay later to cover your workout time, sign up for a digital exercise subscription, create dedicated space to be active in your home, or keep nice shoes at work so you can walk there in sneakers — get creative.

3. Practice your new routine for a week, focusing more on the when than the what. If your plan is to hit the gym on Wednesday and Saturday at 6 p.m., just focus on getting there— it doesn’t matter whether you break a sweat on the treadmill or in the sauna. If you want to build a morning routine of walking in the park, lace up your sneakers and hit the park, whether you do the full loop or have a cup of coffee on a bench halfway through on the first few days. The idea here is to carve out that time in your schedule and see how it works. You can certainly start off by being active right-away, but simply going through the motions is a great way to learn if the routine will work for you in the long term, or if you should make adjustments.

4. Evaluate and adjust your routine based on how the first week goes. What worked? What got in the way? Determine any changes you can make and try again the following week, until you find a routine that works for you.