Weight loss: Track your steps if you want to improve your overall fitness

Weight loss tips: Did you know that just exercising for an hour every day is not enough for you to keep fit and healthy? Physical activity throughout the day is what you need to improve your overall health and fitness. Health experts are of the belief that no matter how hard you train at the gym for an hour or two, it is not going to improve your health and fitness level if you are sedentary the rest of the day. Sitting all day, smoking, regular alcohol intake, unhealthy snacking, not taking your meals on time and overeating are sedentary lifestyle habits that can affect your fitness levels despite exercising regularly.

1. Stand up straight in regular intervals

Sitting for long periods of time is an occupational hazard that many of us face today. But need not worry as there’s something fitting that you can do to avoid side effects of sitting for too long. Celeb nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar recommends that for every 30 minutes of sitting, you should stand straight on both your feet (without leaning or taking any support) for three minutes. You can do this at your desk, or you can even go for a short walk. This is one effective way of avoiding sitting for long periods of time and being active all day.

Also read: 9 Fitness Tips That Can Help You Stay In Shape Even Without Exercising

2. Take the stairs instead of elevator

We bet this is one suggestion you must have heard many times, and its definitely effective. For being physically active and fit, you must climb four floors at one go, at least once a day. And if not four floors, you must not miss the opportunity of climbing stairs – which in fact is an effective cardio exercise – whenever you can. Stay away from elevators and escalators. Doing so can aid weight loss and improve your overall fitness.

Climbing stairs can help you lose weight quickly and also improve your overall fitness
Photo Credit: iStock

3. Avoid junk food

Eating junk food, especially for mid-meal snacking, is the worst thing that you can do for your health, fitness and weight loss. Junk, deep-fried, sugary, processed and packaged foods need to be completely off the list if you want to get fitter apart from exercising regularly.

Also read: How To Tackle Erratic Schedules And Avoid Junk Food? 7 Food Habits That You Should Check

4. Practice mindful eating

Apart from keeping an eye on what you eat, it is also important to take note of your pattern of eating. Practicing portion control, avoiding overeating, eating without any distractions (like your phone, TV, laptop or book) and healthy snacking are some habits of mindful eating that can improve your overall fitness, apart from exercising at the gym.

5. Track your steps

Completing 10,000 steps every day is a task you must accomplish. “Ten thousand steps in a day is the basic requirement of the human body for maintaining mobility and fitness which is needed every day,” says fitness trainer Vinod Channa, who is known to train the likes of Shilpa Shetty Kundra, John Abraham, Shamita Shetty and Genelia Deshmukh to name a few. Walking 10,000 steps in a day cannot be considered to be equivalent of a workout, but is definitely a task you should aim at accomplishing every day, for your overall fitness.

10,000 steps in a day is the bare minimum of physical activity that you must do every day
Photo Credit: iStock

Also read: Weight Loss: Is Walking 10,000 Steps A Day Equivalent To A Workout? Experts Reveal

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.

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