Breadcrumb
- Home
- Healthy Eating & Physical Activity
- Being Active
- Staying Active
- Fitness: Making It a Habit
Content Map Terms
Healthy Eating & Physical Activity Categories
-
Active for Health
-
Age and Stage
-
Infants, Children and Youth
- Child Who Is Overweight: Evaluating Nutrition and Activity Patterns
- Child Who Is Overweight: Medical Evaluation
- Eczema and Food Allergy in Babies and Young Children
- Food Allergy Testing
- HealthLink BC Eating and Activity Program for Kids
- Healthy Eating for Children
- Helping Your Child Who Is Overweight
- Interactive Tool: What Is Your Child's BMI?
- Mealtime and Your Toddler
- Reducing Risk of Food Allergy in Your Baby
- Snack Ideas for Preschoolers
- Your Toddler: Nutritious Meals for Picky Eaters
- Physical Activity for Infants, Children and Youth
- Older Adults
- Living well during your pregnancy
- Menopause and Perimenopause
-
Infants, Children and Youth
-
Being Active
- Health Benefits of Physical Activity
- SMART Goal Setting
-
Getting Started
- Getting Started: Adding More Physical Activity to Your Life
- Quick Tips: Fitting Physical Activity Into Your Day
- Quick Tips: Getting Active as a Family
- Fitness: Adding More Activity To Your Life
- Getting Started With Flexibility and Exercise
- Fitness Machines
- Fitness Clothing and Gear
- The Three Types of Physical Activity
- Overcoming Barriers: Adding More Physical Activity to your Life
-
Choosing Your Activity
- How to Choose Safe Equipment
- Exercising While Sitting Down
- Fitness DVDs and Videos
- Tips for Picking the Right Activities
- Quick Tips: Getting in Shape Without Spending Money
- Fitness: Walking for Wellness
- Walk Your Way To Health
- Tai Chi and Qi Gong
- Water Exercise
- Yoga
- Bob's Story: Biking for Health
- Exercise and Physical Activity Ideas
- Fitness: Choosing Activities That Are Right for You
-
Staying Active
- Fitness: Getting and Staying Active
- Fitness: Making It a Habit
- Quick Tips: Having Enough Energy to Stay Active
- Quick Tips: Staying Active at Home
- Quick Tips: Staying Active When You Travel
- Physical Activity in Winter
- Quick Tips: Staying Active in Cold Weather
- Quick Tips: Staying Active in Hot Weather
- Injury Prevention and Recovery
- Fitness and Exercise Learning Centre
-
Conditions
- Diabetes and Hypoglycemia
- Eating Disorders
- Eating Right When You Have More Than One Health Problem
- Being Active When You Have Health Problems
- Physical Activity and Disease Prevention
- Anemia
- Arthritis and Osteoporosis
- Physiotherapy for Low Back Pain
- Low Back Pain: Exercises to Reduce Pain
- Cancer
-
Digestive
- Managing Constipation in Adults
- Healthy Eating Guidelines for People with Diverticular Disease
- Fibre and Your Health
- Lower Fibre Food Choices
- Eating Guidelines For Gallbladder Disease
- Healthy Eating Guidelines for Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- Lactose Intolerance
- Healthy Eating Guidelines for People with Peptic Ulcers
- Bowel Disease: Changing Your Diet
- Celiac Disease: Eating a Gluten-Free Diet
- GERD: Controlling Heartburn by Changing Your Habits
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Controlling Symptoms with Diet
- Food Allergies
-
Heart
- Cardiac Rehabilitation
- Coronary Artery Disease: Exercising for a Healthy Heart
- DASH Diet Sample Menu
- Healthy Eating Guidelines for People Taking Warfarin Anticoagulants
- Healthy Eating to Lower High Blood Pressure
- Healthy Diet Guidelines for a Healthy Heart
- Heart Arrhythmias and Exercise
- Heart Failure: Eating a Healthy Diet
- Heart Failure: Track Your Weight, Food and Sodium
- Heart-Healthy Eating
- Heart-Healthy Eating: Fish and Fish Oil
- Heart-Healthy Lifestyle
- High Blood Pressure: Nutrition Tips
- High Cholesterol: How a Dietitian Can Help
- Modify Recipes for a Heart-Healthy Diet
- Peripheral Arterial Disease and Exercise
- Physical Activity Helps Prevent a Heart Attack and Stroke
- High Blood Pressure: Using the DASH Diet
- Healthy Eating: Eating Heart-Healthy Foods
- Heart Health: Walking for a Healthy Heart
- Izzy's Story: Living with the DASH Diet
- Exercise and Fibromyalgia
-
Kidney and Liver
- Healthy Eating Guidelines for People with Early Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) Stages 1 and 2
- Healthy Eating Guidelines for Prevention of Recurrent Kidney Stones
- Healthy Eating for Chronic Hepatitis
- Kidney Disease: Changing Your Diet
- Kidney Stones: Preventing Kidney Stones Through Diet
- Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH)
- Lupus: Healthy Eating
- Mutiple Sclerosis
- Parkinson's Disease and Exercise
- Sally's Story: Avoiding Metabolic Syndrome
- Spinal Cord
-
Food and Nutrition
-
Eating Habits
- Developing a Plan for Healthy Eating
- Drinking Enough Water
- Eating Journal
- Emotional Eating
- Food Journaling: How to Keep Track of What You Eat
- Healthy Eating: Changing Your Eating Habits
- Healthy Eating: Getting Support When Changing Your Eating Habits
- Healthy Eating: Making Healthy Choices When You Eat Out
- Healthy Eating: Making Healthy Choices When You Shop
- Healthy Eating: Overcoming Barriers to Change
- Healthy Eating: Starting a Plan for Change
- Healthy Eating: Staying With Your Plan
- Healthy Eating to Decrease Stress
- Jaci's Story: Changing her Life With Small Steps
- Jeremy's Story: Focusing on Eating Habits
- Loralie's Story: It's Never Too Late
- Maggie Morries: Plan Ahead When You Eat Out
- Plant-based Foods
- Sugary Drinks and Other Beverages
- Sodium
-
Nutrients
- Added Sugars
- Antioxidants
- Antioxidants and Your Diet
- Carbohydrate Foods
- Carbohydrate, Proteins, Fats and Blood Sugar
- Choosing a Vitamin and Mineral Supplements
- Cholesterol and Triglycerides: Eating Fish and Fish Oil
- Comparing Sugar Substitute
- Dietary Fats and Your Health
- Dietary Guidelines for Good Health
- Dietary Reference Intake
- Eating Protein
- Calcium and Your Health
- Food Sources of Vitamin K
- Getting Enough Calcium and Vitamin D
- Getting Enough Fibre
- Getting Enough Folic Acid
- Getting Enough Iron
- Getting Enough Potassium
- Healthy Eating: Cutting Unhealthy Fats From Your Diet
- Healthy Eating: Taking Calcium and Vitamin D
- High Potassium Eating
- High Potassium Foods
- Iron and Your Health
- Iron in Foods
- Low-Potassium Foods
- Major Nutrients in Food
- Minerals: Their Functions and Sources
- Non-Milk Sources of Calcium
- Quick Nutrition Check for Protein
- Quick Nutrition Check for Protein: Sample Menus
- Quick Nutrition Check for Vitamin B12
- Types of Fats
- Vitamins: Their Functions and Sources
- Food Labels
- Plan, Shop and Prepare
- Food, Water and Beverage Safety
- Canada's Food Guide FAQs
- Food Security
- Vegetarian Diets
-
Eating Habits
-
Healthy Weights
- About Healthy Weights
- Genetic Influences on Weight
- Screening for Weight Problems
- Unplanned Weight Loss
- Quick Tips: Cutting Calories
- Physical Activity for Weight Loss
- Weight Loss by Limiting Calories
- Tips for Maintaining Weight Loss
- Choosing a Weight-Loss Program
- Boosting Your Metabolism
- Exercise Helps Maggie Stay at a Healthy Weight
- Healthy Eating: Recognizing Your Hunger Signals
- Hunger, Fullness, and Appetite Signals
- Weight Management
- Weight Management: Stop Negative Thoughts
- Maggie's Strategies for Eating Healthy
- Maggie: Making Room for Worth-It Foods
- Maggie's Story: Making Changes for Her Health
- Weight Management Centre
-
Policies and Guidelines
-
Guidelines for Food and Beverage Sales in BC Schools
- Guidelines for Food and Beverage Sales: Making Bake Sales Delicious and Nutritious
- Guidelines for Food and Beverage Sales: Boosting the Sales of Nutritious Food in Schools
- Guidelines for Food and Beverage Sales: Food Fundraiser Ideas for Schools
- Guidelines for Food and Beverage Sales: Involving Everyone in Implementing the Guidelines
- Guidelines for Food and Beverage Sales: Selling Food and Beverages at School Sporting Events
- Guidelines for Food and Beverage Sales: Planning Healthy Cafeteria Menus
- Healthier Choices in Vending Machines
-
Guidelines for Food and Beverage Sales in BC Schools
- Provincial Nutrition Resource Inventory
-
Forms and Tools
- Walking Log
- Exercise Planning Form
- Physical Activity Log
- Par-Q+ and ePARmed-X+
- Target Heart Rate
- Interactive Tool: What is Your Target Heart Rate
- Borg-Rating of Perceived Exertion Scale
- Overview of BC Provincial and Federal Nutrition Benefits Programs
- Body Mass Index (BMI)
- Body Mass Index (BMI) for Adults
- Interactive Tool: Do Your BMI and Waist Size Increase Your Health Risks?
- Measuring Your Waist
- Body Fat Testing
- Fitness: Using a Pedometer, Step Counter, or Wearable Device
- Email a HealthLinkBC Dietitian
- Email a Qualified Exercise Professional
British Columbia Specific Information
Being physically active can benefit your physical and mental health in many ways. For example, it can strengthen your muscles and bones, lower your risk of chronic health conditions, and improve your mood and sleep. Physical activity can be safe for almost everyone. If you have concerns about your health or becoming more active, speak with your health care provider or a qualified exercise professional.
For information on the role of physical activity on overall health and taking steps to change your physical activity level, visit the general health and helping you make it happen sections of our website. If you would like guidance on physical activity or exercise, call our qualified exercise professionals by dialing 8-1-1 and asking to speak with Physical Activity Services between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM Pacific Time Monday to Friday. You can also leave a message outside of these hours and email a qualified exercise professional.
Overview
It's one thing to start an exercise or activity program. It's quite another to turn it into a habit so that you're staying active week in and week out. If you're having problems staying with your plan, don't worry. You're not alone.
You'll be glad to hear there are plenty of tips and tricks you can use to get yourself back on track and stay there.
If you haven't started a plan yet to get more active, it may be helpful to read:
Many of the benefits of being active, like having more energy and just feeling better, happen soon after you become more active. But some of the most important health benefits come with being active over time.
- Your reason for wanting to stay active is very important. It won't work if you're doing it because someone else—your spouse, your children, your doctor—wants you to. You have to want it.
- If you started a program to get more active but don't feel like you're making any progress, it may be time to update your goals.
- If you started a program to get more active but are having trouble keeping it going, it may help to figure out what's getting in your way. Then you can figure out how to work around those barriers.
- Keep at it, even if you slip up along the way. It can take months of repetition to form a habit, so every day is a step in the right direction.
How do you stay active?
Update your goals
When you first started increasing your activity, you probably had one or more big goals in mind, like taking a summer hike with your family, walking 30 minutes every day, or lowering your blood pressure. These are long-term goals.
Are those goals the same today, or do you need to change them?
- Are you having trouble meeting those long-term goals? You may need to come up with new short-term goals to help you get there. Short-term goals are things you want to do tomorrow and the day after.
- Did you try to take on too much too fast? That's a reason why some people have trouble making activity a habit. Remember to make your short-term goals small steps. For example, if you want to build up to walking 30 minutes every day, start by walking just 10 minutes—or even 5 minutes—a day, a few days a week. After a week, add 1 or 2 minutes every day, or add another day to your schedule.
- Did you meet your long-term goal and then stop? Good for you for meeting your goal! But now you need a new long-term goal to help you stay active. Even people who have been active for years set new goals to help themselves stay motivated.
Get past those slip-ups
Everyone has slip-ups. But there's a difference between slipping up and giving up. Not exercising for a month after you've been exercising for 6 months is a slip-up.
When you slip up, don't get mad at yourself or feel guilty. Think of it as a learning experience. Figure out what happened. Why did you stop? Think of ways to get yourself going again. Learn from your slip-ups so that you can keep on toward your goal of staying active.
Here are some common reasons for slip-ups, and some ideas for dealing with them:
-
It seems like I never have time.
- If you don't have time for your usual half-hour walk, have a back-up plan to take two 15-minute walks or three 10-minute walks during the day.
- When you don't have time to go to the gym, have a back-up plan to exercise at home or at work instead.
- Think of ways to manage your time better. Ask your family for help with fitting in some time for exercise.
- Tell yourself that you are the type of person who makes time for your own health, including physical activity.
- Look at other people who are active and are about as busy as you. Talk with them about how they fit in physical activity.
- Use a phone app or pedometer, to remind you to be more active as you go about your daily routine.
-
It's often too hot, too cold, too windy, or too wet for outdoor activities.
- Try a variety of indoor and outdoor activities so that you're ready when the weather turns bad.
- Have a back-up plan to exercise indoors with home equipment or videos. Or walk inside a shopping mall or at a gym.
- Take a class like aerobics or yoga at a gym or community centre. They're usually held indoors.
-
Going to the gym costs too much.
- Walking is an activity everyone can do without spending money.
- Exercise at home with inexpensive items such as a jump rope, elastic tubing, or a yoga mat. You can use items you already have, such as milk jugs filled with water as weights for arm exercises.
- Take an exercise class at a community centre. These classes usually don't cost much.
-
I'm too tired most of the time.
- Try to get more rest.
- When you don't have the energy for a half-hour walk, spread 3 shorter 10-minute walks throughout your day. You'll soon regain the energy to walk longer.
- Maybe stress is making you tired. Think of ways to take stress out of your life. And remember that regular physical activity is one of the best ways to relieve stress. For more information, see the topic Stress Management.
-
It's too boring.
- Make your exercise routine more interesting by adding some entertainment. Watch a movie while you exercise at home. Or listen to a podcast while you go for a walk or a run.
- Exercise with a partner. Play outdoor games with your family. Walk the dog.
- Try something new—a dance class, exercise class, or gardening.
-
It hurts to exercise because of an injury or arthritis.
- If you're having pain when you exercise, try a different activity, such as bicycling or water activities.
- Use chair exercise videos that help you stay active while sitting down.
- It may hurt less if you spread your activity throughout your day.
- Tell your doctor that pain or discomfort is keeping you from staying active.
- Talk to a fitness expert who is trained to help you change your exercise so you can avoid pain.
Credits
Current as of: October 10, 2022
Author: Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:
E. Gregory Thompson MD - Internal Medicine
Kathleen Romito MD - Family Medicine
Adam Husney MD - Family Medicine
Christine R. Maldonado PhD - Behavioral Health
Current as of: October 10, 2022
Author: Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:E. Gregory Thompson MD - Internal Medicine & Kathleen Romito MD - Family Medicine & Adam Husney MD - Family Medicine & Christine R. Maldonado PhD - Behavioral Health
This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Learn how we develop our content.
Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.
Contact Physical Activity Services
If you have questions about physical activity or exercise, call 8-1-1 (or 7-1-1 for the deaf and hard of hearing) toll-free in B.C. Our qualified exercise professionals are available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm Pacific Time. You can also leave a message after hours.
Translation services are available in more than 130 languages.
HealthLinkBC’s qualified exercise professionals can also answer your questions by email.
Contact a Dietitian
If you have any questions about healthy eating, food, or nutrition, call 8-1-1 (or 7-1-1 for the deaf and hard of hearing) toll-free in B.C. You can speak to a health service navigator who can connect you with one of our registered dietitians, who are available 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday. You can also leave a message after hours.
Translations services are available in more than 130 languages.
HealthLinkBC Dietitians can also answer your questions by email.