Finding ways to stay active

I was talking with a co-worker the other day about how it never ceases to amaze me how the change of seasons from winter to spring completely changes my activity levels. When the skies are clear and the sun is shining, I become very motivated to get active. This means my levels of activity are cyclical. In the fall and winter, I’m a bear in hibernation. In the spring and summer, I am more active than usual, although it is not as much as I truly would like. My younger self, an avid swimmer and tennis player, would be so disappointed in my sedentary life.

I am part of the reported 60 percent of adults who are not sufficiently active enough to achieve health benefits. Although I consider myself a healthy-ish person — I eat well (minus my mild obsession for pizza) and I am a non-smoker — I’m simply not active enough. Between juggling family and work, it is mission impossible to find enough time in my day to escape to the gym. As a busy trial lawyer, being active and always eating healthy becomes a struggle.

I recently received a Fitbit as a birthday gift after giving indiscreet hints to my husband, such as “I want a Fitbit… a pink one.” Knowledge is power, I figured, so if I knew how inactive I was, it would guilt me to be more active.

Which is why I love my Fitbit. Having constant access to my activeness is awesome. The sleep-monitoring feature also was eye opening (no pun intended) and made me realize that I hardly get enough sleep. I saw a dramatic increase in my activeness thanks to my device constantly guilt-tripping me to move. Some may think that it is silly to have such a device, and perhaps it is. But it is what gets me moving and motivated, so it works for me.

How do you stay active? If you are juggling career and family, how and when do you find the time? Please share your motivation and ways to stay active tips in the comments below.