In our last post, we told you about a trend called “healthy-ish” eating. Suddenly it seems to be the ”hot topic” in diet and nutrition circles and all you need to do is search the hashtag #healthyish on Twitter, Instagram and other social media to learn more, get recipes and, well, start eating “healthy-ish”.

But the same principles that guide “healthy-ish” eating can be applied to how you live – and how you lose weight. A quote from a CBC.ca story on healthyish eating puts it all into perspective:

"They (people trying to lose weight) tend to be extremely hard on themselves, and they're aiming for 100 per cent perfection," said Dieticians of Canada spokesperson, Andrea D’Ambrosio. "And the reality with healthy eating is that there's no perfection. It is basically we're doing the best we can with the circumstances we're in every day."

Healthy-ish Everyday

The idea that striving for perfection causes many of us to give up when we don’t achieve it lends itself well to our everyday lives and getting as much activity as we can each day.

When we’re told to “exercise to lose weight”, the idea of gym memberships, embarrassing outfits and bicycling everywhere can turn off even the most motivated among us. Instead, if you try to make changes wherever you can in your life, you’ll improve your chances of success and sticking with it. Any activity is better than none.

Instead of setting yourself up for failure by trying to be everything at once, start by doing whatever you can. Here are some examples:

1. Take One Flight of Stairs – How many times has someone told you that you should take the stairs instead of the elevator to help lose weight? And you live on the 12th floor. But try this just to get some extra activity into your trip home: get off on the 11th floor and walk up the last flight. Still too much? Get off on the floor above and walk down one flight.

2. Park Further Away – Have you ever spent what seems like an eternity driving around the mall parking lot looking for the absolute closest parking spot to the entrance? Why? You’re about to walk around a huge mall anyway. Save yourself some time and gas, and add a little more exercise to your day by parking a little further away.

3. Do Some Shopping Bag Curls - You can turn bringing home the groceries into a mini workout. As you’re bringing them into the house, or carrying them up the elevator, bend your elbow and try lifting the shopping bag up toward your shoulder. Don’t try it with a bag that’s too heavy and stop if you feel any pain. Use a bag that’s easy to lift. If you’re successful, try the other arm and continue to alternate as much as you can.

If these ideas don’t appeal to you, use them as inspiration to come up with similar things that you can do throughout the day to add a little activity, burn a few more calories and lose a little more weight.