Jul
Lifestyle Psychology
Winter is here and I am less and less motivated to get up and move from my keyboard. After a brief surf on google, I hit on the 10,000 steps website: http://10000steps.org.au I learnt that 10,000 steps can be equated to 8 km! or 1h and 40m (appx). No way do I achieve this in my day I thought. However, I’ve since borrowed a pedometer, the first day my daily activity clocked up 12,000 steps, the following day 27,400. I’m impressed.
The site lets me keep a personal log of my daily steps, converting other activities into steps with a ’step’ calculator (i.e., 10m xse = 100 steps; 1km walk = 1,250). Why go to this extra effort? My lifestyle does not get me outdoors much anymore, and there are many days when my total step count would be well under the recommended 10,000 - not healthy. I can feel my circulation stagnating, and my digestion is always poor when I stop moving.
A paper by King et al. (2002), http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&lr=&scoring=r&q =cache:eUHLLvOZJIoJ:www.activelivingbydesign.org/resources/theoretical_approaches _promotion_physical_activity.pdf+psychology+(physical+activity) points to the need for research to develop integrated and cross-disciplinary theories that support the promotion of physical activity.
And these motivational ideas from Jonna Reynolds help to guide the ‘getting started’ period.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Finding-Motivation-to-Exercise&id=106270
My tennis racquet eBAy purchase will arrive soon, and I’ve gradually increased my water intake to 2 liters a day. And I’m saving to replace the stolen bike. I’m enjoying the more active lifestyle, and am reaping the psychological benefits: feeling fresh, relaxing as I interact with my outdoor environment, clear skin, digestive peace, great sleep at night, more energy and alertness during the day.
The tracking of my progress feeds my statistical interests - just can’t help myself, must have input 
I find I can revise topics and theories and make them directly relevant to my life, applying the stats to optimise my health and well-being, and learning to boot!
Keep active tips:
* purchase tai chi, aerobics and yoga DVDs from the markets and second hand stores
* alternatively print off activities you find with a google search
* walk more
* drink water, up to 2 l a day
* become a volunteer: retirement home, tree planting, after-school care, meals-on-wheels
* create personal posters to motivate you: collages, painting, draw
* start a garden project
* become your own research project: find a theory, collect data, analyse, graphs and tables
–> statistics study aids
* stay away from the scales! Remember its about health and well-being, not appearance.
http://www.womansday.com/article.asp?section_id=4&article_id=10298
http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/home/1280
http://www.ladypens.com/Article/Heigh-Ho–Heigh-Ho–It-s-off-to-Yoga-I-go-/2509
http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/HQ/01217.html
http://exercise.about.com/cs/fittingitin/a/officeexercise.htm
Activate!
