For a lot of people the idea of exercising means changing one's life radically, and making a Big Plan for Self Improvement that includes intimidating, vigorous regimens—or nothing. It goes to follow, then, that for many people this is so overwhelming, they end up with the "nothing," feeling hopeless, inferior, fat—and just generally bad about themselves. Is this you? If so, here's some very good news!

Researchers at the Mayo clinic found that increasing normal puttering activities of daily living (as opposed to sports and fitness programs), can significantly contribute to weight control, if accompanied by sensible, healthy eating. And the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reported recently that nonintense physical activity can result in significant health benefits. The study followed for 16 weeks 40 obese women (average age 42.9) who were divided into two groups.

Both groups were prescribed the same moderate dietary modifications. One group participated in three step-aerobic classes per week, and the other group was simply advised to increase levels of movement in their daily lives ("lifestyle activity"). After 16 weeks, the weight loss of both groups was about the same (an average of 8.3 pounds lost in the aerobic group; an average o 7.9 pounds lost by the "lifestyle" group). But here's the interesting part: In a followup a full year later, the "lifestyle" group, who just "moved about" for an extra 30 minutes a day, was more inclined to keep the weight off! This tells us that the more moderate the adjustments to one's habits, the easier these changes are to fully incorporate and keep up.

So, if your New Year's Resolution to begin that major exercise regimen tends to fall by the wayside year after year, don't feel bad about yourself. There are a lot of other people like you out there! Just commit to be moderate and sensible in your eating, and and to MOVE MORE. Try increasing simple activities by 30 minutes a day.

And make the following your new habits:

• Take the stairs instead of the elevator
• Park a few blocks away and enjoy the walk (and decrease the stress)
• Do a little extra housework (or help an elderly neighbor do hers)
• Put down the remote and get off the couch to change channels
• Go out and pull weeds for 15 minutes
• Teach yourself to fidget, if you don't tend to already
• In moments of "downtime," instead of sitting down, look for ways to move around a little. Sneak in additional energetic-but-nonstrenuous movement. Moderate exercise is still exercise—and it's great for your health!

Remember, when you look upon sensible eating and regular exercise as major "programs" you are either ON or OFF, that is a prescription for hopelessness and repeated failure. For many people, it is more realistic to simply commit to:

• Moderate dietary changes that we adopt gradually and deliciously, and
• Moderately increased movement in general, rather than an exercise regimen in particular.

CONCLUSION:
For many of us, regular vigorous exercise is something we love and look forward to. But for many others, it is intimidating, and too big a commitment. The above findings provide us with options, so we won't keep trying to jam ourselves into modes that don't suit us and only make us feel bad. Given that a full third or more of the American population is clinically obese, and that less than 20% of adults engage in vigorous, sustained exercise on a regular basis, this information provides an exciting alternative to the narrow pursuit-of-fitness mode that feels to many like an exclusive club they'll never be able to join.