Finding your right balance between food and physical activity is an important step toward good health. The good news is you don’t have to join a gym or be a trained athlete to benefit from physical activity. All the moves you make add up—just get moving.

To get started and stick with it, choose activities you enjoy that work for you and your lifestyle. Pick from the small steps below or make up your own moves.

• If you’ve been out of action for a while, start with a 10-minute walk and gradually add more minutes over time. You may want to check with your doctor first.
• Activity is as close as your own backyard. Cut grass, pull weeds, rake leaves or wash your car.
• Make TV time count. Stretch, lift weights or pedal a stationary bike while you watch.
• Workout at work! Replace a coffee break with a brisk 10-minute walk. Go solo for some “alone time” or recruit a co-worker for moral support.
• Mix it up. Walk one day, swim the next. On weekends, bike, dance or play basketball. You’ll get fit while you have fun.
• Park once, shop twice. When you’re at a large shopping plaza, park centrally and walk to all your destinations rather than driving to each new location.
• Play with your kids. Kick a ball, shoot some hoops, jump rope or ride bikes.

How Much Physical Activity Do You Need?

• For good health, experts recommend at least 30 minutes of physical activity most days, preferably daily.
• To prevent weight gain, many people need about 60 minutes of physical activity on most days.
• To keep off lost pounds, many people need about 60 to 90 minutes of physical activity daily.
• Children and adolescents need 60 minutes of physical activity daily, or most days.
• For health benefits, physical activity should be moderate to vigorous in intensity.

Don’t decide to do all these things today. Take a few days to just look over this list. Let these suggestions get your mind working. When you get an inspiration idea you like to try write it down. Then pick the one that you’d like to try first; just one. Pick the one that you enjoy doing the most. Pick one that you can see yourself doing today and tomorrow and the next day and on and on and on. If you get tired of that pick another. Remember, you should feel good about the choice you’ve made and you should feel good about the activity is chosen. Enjoy!