I will increase my daily physical activity

To lose weight, you must expend more calories than you eat. One of the best ways to burn calories is to be physically active! Using or burning calories involves both the work of your activities of daily living (ADLs) and exercise.

ADLs may include washing the car, gardening, raking leaves, washing dishes, vacuuming, etc. These activities help maintain strength and burn calories.
Exercise includes activities specifically geared toward a purpose, usually to improve cardiovascular fitness, strength, flexibility, or balance and agility.

Some types of physical activity are especially beneficial for weight loss and overall health:

Aerobic activities make you breathe harder and make your heart beat faster. Aerobic activities can be moderate or vigorous in their intensity. Vigorous activities take more effort than moderate ones. For moderate activities, you can talk while you do them, but you can't sing. For vigorous activities, you can only say a few words without stopping to catch your breath.
Muscle-strengthening activities make your muscles stronger. These include activities like push-ups and lifting weights. It is important to work all the different parts of the body - your legs, hips, back, chest, stomach, shoulders, and arms.
Bone-strengthening activities make your bones stronger. Bone strengthening activities, like jumping, are especially important for children and adolescents. These activities produce a force on the bones that promotes bone growth and strength.
Balance and stretching activities enhance physical stability and flexibility, which reduces risk of injuries. Examples are gentle stretching, dancing, yoga, martial arts, and t'ai chi.

How much physical activity do you need to do to lose weight?

The Surgeon General recommends engaging in at least 30 minutes of physical activity on most days of the week (4-5 days) to improve your health. For weight loss, the recommendations are similar, although being active for 5-6 days each week can help you to achieve your weight loss goals. Regular physical activity is even more important once you have lost weight and want to maintain your hard-earned weight loss.

How many calories does physical activity use?

A 154-pound man (5' 10") will use up about the number of calories listed doing each activity below. Those who weigh more will use more calories, and those who weigh less will use fewer. The calorie values listed include both calories used by the activity and the calories used for normal body functioning.

Approximate calories used by a 154 pound man

Moderate physical activities:	In 1 hour	In 30 minutes
Hiking	370	185
Light gardening/yard work	330	165
Dancing	330	165
Golf (walking and carrying clubs)	330	165
Bicycling (less than 10 miles per hour)	290	145
Walking (3 ½ miles per hour)	280	140
Weight training (general light workout)	220	110
Stretching	180	90

Vigorous physical activities:	In 1 hour	In 30 minutes
Running/jogging (5 miles per hour)	590	295
Bicycling (more than 10 miles per hour)	590	295
Swimming (slow freestyle laps)	510	255
Aerobics	480	240
Walking (4 ½ miles per hour)	460	230
Heavy yard work (chopping wood)	440	220
Weight lifting (vigorous effort)	440	220
Basketball (vigorous)	440	220

Source: choosemyplate.gov/physical-activity/calories-burn.html

Please note that there is additional information and resources in the My Physical Activity section of this website.