When it seems as if you're about to have a busy day, you get into your car with a long list of errands you need to run. Here's an idea: put a step counter on your hip to actually see how many steps you are taking when you run errands. It's probably fewer than you think. Unfortunately.

The truth is, when we “run” errands, we are really just sitting in our cars between very short bouts of walking into stores and then quickly walking out. Think about it.

You take 20 steps out to your car (and this is being generous), get in, and ride probably less than a mile to your dry cleaner, for example. You get out of the car and walk 20 steps to the counter. You stand for a few minutes, get your clothes, walk the 20 steps back to your car, and then drive to your next errand. Although this might have taken 10 minutes, you really didn't move very much.

To fix this problem, use your errand time as a source of exercise. If you can, walk from errand to errand. If that's impossible because you live in the suburbs, no one walks, and there are no sidewalks, then try to group your errands together so that your errands for one day are in the same general area and you don't have to keep getting in and out of your car. That alone might save you a half-hour.

Now, use that half-hour for exercise. You could do an exercise video, take a walk in the park, or go for a swim. Each of those activities would be more beneficial to your body (not to mention the environment) than running errands.

This statistic surprised experts and lay people alike: Adults and children are significantly less active on weekends than they are during the week. The image of people playing football outside or taking walks is a nice one, but it's an illusion. The truth is, most people sit on their couches, sleep later, watch more movies, and, most significantly, spend more time in their cars on the weekend.

Therefore, here are a few things you can do to create an active weekend:

• Once again, turn to your calendar to schedule your time. But on weekends, not only should you schedule your workouts, but also you should schedule some fun. Hikes, ice skating, a day at the beach, a bike ride with the whole family — all of these activities will keep you out of the house and moving your body.

• Don't drive on Sunday, and turn off the TV. If you can, spend time at your house, being busy. Wash your car, garden, play a game of touch football. But again, don't turn on the TV, because that actually burns fewer calories than sitting in your car.

• Indulge yourself without food. Don't skip the fun, of course (even if that does mean dinner out), but try to find ways to enjoy yourself without eating too much, or non-nutritiously.