I know I should; I'm not pointing my finger at the rest of you.

A study in Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise, the official journal of the American College of Sports Medicine, showed how regular daily activity limits weight gain. University of Tennessee researchers studied the Amish community because the Amish, who use no electricity, are highly active in their daily lives. Amish men—many of whom are farmers—reported an average of 10 hours of vigorous work activity per week and, according to pedometers they wore, took an average of 18,425 steps per day. One man took more than 51,000 steps in a day by walking behind his horses in the fields.  Women—who engaged in more moderate intensity activity such as gardening, cooking and childcare—tallied an average of 14,196 daily steps.

The average sedentary American who spends most of his time at a desk job or on the couch logs in around 5,000 steps per day, and is considered active if he fits in about two hours per week of moderate activity (that’s 30 minutes, five days a week). On average, the Amish got in around six times the amount of weekly physical activity as the typical modernized  adult.

The researchers observed that the Amish diet is typically high in calories, fat and refined sugar foods such as meat, potatoes, gravy, eggs, vegetables, bread, pies and cakes. But only 4 percent of those surveyed were obese (compared to nearly 33 percent of modern adults) and only 26 percent were overweight (compared to around 65 percent of modern adults), as determined by their body mass index. This study suggests that the Amish were able to maintain healthier weights because they move so much.

Consider your own schedule: If you’re awake 14 hours a day and use an extra 50 calories per hour—from extra stair climbing, parking farther away, getting up and walking to speak to a colleague rather than e-mailing or calling them, ditching the remote control, etc.—you could burn an extra 700 calories per day. Over a year, you could lose about 73 pounds from this extra activity alone! Or you could eat more without gaining weight.

So get moving. Don’t wait for your prescribed walking session to get off your rear end. If you haven’t already, buy a pedometer and start wearing it. Increase your daily step totals as recommended on the Walk-Your-Fat-Off plan. Aim to reach a daily step range of at least 10,000 steps per day, and work on getting in 15,000 daily steps or more. It’s easier than you think. All you have to do is get out of your chair more often.