Adults spend nearly a quarter of their lives each week at work. Many of us have jobs that are done in front of a computer, which means the majority of our day is spent sitting. Sitting for long periods of time, even if you exercise, can lead to a number of health issues.
There are many things you can do at the office to reverse the negative effects of sitting all day. The following tips found on Eat This, Not That! can help you stay healthy and lose weight during the 9 to 5 grind.
- Never power up with soda – a study found that adults who drank diet soda experienced a 70 percent increase in weight when compared to non-soda drinkers.
- Drink water – studies have suggested drinking water can shave calories from your daily intake and increase your metabolic rate.
- Adapt to your schedule – night shift workers hit an entirely different set of challenges while trying to lose weight. Try these tips to help the right amount of sleep and exercise no matter your work hours.
- Chew gum – chewing gum has been shown to make people more alert, reduces anxiety, and reduces the stress hormones that increase fat cells.
- Take the stairs – this is an obvious one. Taking the stairs burns twice as many calories than taking the elevator. If you don’t need to take the stairs, try getting up and speaking to someone instead of emailing them.
- Sit on a stability ball – swapping out a desk chair for a stability ball will help you strengthen your core and burn more calories at the same time.
- Convert to a standing desk – using a standing desk can help you burn more calories.
- Swap your morning coffee for green tea – coffee gives you energy, but green tea can supply energy as well as fat-burning qualities. Green teas contain catechins that boost fat oxidation.
- Bring your lunch every day – bringing a lunch not only cuts down on calories but is a great money saving method as well.
- Balance your salad – salads are a popular lunchtime choice, but make sure that it has protein and fiber or you may be hungry again in a few hours.
- Keep healthy snacks on hand – keep your desk, purse, briefcase, etc. filled with healthy snacks. It makes it easier to avoid hitting up the vending machine.
- Stash some chia seeds – chia seeds are an easy way to instantly add nutrition to your at desk breakfasts or lunches.
- Keep the sweets out of sight – simply reorganizing your pantry and placing high-sugar, high-calorie food out of sight can help you make healthier choices.
- Schedule your workout sessions – block out time for working out. Block it out on your calendar so it will deter coworkers from scheduling a call or meeting during that time.
- Seek out someone to be healthy with you – if you have another healthy-minded coworker holding you accountable it is easier to stay on track and not get caught up in the pressure of eating what everyone else is eating.
- Take a two-minute walk every hour – a recent study found that a two-minute walk every hour can help offset the effects of sitting for too long. Plus, it gives you a much-needed break from the hustle and bustle of work.
- Always eat lunch at lunchtime – researchers in Spain found that women who ate their lunch after 3 p.m. lost 25 percent less weight than those who ate their lunch earlier in the day even if they ate the same food.
- Track your food and drink intake – a study found that people who used phone apps for weight loss reported shedding more pounds and feeling more motivated to make health changes than people using traditional fitness trackers.
- Squeeze in tiny workouts – people who do five 30-second bursts of max-effort cycling followed by four minutes of rest burned 200 extra calories that day and boosted their metabolism for the next 24 – 48 hours. Chances are you don’t have a stationary bike at work, but a similar result can be achieved by running up the stairs or doing jumping jacks.
- Analyze if you are comforting yourself with food – be aware of how your job makes you respond with food. Not being in tune with your emotions and their connection to food is why nearly 66 percent of people gain weight after losing it. There is an emotional component to food that the vast majority of people overlook.
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