Losing weight while you work: 6 expert tips
The sedentary lifestyle and lifestyle of Western societies are one of the leading causes of overweight and obesity . If we add a bad diet to this, we have a cocktail that is not exactly good for our health.
And is that the change in life habits related to the "industrial revolution" first and the "technological revolution" second, has caused many individuals have a sedentary job, which affects their health and general well-being.
- Related article: "Sedentary causes changes in the brain"
The problems of sedentary work
The physical and psychological benefits of physical exercise and physical activity are numerous, but there are many people who do not do anything sports and also have sedentary habits worrying. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), sedentary lifestyle is among the four factors with the highest risk of death. This same body states that between 1980 and 2008 the rates of obesity in the world have doubled due to this factor .
- Related article: "Types of obesity: characteristics and risks"
In Europe, the European Heart Network (EHN) has made a list of countries with the highest rate of sedentarism, and Spain is in fourth place with 42% of the population that does not practice physical exercise . People with a sedentary job (for example, office work) spend 40 hours a week in front of the computer. But then they come home and use their leisure time to connect to the tablet, watch TV, etc.
This behavior and these habits bring with it negative consequences such as diabetes, heart problems, back pain, vision problems or overweight and obesity.
- Recommended article: "Obesity: psychological factors involved in overweight"
How to lose weight while you work
Luckily, to avoid overweight (and other health problems) it is possible to modify a series of habits that minimize the negative impact of sedentary jobs.
So if you spend long hours sitting at your work and wish not to gain weight and avoid the accumulation of fat, you can follow these tips.
1. Increase your NEAT
One of the best ways to lose weight is by accelerating the metabolism . This does not mean exercise alone, which accounts for 15-30% of the total caloric expenditure. But the basal metabolism, ie the calories consumed when we are at rest (because the body needs energy to perform essential metabolic functions, for example, breathing), is 50-70% of our caloric expenditure.
One of the best ways to increase basal metabolism is through the NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis), which are simply the daily activities that we do and that affect the amount of calories we burn. For example, climbing stairs, or walking to work. Therefore, if your office is on the sixth floor do not use the elevator. Also, if you can avoid the car and go to work by bicycle, you will be increasing the NEAT and, therefore, the basal metabolism and the burning of calories.
- Related article: "15 tips to accelerate metabolism and lose weight comfortably"
2. Do high intensity exercise
As mentioned in the previous point, physical exercise accounts for 15-30% of total caloric expenditure. However, not all forms of exercise help us consume calories in the same way. Weight training helps create muscle, which means that the more muscle mass, the more calories burned at rest.
In addition, intensity training also favors post-exercise fat burning, so, after the training session, we keep burning calories for the next 24 hours . This means that, while we are working in a sedentary way, our body takes advantage to recover, repair muscle tissue and burn calories.
3. Eat fat burning foods
To lose weight it is not necessary to live in "fasting mode" or eat only salads. Thermogenesis, that is to say the caloric energy that we use when we digest food, represents 10-15% of the total caloric expenditure and helps us to burn fat. The body must be well nourished because physical activity or work requires that we have enough energy to carry out our tasks.
Because It is good to eat some natural foods that help us to be more satiated , they accelerate the metabolism and allow us to burn fat for different reasons.
- If you want to know what these foods are, you can read our article: "24 fat-burning (and highly healthy) foods"
4. Do not consume sugary drinks
If there are foods that are fat burning, there are also those that are the opposite, and sugary drinks are an example of this .
This type of drinks provide unnecessary calories and, in addition, cause the glycemic index to increase, causing what is known as hyperglycemia. an increase in blood glucose. This makes us have a greater need to eat when we spend a while favoring the carving, and keeps us eating foods rich in sugar and fat.
5. Take home food
A good way to avoid overeating is to take your food home . If we go to a restaurant at lunchtime with co-workers, we may exceed the daily calories needed. In addition, we run the risk of taking the dessert that, generally, will provide an extra calorie.
If you take a tupper At work, you can carefully select what you are going to eat. If you do not want to get fat, you may choose healthier foods.
6. Eat five times a day
One of the keys to increasing thermogenesis is eating five meals a day , which helps not to accumulate excess calories in a few meals. By eating five times during the day, the body will spend more time digesting food and therefore increase the caloric expenditure. That does not mean that it is necessary to eat five large meals, but you have to divide the calories of one day into 5 meals.
Breakfast has proved to be essential for burning calories throughout the day, so it is not a good alternative to skip it. If you want some healthy snack ideas, you can read our article: "7 healthy snacks (very easy to prepare)"
