Lose Weight Desk Job

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The boring 8 hours you spend degustating cookies and coffee in front of your computer are not the only reason why losing weight with a desk job is so hard. Find out why in order to lose weight with a desk job you need to stop beating yourself up about being more productive and how to lose weight when you’re sitting all day long. I’m sharing 5 simple weight loss tips and healthy habits that can help!

Me, sitting at a computer, typing with the speed of light, wearing some fancy clothes and making office jokes with my coworkers.

Losing Weight With A Desk Job

There I was – drinking cappuccinos, making jokes, eating all the sweets I ever wanted and sitting like my life depended on it.

And to quote some more song lyrics today: “You may say, I’m a dreamer, but I am not the only one.” Now this one wasn’t the Pussycat Dolls. Guess who?

In total, Americans are sitting an average of 13 hours a day and sleeping an average of 8 hours resulting in a sedentary lifestyle of around 21 hours a day.

Tricks To Lose Weight Just By Sitting At Your Desk

And my friends, it’s not just Americans. It’s the whole world, even developing countries. Sleep 6-8 hours, sit on the way to work, sit at work, sit at lunch, sit on the way back home and then to top this off – just sit some more in front of the TV, computer, or in a bar staring at your phone.

The first time I experienced the impact of a sedentary lifestyle on fat gain was when I was a student and was writing my thesis.

Lattes were 20 cents, I had access to all the cookies I wanted and I was taught to phone my colleague when I needed something instead of taking 10 steps to his desk.

If You Have A 95 Desk Job, This Article Will Help You With Not Getting Fat

And this is not very surprising. After all your activity levels throughout the day drop way too much – it’s hard to compensate that with eating less and counting calories.

One study showed, that on average obese women sit 2.5 hours more and stand 2 hours less per day than lean women. That research suggested that if obese women start moving as much as lean women they can burn up to 300kcal more per day.

Light physical activities also improve insulin resistance and blood sugar levels more than more intense physical activities, even when calorie expenditure is the same (study).

Want To Lose Weight Being On A Desk Job? Read Immediately

It’s taking the stairs, walking to work (or taking the train and walking), going shopping, playing an instrument, dancing, cleaning your home, doing some garden work and drinking ENOUGH water throughout the day. Moving at every opportunity.

Press a button to do the laundry, press a button to do the dishes, order food to eat at home in front of the TV, we even don’t go buy groceries anymore – we click a button and get all that delivered…

Personally, I beat myself up when I haven’t been as productive as someone on the internet told me I could be. Even though I know it’s insane.

The Reason Why A Standing Desk Might Help You Lose Weight

We’ve even gotten so efficient, we figured: “You know what, chewing a salad takes a ton of time. Let’s just blend it and drink it with the speed of light”. (although I do like smoothies…well, mostly)

Others might call this efficient, but the one word I’ve got for this is: lazy. We avoid putting time and energy into little things that would actually make life better. Make us feel better. Healthy, happy, full of energy. Instead, we live our lives in front of screens and then wonder why we’re sick, overweight and depressed. We need to make changes and for the sake of LIVING stop being so efficient. At least not all the time.

Yes, ten thousand is never a small number, but when it comes to steps a day – it’s achievable and it’s the recommended amount.

How To Lose Weight With A Full Time Job

I personally don’t count steps, but since reading the research and being more aware of how much I’m actually sitting, I take EVERY opportunity to move.

If I forget something downstairs, I take the stairs and don’t wait until I have to anyway go; if I forget to pick up something from the store – I go to the store.

I feel so much better and I’m actually more productive (for real), because I set a deadline to finish whatever I’m doing and can think better after some movement.

How Can I Lose Weight While Dealing With A Sedentary Job?

Research has shown that breaking up sitting for too long with short walking breaks can reduce insulin resistance and even help with fatigue.

Not only will enough water help you think clearly, burn more calories and give you more energy, it will also break up prolonged sitting automatically.

And it will save you from those cravings you get when you get physically bored (like when you’re sitting at a desk).

How To Lose Weight With A Stressful, Long Hour Desk Job

You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve gotten home from sitting at work to then just sit myself down for a round of good old TV.

Consider that an office worker returns home from work by car at 5 pm. From then until bedtime at 11 pm the primary activity is to operate the television remote control in a semirecumbent position. For these 6h, the average energy expenditure above resting wouldapproximate 8% and the NEAT will thus approximate 30 kcal for the evening [0.08*1500BMR*(6 ⁄ 24) h]. Now imagine he ⁄ she becomes aware of the unpainted bedroom, the weeds growing in the yard, and the possibility of cycling from work. The person then decides to undertake these tasks. The increase in energy expenditure would be equivalent to walking approximately 1– 2 mph for the same period of leisure-time (5–11 pm). NEAT then increases to 750–1125 kcal for the evening [2 or 3*1500BMR*(6 ⁄ 24) h]. Thus, for this hypothetical office worker, the variance in leisure-time NEAT has the potential of impacting energy expenditure by up to 1000 kcal day.

Okay, so what I understood from that is that we can burn around 1000 kcal extra per day if we don’t just take the semirecumbent position in front of the TV, but actually get a life.

How To Lose Weight In Office? Weight Loss Exercises In Office

Although one hour of exercise per day cannot make up for all that sitting (study), exercise is super important for health in addition to light physical activities.

When you exercise 5x a week for 30 minutes, you reduce the risk for diabetes, heart disease and possibly cancer. Moderate exercise is also linked to increased lifespan and improved immunity.

Now I don’t really know of research about this, but I bought a stability ball to sit at and it helps me stay focused and move even while I’m sitting, so it might be something you wanna look into.

Standing Instead Of Sitting Could Help You Lose Weight — But There's A Catch

I hope these insights and tips help you be more aware of the time you’re sitting and you implement some of the tips here. Losing weight is not an easy task, especially when you work in an office, but when you’re aware of this you can keep going.Women's Health may earn commission from the links on this page, but we only feature products we believe in. Why Trust Us?

Being desk-bound at your 9-to-5 (ugh, more like 9-to-7) can set up a series of weight-loss hurdles. Your typing fingers are the only part of your body actually getting a workoutand mindless snacking at your desk under the glow of fluorescent lights isn’t exactly helping to whittle your waistline.

You can try to make deskercise happen: Seated leg extensions while on a conference call? Sure, why not. But, still, since your desk job is mostly sedentary, you’ve got to be strategic with your time throughout the day if you want to lose weight, says Scritchfield.

Lose Weight With A Desk Job: 5 Weight Loss Tips When You're Sitting All Day Long

Give your daily schedule a good look and try to find 30 minutes to work out five days a week, says Scritchfield. Cut out anything that’s less important than your health, like scrolling social media or watching TV. If you can’t live without the latest Netflix original series (damnit,

When you get to work, take the stairs instead of the elevator, Scritchfield suggests. Heard that one before? Thought so. She also says that you can squeeze in that 30 minutes of exercise a day by spending 10 minutes walking up and down the stairwell three times a day (or just 30-minutes straight, she says. Trust, you're going to feel this.

Turning a desk drawer into your healthy eating paradise can keep you out of the chips and cookies in the office vending machine, saving you tons of calories. Stock your personal snack machine with dried fruit, nuts, non-buttery popcorn, and tea. For more ideas, check out these healthy, R.D.-approved snacks you can keep at your desk.

Ways To Lose Weight If You Have A Desk Job!

According to the American Council of Exercise, active women should be drinking at least 2.7 liters, or 91 ounces, every freaking day. While you should be doing this on the weekends too, sipping waterthroughout the workday can fight off fatigue, prevent dehydration headaches, and (hopefully)