Sitting at the desk all day long, having unlimited access to “unhealthy” snacks, having lunch while working at the desk, and high-stress work environment are just some of the common reasons that can be behind that expanding waistline, causing the numbers to creep up on the weighing scale as well. While you may cite lack of time due to work pressure for the inability to hit the gym, there are way more factors in play, and stress-induced eating is just one of them. If increasing waistline is giving you sleepless nights, and it feels like you are stuck in a rut with a tight work schedule, do check out 7 ways to avoid weight gain at work.
1. Straighten up that Diet: Trust us, it becomes extremely difficult to avoid weight gain if your diet is out of whack. Eating healthy, portion control, will get you in a calorie deficit, and set you on the road to weight loss, and following a weight loss diet should ideally be your top priority right now. Meal prepping on days off, ensures that you are eating whole grains, veggies, fruits, and other healthy food even at work. Pack protein-rich food in lunch box, avoid eating from the office cafeteria. In fact, check out the Rati Beauty diet to get lean and fit by following a nutrient-dense diet that is not based on food deprivation or starving.
2. Move at Every Opportunity: Sitting is the new smoking, research says. Sitting at the work desk, without taking any break, will increase the risk of chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. You can use the office stairs to squeeze in a bit of workout as well during lunch break. Working for long hours, glued before the laptop/computer, for hours at a stretch, can deactivate an essential fat-burning enzyme called lipoprotein lipase and stall its “fat-burning activity.” So, stand up, take a stroll around to reactive this fat-burning enzyme, to avoid metabolism from dipping as well. Additionally, doing NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) activities like using the stairs instead of the lift, squatting on the floor to lift something up, walking while talking on the phone, are activities that help to burn some amount of calories here and there, and they do add up at the end of the day. Read more about how you can include NEAT activities in your daily life here. While it may not show the amount of calories torched as a treadmill, NEAT can still burn significant amount of calories and help you get into a calorie deficit easily, especially if you are watching out the diet.
3. Say No To Food Pushers at Work: Food pushers are all around us – in the family, relatives, friend circle, and most importantly, at the work place. These food pushers tempt you with food so that it’s hard to follow a diet plan and you tend to overeat – and most of the times, it’s unhealthy snacks. These “food pushers,” can knowingly or unknowingly hamper your weight loss plan, by encouraging you to eat more food. “Food pushers” can stand between you and your goal weight and it becomes extremely difficult to say “no” to such people, especially when they are family, friends, relatives, and colleagues who throw parties at every given opportunity. If you want to lose weight at any cost, you have to practice saying “no” and find polite ways to do so. Read about “7 Polite Ways to Say No To Food Pushers” in this post.
4. Stay Hydrated: Always keep a bottle of water at your work desk and take frequent sips throughout the day. Instead of gulping down fizzy drinks and colas that have sugar and loads of empty calories, stick to plain water that is not only free of calories, it also suppresses appetite and boosts the whole weight loss process.
5. Sleep Well and Find Ways To De-Stress: Sleep deprivation and chronic stress have been linked to increase in belly fat and weight gain. Please do remember that eating food is not the only way to destress, in fact, it would lead to mindless snacking through the day. Also, when you are sleep deprived, there are more chances of picking up unhealthy, calorie-rich food compared to when one is well rested.
6. Chose a Standing Work Station: It’s a new concept that can make you healthy and keep lifestyle diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases at bay. Switching regular work desk for a standing station can burn loads of calories too and avoid gaining weight.
7. Pack your Snacks: Ditch the vending machine (with only unhealthy snacks at display) and pack healthy snacks such as nuts, almonds, and even roasted makhana would help a great deal with fat-burning process too. All these snacks can be stored in the desk drawer. Most importantly, do not depend on vending machines to quell 4 pm hunger pangs, pick one of those healthy snacks stashed away in the drawer instead.
With these tips in hand, it’s easy to avoid weight gain at work, in fact, you can drop extra pounds and get lean with these tips.
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