How to effectively lose weight while working sedentarily and maintain the result?

We all know that work makes us fat. It's time to change everything!

We spend almost a quarter of our lives at work. That's a ton of time spent sitting. Of course, this lifestyle cannot make your waist smaller. A recent study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that sitting for long periods of time, even with regular exercise, increased the risk of early death by 10%. OK.

Luckily, there are plenty of things you can do in the office and still lose weight. Follow our advice and you will lose weight - and you will get paid for it too!

Never ever! - don't drink soda to cheer you up

To cope with the oncoming sleep, you feel the urge to knock back a can of Diet Coke. Do not do that! The University of Texas Science Center found in a study that adults who drink diet cola tend to gain 70% more weight than those who don't drink soda. In addition, aspartame raises glucose levels to such a height where it turns into fat. You won't believe what will happen to your body if you just stop drinking diet soda.

Lean on H2O

Are you really hungry or just thirsty? A study in the journal Physiology & Behavior found that people who misunderstand their thirst eat when they need to drink 60% of the time. Even if you don't restrict yourself from water, drinking a glass of water before meals will give you the opportunity to eat much less. If plain water is too boring for you, add citrus fruits and you will get a real detox water. A glass of refreshing H2O will fill your body with fluid and save you from dehydration. According to a study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 500 ml of water increases metabolic rate by 30%. Add 1.5 liters of water to your daily diet and you will burn 17,400 calories per year!

How to lose weight at work through physical activity?

It is clear that in a sedentary job, losing weight from physical activity is not so easy. There are useful tips for introducing a little exercise into the life of an office worker.

1. Try to move more. For example, if the office is located on the 5th floor, do not use the elevator to go up and down - walk. Or, when communicating with a colleague, choose to go for a walk rather than hang out in the cafeteria. Even little things like this can affect weight loss.
2. Get up 30 minutes early and do simple exercises. Believe me, school exercises are still effective. If you do exercises for a month, you can unnoticed lose up to 5 kilograms, and also significantly improve your immune system.
3. If possible, avoid transport. If you need to get to a store that is nearby, do not get into a car or public transport - walk. A lazy lifestyle significantly reduces the quality of life, so introduce at least primitive walking into your everyday life.
4. If time is an unaffordable luxury for you, then take advantage of your sedentary position at work. Tighten your chosen muscle group (abdomen, legs, arms, back) for 30 minutes. Typically, such exercises are performed for the problem area and repeated every other day. After 2-4 weeks, the result will surprise you.

Be sure to read: Daily menu and principles of constructing a children's diet in a diet for weight loss

Use the stairs

It may seem obvious, but you'll be surprised how much weight you can lose in such a simple way! If you have a document to take to the fifteenth floor and you're on the 10th, use the stairs instead of the elevator and you'll burn twice as many calories as walking. According to research from the University of New Mexico, a 75-kilogram man will lose about 3 kg per year if he walks two flights of stairs a day. And if this number is increased to 6... then he will lose 9 kg!

Hair thins in the sun - but it needs vitamin D

It seems that hair cannot suffer from lack of movement. But everything in our body is interconnected.

Let's imagine that you work in an office and sit at a computer for 6-10 hours a day. Sports are not your thing, and you are too lazy to do exercises in the morning. Over time, you notice that your hair has become brittle and dandruff has appeared on your head.

Where does this connection come from? The fact is that due to lack of movement, blood circulation and metabolism worsen. And if you also experience stress, then your blood vessels that deliver blood and nutrients to the scalp narrow. Because of this, the hair becomes thinner and may even begin to fall out.

Trichologist and dermatologist Natalya Malyk

“Constantly working indoors has one advantage for hair - it gets less sunlight, which makes it brittle. But if you avoid the sun altogether and work at night, then you will lack vitamin D. And this will also cause your hair to deteriorate,” explains trichologist and dermatologist Natalya Malyk.

If you have just noticed minor problems with your hair - it has become more brittle and grows worse, then simple tips will help you. For example, you can eat more fruits and vegetables - they will help compensate for the lack of vitamins and minerals for any person. Unlike dietary supplements and medications, they do not require a prescription. Sports or at least warm-up will improve blood circulation and metabolism.

When you start having serious problems - noticeable hair loss, bald patches and dandruff appearing - it is better to consult a trichologist. He will find out the exact cause and prescribe treatment.

If your hair lacks vitamins, a trichologist will help deliver them to the body. The doctor has several methods at his disposal: for example, you may be prescribed a vitamin complex in tablets. Another method is mesotherapy, when the doctor makes injections and directly nourishes the scalp. The last method will not cause pain.

DoctorPRO Clinic

Replace your morning coffee with green tea

Coffee in the morning gives you a caffeinated boost of energy, while green tea relieves anxiety and also burns fat. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that tea—including green tea—contains catechins that speed up fat loss. In addition, Taiwanese researchers found in a sample of 1,100 people who were observed for 10 years: those who drink green tea have 20% less body fat. The tea is so good for weight loss and overall health that it can be used for detox.

Why sedentary work is dangerous to health

Almost every office worker suffers from constipation, and for many, impaired peristalsis has long become a normal option. The causes of this delicate problem are varied: prolonged immobility, insufficient fluid intake, poor nutrition based on sandwiches or snacks, constant stress, and even the inability to leave the workplace due to physiological needs. As a result, heaviness and bloating appear in the abdomen, and digestion is disrupted.

The common belief that constipation goes away on its own sooner or later is completely wrong. The inability to empty the intestines in a timely manner provokes the development of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, so experts recommend treating constipation immediately, without hoping that the problem will resolve itself, and also prevent constipation.

Measures to prevent constipation in office employees are simple and straightforward:

- regular meals with plenty of coarse fiber - vegetables, grains, cereals,

— physical activity: promenade before work and during lunch break, going upstairs without an elevator. Several times an hour you can tense and relax your abdominal muscles - this “massage” is very useful for intestinal function. It is equally useful to turn your body left and right, raise and lower your shoulders, without getting up from your workplace.

- take a short break every hour,

- drink 3-4 glasses of pure water or herbal tea without sugar

- active recreation on weekends - walks, sports, yoga, dancing.

According to doctors, even partial compliance with the proposed rules will improve bowel function and help avoid constipation.

Therapist at the Bormental clinic, author of books on dietetics, consultant in the “Health” section mail . ru , Olga Aleksandrovna Torozova advises: -

Regular bowel movements are the basis of health. During the process of bowel movement, many substances leave the intestines (drug residues, foreign substances, for example, sweeteners, bacterial waste products), which have a negative impact on the non-functioning of the immune system, as well as various compounds (metal salts, moisture-retaining agents) that are toxic to the body. Thus, stagnation of feces can lead to poisoning, especially among those office workers who eat low-quality food with many aromatic additives, preservatives and other harmful substances (severe digestive disorders are caused by: E-235 natamycin, E-622 monopotassium glutamate). Constipation can also occur with frequent consumption of legumes.

It is possible and necessary to treat constipation, and you should not wait for the condition to worsen; it is necessary to react in time to stool retention: if normally cleansing the body occurs daily, then the absence of bowel movements for two days is already an alarming sign. Stool retention can be eliminated with laxatives with a minimum of side effects. For example, you can use inexpensive drugs based on sodium picosulfate; they act very gently, providing bowel movements 10-12 hours after the first dose. It is optimal to take a laxative at night so that you can have a smooth bowel movement in the morning. And pay attention to the storage temperature range (indicated in the instructions and on the packaging) - the wider it is, the lower the risk of damage to the drug during storage.

It is not advisable to treat constipation with an enema - frequent use of emergency methods of cleansing the intestines can lead to the appearance of anal fissures and hemorrhoids. It is also undesirable to overuse herbal preparations for weight loss (senna-based preparations, Flying Swallow tea) without consulting with specialists.

The ideal solution to the problem is to form a habit of defecation at a certain time, for example, immediately after waking up, in order to adjust your work and rest schedule to the needs of the body. Having such a habit will make it easy to control your body, and in combination with a well-chosen diet - at least 4 meals, a variety of dishes, vegetables and fruits instead of snacks, and physical activity will protect you from serious intestinal disorders in the future.

Recently, one large Internet portal conducted a survey among visitors and found out which drug for constipation the readers preferred. They were asked to choose one of the most popular remedies, among which were Guttalax, Senade Slabilen, and others. According to the results obtained, the winner was the drug Slabilen, which is preferred by almost 21% of Internet users.

Considering the fact that constipation is a serious problem that affects almost all office workers, we can agree on collective prevention of the disease. For example, regularly go for a walk with colleagues, order home-made lunches with soups and salads together, control each other, kindly reminding them of the need to stretch. Such collective responsibility will “melt the ice” in relations between employees and reduce the emotional overload associated with complex and responsible work.

You can solve the problem of constipation on an individual basis: choose a walking route from work to home, prepare soup in advance instead of a sandwich, and contact specialists in time. Taking care of your health will not only help you avoid constipation, but also cope with such troubles as excess weight, constant fatigue and bad mood.

Bring your own food. Every day.

Do you know how many calories are in the fast food you eat for lunch? Think again: a 2013 study published in the journal BMJ found that the average meal contained 836 calories. This can lead to serious weight gain.

Instead, spend a small portion of the weekend preparing meals for the entire week. Even if your lunch turns out to be 500 calories in volume, you will still save 300, and over the course of the week there will be a difference of 1,500 calories! If you work an average of 50 weeks a year, you will eat 75,000 fewer calories, which is almost 10 kg per year!

Balance your salad

Many people choose a “big salad” for lunch, but don’t limit yourself to just greens, because you will want to eat again within an hour! For a salad to be satisfying, it needs to have protein (chicken, eggs, meat) and fiber (beans, avocado). For taste, add something sweet (tomatoes, apples), spicy (garlic, olives) and appetizing (meat, cheese). There needs to be some crunch in the salad, so add some nuts or bell peppers.

Remove sweets from sight

Out of sight, out of mind! Reorganize your environment. A Project M&M study conducted in New York City offices found that when office kitchens placed cookies in opaque containers and allowed healthy alternatives to sweets on shelves, people began to eat better. A similar study from the Journal of Marketing found that people overeat when they eat sweets from clear bags.

Find a friend with similar interests

It’s much easier to refuse a cupcake at your accountant’s birthday if you have an understanding friend. When everyone around you is chewing sugar, you feel like there's something wrong with you, and a 2014 study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics found that people tend to conform at work. And if you have a like-minded person, you can at least divide the cupcake in half!

Walk for 2 minutes every hour

It seems to you that you walk a lot at work, but usually such “walks” take no more than 20 seconds. Force yourself to walk for at least a minute to start (and then return to your starting point within the second minute). For what? A recent study from the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology found that walking every hour mitigated the negative effects of sitting for long periods of time.

Losing weight with a sedentary lifestyle through diet

There is a strict diet that can saturate a person with healthy foods and get rid of excess weight in a short time. This diet will tell you how to lose weight at a sedentary job for a woman or man who does not engage in physical labor.

You should not use this method for more than two weeks, as this may affect your health. If you have stomach problems, use gentler methods. It is possible to repeat the procedure after six months, but not earlier.

Products are distributed by day:

First day

• 8.00: boiled chicken egg (boiled for 6-8 minutes), after 30 minutes - natural coffee 100-150 ml. no milk or sugar;
• 11.00: small tomato;
• 13.30: boiled chicken egg with herbs;
• 16.00: 250 gr. salad of lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes, peppers, herbs, olive oil;
• 19.00: grapefruit.

Second day

• 8.00: boiled chicken egg, half an hour later – natural coffee 100-150 ml. without additives;
• 11.00: grapefruit;
• 13.30: boiled veal about 200 g, greens;
• 16.00: 250 gr. salad of lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes, peppers, herbs, olive oil;
• 19.00: medium-sized cucumber and carrots.

The third day

• 8.00: boiled chicken egg;
• 11.00: tomato, stewed spinach without adding oil;
• 13.30: 200 gr. boiled chicken fillet, greens;
• 16.00: cucumber, lettuce, 100-150 ml. natural coffee;
• 19.00: glass of kefir 1%.

Fourth day

• 8.00: 200 gr. green vegetable salad, herbs, 100-150 ml. natural coffee;
• 11.00: grapefruit;
• 13.30: boiled chicken egg with herbs;
• 16.00: 150 g low-fat cottage cheese;
• 19.00: 250 gr. stewed vegetables with green tea. For vegetables: zucchini, spinach, peppers, onions. Simmer without water for about 15 minutes. At the end add 1 tsp. oils

Fifth day

• 8.00: boiled chicken egg;
• 11.00: stewed spinach, 100-150 ml. natural coffee;
• 13.30: 200 gr. boiled fish with herbs;
• 16.00: green salad, 100-150 ml. natural coffee;
• 19.00: try not to have dinner; if you are very hungry, eat grapefruit.

Be sure to read: Rules for using corn silk for weight loss

Sixth day

• 8.00: grapefruit;
• 11.00: green apple;
• 13.30: 200 gr. boiled beef, greens;
• 16.00: cucumber, carrot;
• 19.00: glass of kefir 1%.

Seventh day

• 8.00: orange;
• 11.00: 250 gr. strawberry, raspberry or red currant salad;
• 13.30: 250 gr. soup from potatoes, cabbage, onions, carrots, sorrel;
• 16.00: 200 gr. boiled chicken fillet, greens;
• 19.00: stewed spinach, green tea.

In addition to the main diet, you need to drink at least 2 liters of clean water, distributing doses throughout the day - this makes it easier to cope with hunger.

To maintain the effect of the diet for a long time, during the second week, carefully add one product to your diet, and then try not to exceed the number of kilocalories that you spend throughout the day.

Write down everything you eat and drink

This seems like a very tedious task, but will another list really bother you? If you don't have time to write down everything you eat at home, write it down the next morning at work. A Tulane University study found that people who recorded their data through phone apps lost more weight and stayed more motivated than those who used traditional fitness trackers.

Lose weight at work with gymnastics

A great way to get rid of excess fat, correct your figure, and restore your former beauty. If you don’t yet know how to lose weight, if sedentary work takes up all your time, then we offer several exercises that can be performed in a working environment.

• Tighten the necessary muscles - if you want to lose your stomach, then pull it in and tighten your abdominal muscles as much as you can. Yes, it's difficult, but in a month you won't believe your eyes. 30 approaches throughout the day will significantly improve the appearance of your stomach and give it relief. The method works similarly with legs, arms and other parts of the body.
• Place your hands on your knees, bend your body slightly. Inhale slowly through your nose and exhale sharply through your mouth - you need to release all the air. Then hold your breath and draw your stomach in deeply. Count to 5-10, relax, breathe.

• Facial gymnastics helps give your face a fresher look. Rotating your eyes clockwise or bulging your eyes can be repeated 10 times before starting work, then at the end - this will help get rid of bags under the eyes. Repeat strong protrusion of the lower part of the chin 15-20 times. After a week, the first results will become noticeable - the skin under the chin will smooth out and shrink.
• During your lunch break, you can spin a hula hoop if possible. Ten minutes will be enough to notice a reduction in your waist and hips in a month.

Analyze whether food acts as a sedative on you?

Why do you overeat when you come home from work? Because you hate her? Do you drink an extra cup of coffee when your boss is yelling at you? Analyze how work affects your eating behavior. In a study from the University of Orlando, almost a thousand respondents took part, and only 10% of people said that psychological comfort is important for weight loss. Almost 66% do not see the connection between mood and food, and therefore immediately gain weight when they lose it. People focus on the physical aspects of weight loss, such as diet or exercise. But there is also an emotional component that people often ignore.

Nutrition

An important element for losing weight in the office is proper nutrition. As a rule, the pace of work and the specifics of the activity do not allow one to accurately predict meals, as well as their duration and composition. There is only one universal advice here - manage it. There is an old saying “the eyes are afraid - the hands are doing”, because in fact, most of the things that we think about and are lazy about are just 1 step away from us.

Check out 11 principles of a diet for the lazy that will allow you to lose weight quickly and without unnecessary hassle.

When I was a professional driver, I often heard “excuses” from my pot-bellied colleagues, saying that we don’t have time to snack on normal food, I always asked in response: “What is normal food for you?” Most people who are losing weight are afraid of sandwiches, but why? Replacing a loaf with 7-grain bread, and replacing sausage with cheese or low-fat cottage cheese - is it really difficult? I also heard that it is difficult to eat soup in the bustle of a call center, as there is nowhere to pour it. Some may find this funny, but every second person, as a matter of principle, does not bring soup to work. Suggest a solution? For only 140 rubles. A good, high-quality container for soup... With good “clasps”, with a valve for puree soup, that is, you can even drink it.

We invite you to familiarize yourself with the budget menu we have prepared for the week!

The most convenient option for food containers

I devoted so much text to this issue because before I say the banal phrase - eat healthy food, we need to solve the initial reason why most of us do not do this - provide the convenience of eating in the workplace . Buy large, high-quality containers, a set of cutlery, get a towel, and allocate a corner in the drawer for these things. Just do this once and you will no longer have stupid thoughts about what should I eat at work for lunch. Now move on to the second point, which will be many times shorter - eat what is included in your diet. Recently, we have gotten into the habit of making explanatory signs that can be saved to your phone or simply printed, so feel free to go to the “diet” section, choose the one you like and use our menus for the week as a hint. Lose weight in the office with pleasure!