Most of you would agree with the fact that you spend a good chunk of your daily hours slogging at your workplace. With a busy work schedule to think about, starting a weight loss regime and following it up successfully can be a little tricky.
The sedentary lifestyle that you lead at work can only add to your weight loss woes as it is often difficult to keep a track of what you’re really eating throughout the day. From birthdays and anniversaries to promotion parties and farewells, there’s a whole host of celebratory affairs that you’ll need to be a part of while you’re just sitting at your desk and answering a few emails.
Weight Loss Mistakes You’re Making At Work
When it comes to losing weight, it all boils down to the simple fact that you burn more calories than you take in – eat less and move more. While you may be doing your weight loss diligence at home, you may also be unwittingly sabotaging your attempts to stay in shape by engaging in seemingly harmless on-the-job habits. Here’s a list of flubs that you can quite possibly make at your workplace, when trying to shed those extra pounds.
Habits That Are Destroying Your Weight Loss Goals
1. Skipping Breakfast Causes Binge Eating
Getting to work early everyday is a sure-shot way to score some brownie points with your manager and to get a head start on your day’s tasks. However, you shouldn’t be getting early to work by skipping your breakfast. There’s a good reason why breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day. When you sleep at night, your body repairs itself and uses up energy, which is why you feel hungry in the morning.
Forgoing your breakfast means that you’re setting yourself up for a mid-morning energy crash. You’ll end up slowing your metabolism and start craving for any kind of food that you can find around your desk, including all those cookies and pastries. Starting your day with a healthy breakfast will help you avoid loading up on unwanted calories in between meals. You’ll even feel an evident change in your energy levels for the day.1
2. Social Interactions Causes You To Overeat
Whether it’s that day of the week when all of you order pizza or it’s just your co-worker’s birthday, you don’t need to gorge on any calorie-loaded foods for the sake of social interaction. Even if you’re willing to have just a little bit to satisfy your cravings, these small quantities will eventually show their effect when you weigh yourself in. Instead, remember to not indulge in any food when you’re not hungry and learn to say no whether it’s just a bit of chocolate or an entire pizza.2
3. Eating At Your Desk Causes Weight Gain
If you’re planning on maintaining a healthy diet and wish to have your green salad at your desk, you’re not doing your weight loss plan any favors. Eating at your desk is a strict no, whether you’re devouring some choice ribs or having an oatmeal. Besides resonating complete inactivity, eating at your desk means that you’re not burning any calories.
Take some time out to have your meal in any setting that’s away from your desk. This way, you get to take a break from your work space, you tend to watch how much you’re eating, and you end up digesting your food and burning calories.
4. Emotional Eating Makes You Overeat
Working long hours, having to attend numerous meetings, demanding higher-ups, and unreasonable work deadlines are some of the reasons why you can get very stressed at work. As you need a lot of energy to focus on such work, you involuntarily end up reaching out for any kind of food that you can find around you to deal with the pressure and stress. You might even make endless trips to the pantry or the vending machine to get your fix of unhealthy snacks.
In such a situation, it’s always good for you to keep a bottle of water around so you get your fill of water and not overfeed yourself with junk. You can even get home-cooked snacks and other healthy nibbles for an instant energy boost.
5. Irregular Eating Times Causes Weight Gain
Whether you have a permanent desk job during the day or you’re challenging your natural body clock by working all night, munching on food at the wrong time means that you’re continually loading up on calories that you don’t really need. Understanding what you need to eat and when you need to eat is absolutely vital. Prepare a to-do list to help you eat right at the right time.3
If you’re challenging your natural body clock, you might end up eating when you’re supposed to sleep or take rest. When working throughout night, bring your own food from home and remember to not indulge in any snacks or treats that you may find around you.
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