10 Tips for losing weight in an office environment

Tuesday, February 18, 2014



Weight loss in an office environment is never easy. You sit on your butt in front of the computer all day, there is always some sort of celebration, where cake and pizza will be present and eventually, you can just feel the kilograms packing on. Well, you don’t need to feel utterly hopeless. I’ve found some solutions to this in the past few years.

Tips for losing or maintaining your weight in an office environment:

1.    Drink lots of water. Besides the obvious benefits of making your skin look healthier and younger, and the fact that it suppresses your appetite – taking care of those munchies – it also makes you go to the loo more. No, listen; this is a benefit in its own. Not only do you flush all the toxins from your body, but you walk more, which burns more calories. Ta da.

PS: refilling a bottle of water on your desk every time you went to the loo also ensures that you get enough water. Just don’t overdo it, because that has repercussions of its own.

2.    Pack your own lunch. This will probably be a healthier option than Steers or pizza and will also be a lot cheaper than the health foods at your local superette. {A friend of mine also suggested that we make turns every other day to pack for both of us. That way you also won’t get bored with the same thing every day.}

3.    Instead of phoning someone on the other side of the office, get up and walk to their desks. It burns calories.

4.    As I mentioned above, there is always a birthday or some or other, where people will bring cake, pizza, sausage rolls, fizzy drinks and so forth. If you have the willpower, kindly decline the calorie-oozing offerings. You will already be admired for it. If you really can’t decline and are so hungry that you start licking your desk, have as little as possible. Your body will thank you for it.

5.    Now, this might not apply to everybody, but it did to me when I was still a roaming journalist and it has the same principle as above. When you are at an event and there is food on offer, either steer away from the feast, or choose the healthier option.

6.    TAKE THE DAMN STAIRS. God gave you a good working body and you choose to take the elevator? The shame! (Hypocrite right here, I take lift just as everyone else does.)

7.    Have some healthy snacks in your drawer. {Personally, I don’t do this, because I don’t know how to stop snacking, so I just prevent it from happening, but sometimes I will steal a healthy snack from a colleague or two. And by stealing, I mean begging.}

8.    Find someone who will hold you accountable. This morning, I quit coffee and I told everyone in the office about it, because I want them to chastise me when they see me reaching for a cup. It might also work with other things, like junk food or chocolate.

9.    Instead of sitting at your desk during lunch hour and eating there, ask a colleague to walk to a nearby park with you. We have one just down the road, which is lovely to walk to and relax in.

10.  Don’t forget to stretch. You will find that you are a little more relaxed and not as stiff at the end of the day.

There are obvious other things that you can do, like jogging to work – or biking – going to gym before work {firm favourite}, but if you just try these 10 things for a week, you might already see a difference.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Love it! x

Johlet said...

Very true! :)
Love die lysie!
Darem gaan ek elke dag huis toe vir lunch.

Mrs FF said...

Those office parties/celebrations!!! Weight loss busters.

Claudz said...

Great tips!!

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