Do you lose all control when your co-worker tells you the bagel delivery arrived? Do you continually make allowances for the birthday cake, the soda, or the afternoon visit to the candy jar? Is traveling the destroying your healthy eating? Is sitting at a desk killing you — literally?
A recent medical journal study showed that people who sit for most of their day are 54% more likely to die of a heart attack. Journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise
Even more than that, the death rate for those who spent six or more hours a day sitting was 20% higher than for men who sat for three hours or less. For women, the difference was 40%. New York Times Magazine
Not only do most people fall prey to whacky food choices at work, we sit for most of the day, too. Perfect recipe if you’re trying to gain weight and watch your health decline.
The sedentary nature of office work is not only boring, but a risk to our health. Sitting for long periods of time increases our risks for a myriad of health issues, from obesity to high blood pressure, cancer, increased body fat and more. Sounds like a list of things we’d like to avoid as much as possible.
So, what’s a working stiff to do?
- Eat as healthy as you can. Stock your desk with emergency options. Bring your lunch. You’ll save money and hidden restaurant calories.
- Get as much extra movement as you possibly can each day. Take the stairs (burn, baby, burn!), dance while you get ready in the morning, ride your bike to work. Stand up more, walk around. Fidget. Just sit less.
- Use a pedometer or Fit Bit to log your activity each day. Studies show that people who keep track do take more steps each day. Aim for 10,000 each day.
- Offered free food? Make Nancy Regan proud and Just Say No. (No pearls required.) Chances are, it’s not worth it anyway.
- You may have heard the buzz about treadmill desks. Not an option for you? Try a standing desk! This model is an inexpensive way to try it out.
- “Drink responsibly.” Avoid the empty calorie Rabbit Hole of sodas or lattes. Like a bad boyfriend, they’ll pick you up and make you feel absolutely fabulous – for a little while. Then the inevitable crash comes, and you’ve been burned again. They’re a trap. Not only do they add to your waistline but you’ll be a real pain in the behind once you start the inevitable crash and are jonesing for something to make you fly high again.
- Trying to kick the soda habit? The combination of PaleoReds and C+BioFizz is a crazy delicious substitute, and one that you’d be proud to bring home to Mom! Anti-aging, immune-supportive, it’s everything you always needed yet didn’t know it. As mom would say, “This one’s a keeper!”
These days we know better than chowing down on steaks and smoking cigs ’til the cows come home – but we may as well be, according to experts keeping an eye on this growing trend. Doctors are starting to call it Silicone Valley Syndrome, named after all the techies logging long hours at their screens. Are you guilty of this?
Note: these images come from a great infographic resource you can find here.